Sometimes it can take a near-miss to provide the impetus to finally push over the line.

That certainly was the way it felt watching El Paso Locomotive FC close out its first victory in club history on Saturday night, a 2-0 win against Orange County SC that came in front of another raucous crowd of 7,094 fans at Southwest University Park.

Having gone so close the week before only to be pegged back late by Rio Grande Valley FC, the hosts ensured there wouldn’t be a repeat performance by simply stifling the Orange County attack. When Edson Partida’s second goal arrived with two minutes to go, everyone in the stands and on the field knew there was going to be no comeback this time as El Paso earned a just reward for a dominant display.

Locomotive FC’s victory was one of a handful of firsts this weekend as both Austin Bold FC and Birmingham Legion FC also broke through with their first victories in club history. There was also a first victory for Eric Wynalda at the helm of Las Vegas Lights FC, and a first home-opener victory for Indy Eleven in front of a club-record and 2019 season-high crowd of 20,251 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Where all those firsts take these respective clubs, we’ll find out soon enough. But after the first month of the season came to a close on Sunday, things are set up nicely for April and beyond.

Here’s this week’s 18.

1. Another notable first on Saturday night? How about the debut professional performance by 16-year-old goalkeeper Abraham Rodriguez for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC? Yes, the youngster conceded twice against the defending Western Conference champion, but his 11 saves – which included a penalty kick save on Solomon Asante late on – stole the show and allowed the visiting Switchbacks to grab a 2-2 draw thanks to Ish Jome’s arrowed late free kick.