When there are two regular season games left in a special season and players are saying they haven't done anything yet, that's usually a good sign.
For the El Paso Locomotive, who have done quite a bit in 2026 in one of their greatest seasons, it's a wonderful sign and an indication that much more can be accomplished in the final USL Championship games and beyond.
The Western Conference-leading Locos play their penultimate regular-season game Saturday, Oct. 17, against third-place Sacramento at Southwest University Park, before closing out at home against second-place New Mexico on Oct. 24.
Locomotive look to secure No. 1 seed
If the Locomotive, who are 5-0-1 (1 tie) in their last six home games and 9-1-1 in their last 11
overall, can protect home field in the next week and a half, they are the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, which start Oct. 30. Either way, they have already locked up a first-round home playoff game.
"It's the mindset," defender Ricky Ruiz said. "Clinching a home playoff spot can be a little too much in terms of confidence; having too much confidence, or too much of anything, isn't good. But we're keeping our feet on the ground; we know what we have to do. It's the mentality everyone brings, knowing we haven't accomplished anything yet."
Locos charge back from midseason slump
The Locomotive have taken a strange route to get to this point, one that has seen them at almost every spot in the standings over the first 28 games of the 30-game season. El Paso started 4-0-1 as they rocketed to the top of the league, went 2-7-3 in the next 12 as they fell right on the playoff cut line, then began a historic streak that included a franchise-best eight-game winning streak that got them to where they are.
Their only loss in the last 11 games was a 3-1 defeat at Lexington on Oct. 3, but they bounced back with a home win against Orange County on Oct. 10. That win clinched a top-four finish in the Western Conference and a first-round playoff home game.
"Obviously we didn't start off like we wanted to at home, but it's better to start playing well at this part of the season than in the first part of the season," Ruiz said. "If we had to choose one, we're choosing the right one now."
El Paso faces closing gauntlet with huge stakes
That sets up a huge final two games of the regular season against the next two best teams in the Western Conference. Eight teams from each conference make the playoffs, so El Paso will have four rounds to win their first USL Championship title.
"Anytime you accomplish a goal, you're striving to get to the next one," El Paso coach Junior Gonzalez said. "It was a really important game (on Oct. 10 against Orange County) for us to get in the top four and solidify a home game, and get the fans excited to come to a home game.
"Winning at home, winning on the road, it all counts."
Especially sweet is playing the next two teams below them in the standings to close out the year.
"We're excited for the challenge," Gonzalez said. "I was telling the guys in video, we want to play the top teams. We want to show we can beat those top teams at the tail end of the season to prepare us for what's to come in the postseason."
El Paso is in a good place, looking to reach a better one, as it sprints through the tape of a great 2026 regular season.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached, bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Locomotive's best season faces crucial final home hurdles
