The friendliest game at Southwest University Park was summed up by Kelly Sorenson and her family.
A regular at El Paso Locomotive games, she proudly dressed up in a lime green FC Juarez Bravos jersey to watch the friendly match between the Liga MX team and the USL club.
Next to her was her son Andrew Jemoets, wearing a blue Locos jersey, and his children Sophia, 8, and Aaron, 6.
“I love it, I’m really looking forward to it,” Sorenson said. “Sister cities, two home teams!”
Her son had similar sentiments.
“I’m a Locos fan, but I support both teams,” Andrew Jemoets said. “Sister cities. This is amazing, I'm really looking forward to it. I've been waiting for this.”
Sophia and Aaron said they were Locomotive fans, but when reminded that they were really rooting for them, Sophia exclaimed, “Everything!”
She had more goals to support FC Juarez as Mexico's highest level team on record defeated the second level US team 3-0, with all the goals coming in the second half.
Loud cheers erupted at Southwest University Park Wednesday night during an unsanctioned friendly game between the Mountain Star Sports sisters. This will be the fourth time the two clubs have met in some capacity, but the first time it will be held north of the border and the first time it will be named the Derby del El Paso Norte, with tickets on sale. It's also my first time.
According to an email sent by Locomotive at 11:33 a.m. Wednesday, they had sold all of their vehicles and were almost certain this would happen again. The official attendance was 8,372 people, the second highest number in the club's history.
The festivities began with Leandro Carijo sounding the locomotive horn. He was with FC Juarez from 2015 to 2020 and finished the 2020-21 season with Locomotive, making 40 appearances. He was wearing the FC Juárez jersey he wore for the game, and when asked who he was rooting for, he laughed and pointed to it, but he was among the many players in the packed stadium on Wednesday. Similarly, I was enjoying myself to the fullest.
“For me, it's such a beautiful thing to watch this game, to watch this night,” he said. “I'm excited. I want to put on a good show. It's a win for the fans.”
Judging by the jerseys and sounds in the stands, the crowd was evenly divided. Although Juárez's Cartel Supporters Club was not officially represented in the south end zone at No. 8 Notch, the Cartel was clearly visible on the upper deck next to the north goal and on the grass behind it.
In the stands and on the field, El Paso's mascot, Ozzy the bat, and FC Juarez's horse, Benny, hung out together and spent a lot of time posing for photos with fans. Fans cheered for both anthems, but this doesn't always happen when the Mexican national anthem and the Star-Spangled Banner are played at soccer games.
Locomotive's line-up includes three players on loan from FC Juárez, who are usually a no-no in these friendlies, but were waived for this game.
As Cariho said, this was about the fans, and it was a clear winner.
“This is a historic moment for both teams, playing in the Border, Liga MX and USL Championships in front of a sold-out crowd,” said Mountain Stars President Alan Redford. “We're very excited and obviously the community is excited as well based on the fact that it's sold out.”
“I just want to see a good game,” said Joe Rodriguez, a local soccer expert who works for 600 ESPN El Paso and follows both teams closely. “Given how both teams are doing, we could use that.”
Andres Gonzalez and friend Eason Patterson were two of the first fans to gather at Southwest University Park when the gates opened at 6 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. game, wearing Mexican national team jerseys. The two people wearing these were national team players.
“Honestly, I'm not going to lie, it's a win for the Bravos because they are my team,” Gonzalez said.
“I'm 50-50. I'm looking for a good match,” Patterson said.
they understood it. Both teams had enough substitutes after Saturday's game and were preparing for the next game next Saturday, but there was action on both sides and two friendly fan bases in the stands midweek. There was the best kind of action that overlapped. sold out.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com. @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
