by Timothy Belin
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - April 13, 2025
After experiencing their worst start to a season in club history and subsequently firing long-time head coach Tom Soehn Wednesday, Birmingham Legion needed a win.
They got it in thrilling fashion in their home encounter against El Paso Locomotive.
The Three Sparks returned from a bye week with a 0-3-2 record, so when an El Paso team on a three-game winning streak opened the scoring in the 26th minute, it could easily have been curtains. A Ronaldo Damus brace and late Dawson McCartney goal ensured that was not the case as the Black and Gold secured their first win of the 2025 season.
“It shows character for the team that we have,” Eric Avila, interim head coach, said. “I think the guys showed well in the second half and when we were a goal down, to keep pushing into our game plan. And so it showed a lot of character and it showed a lot of belief in what we want to do.”
Avila made two notable changes with his first lineup as the team’s head coach, bringing in new signing Sam McIllhaton into the midfield, as well as deploying midfielder Dawson McCartney as a left-back. The starting XI also saw the returns of Danny Trejo and Tyler Pasher from the injured list.
Lined up as a 4-3-3, the team showed the intensity they had been lacking this season to get on the front foot early, and their efforts were nearly immediately rewarded with a third-minute free-kick. Danny Trejo noticed El Paso’s goalkeeper cheating towards the middle of the box and attempted to take him by surprise at the near post, but the shot was parried.
It was a sign of intent for a Legion team that went on to dominate the opening exchanges with good pressing and quick forward play.
The energy was not enough to get the go ahead goal, however, and the visitors opened the score in the 26th minute. El Paso’s Amando Moreno lofted the perfect chipped through ball for teammate Wilmer Cabrera to run onto and poke into the bottom corner of Matt van Oekel’s net.
The goal felt like it came against the run of play, but Legion did not let it undo all their good work from the opening half. Four minutes later, a deft Stephen Turnbull ball sent Ronaldo Damus racing through on goal down the right, and the Haitian striker made no mistake to slide in his third goal in Black and Gold.
Despite the impetus provided by the equalizer, Legion seemed to tire as the half went on but retreated into the defensively disciplined 4-1-4-1 Soehn had them playing earlier this season to maintain the scores even going into the break.
Turnbull and Tyler Pasher both went off at the half to be replaced by Moses Mensah and Preston Tabort Etaka, respectively. Mensah moved to his natural left-back position, with McCartney switching flanks to take over the right-back slot, while Tabort Etaka was like-for-like on the right wing.
The substitute winger had an almost instant impact as a long ball was deftly brought down by Trejo and sent across goal in the 53rd minute. Damus was just too short to get a touch on in, but Tabort Etaka slid in at the back post to redirect it on goal, only for El Paso’s goalkeeper to come up with a big save.
The other substitute, Mensah, turned out to be the difference maker soon after.
In the 60th minute, the left-back made a darting run forward before going down in the box and earning his team a penalty. Damus stepped up and dully converted with a shot to the bottom left corner for the 2-1.
There might have been a lucky bounce on the shot to put it out of reach of the El Paso goalkeeper, but the Legion certainly did not care. For the first time since the first five minutes of their season opener over a month ago, the Three Sparks had a lead to defend.
“We stuck more to a game plan and the structure that we wanted to do, that we worked on all week,” van Oekel said. “We very easily could have put our heads down and packed it up, but I’m really glad that the guys fought. We scrapped the first goal back and then really put our foot on the game in the second half. It shows that we have the characters, we have the ability, now it’s just putting together the performances week in, week out.”
Even with the lead, Birmingham did not retreat into a more defensive structure. The Three Sparks kept pushing for the killer blow, with Damus coming close to his hat-trick on a couple of occasions.
The forward revealed he was frustrated not to bag a coveted third goal, but still very pleased with his personal output and the team’s result.
“Me, personally, even if I score one goal, two goal, I always have in my head that I can do more,” Damus said. “I always push more to get success.”
Preston Tabort Etaka had a chance of his own to kill the game in the 86th minute following a fast break from an El Paso corner. The winger found himself in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper after racing forward from the half-way line, but the El Paso keeper stood tall to block the shot.
“We knew we were not letting go of this, and that doesn’t mean sitting back,” McCartney said. “It means continuing to play our game and bringing it to them.”
Van Oekel then made a crucial save of his own down the other end of the field before the game was finally put to bed in the fourth minute of added time.
Legion won a free-kick on the edge of El Paso box, and Roman Torres stepped up to take it. His shot was parried low to the keeper’s left, but McCartney was fastest to react to the loose ball and slot it home for the 3-1.
“[I was] just excited,” McCartney said. “It’s been a tough start to this year for me, haven’t had the best performances for me I feel personally, and obviously it hasn’t shown on the field for our entire team. So for us to get a win, coming back from 1-0 to win it 3-1, it just feels amazing. And you could see it in that moment after I was able to get that tap-in. We’ll take them anyway they come.”
With the two-goal cushion, the Legion faithful could finally relax. As the full-time whistle blew, players and fans celebrated the first three points of a turbulent 2025 season to date.
And long after the supporters had left the stadium, following the traditional on-field player appreciation, loud cheers could still be heard coming from the home dressing room as the Three Sparks celebrated a win they hope can kickstart a still-budding season.
“A win like this helps the whole team out,” Avila said. “I think the guys were excited and happy, but most importantly that we got three points. Three points is what matters in the league right now, and that’s what all the excitement was for.”
Birmingham Legion go back on the road next week, traveling to Hartford Athletic for a 3 p.m. kickoff Saturday April 19. They will then return home to kick off the Jägermeister Cup on April 27, hosting the Chattanooga Red Wolves.