Cristo Fernández, beloved by fans the world over for his role as Dani Rojas in the hit television show Ted Lasso, looks set to make his soccer dreams leap from the silver screen to reality as he trials with USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive FC.

Goal has reported that Fernández, 35, logged half-an-hour for Locomotive in their win against New Mexico United over the weekend, with the Junior Gonzalez-coached side set to determine if they will sign the actor-turned-soccer player to a contract in the coming week.

And it’s seemingly not the first club that Fernández has looked to land with ahead of the coming season, with MIR97 Media subsequently reporting that he had also logged time with Chicago Fire II a few weeks ago and even scored in a win over USL League One outfit Forward Madison FC.

There was no word on if he took a penalty in either game — nor if there were any greyhounds attempting to cross the pitch when he did so — but in the video below (just click to the right!) you can clearly see Fernández celebrating El Paso’s win with his teammates.

An avid soccer fan who is can often be found attending professional matches, Fernández’s attempt to land with El Paso don’t so much represent a new path so much as a return to the old one. A promising player in his youth, Fernández suffered a serious knee injury with hometown side Tecos Fútbol Club when he was 15 years old, and subsequently turned to acting at university.

Soccer players stepping onto the screen, of course, isn’t exactly a new phenomena; the likes of Vinnie Jones and the incomparable Eric Cantona amongst those who traded their boots for the bright lights of Hollywood. The reverse path isn’t as common but not unheard of, either, with Sean Connery playing for Bonnyrigg Rose as a youngster and, according to legend, offered a contract Sir Matt Busby after impressing in a kickabout against a side the legendary Manchester United boss happened to be scouting.

BOULDER, Colo. — The Colorado Buffaloes told stories Monday, like how Dominiq Ponder once jumped a 10-foot fence to let a rehabbing teammate into the hot tub. They chatted about his work ethic, too, and how he was in the quarterback room before sunrise.

It was a chance to reflect on their teammate who died early Sunday morning in a single-car crash. He was 23.

The players were given the option by coach Deion Sanders to skip the first day of spring practice Monday. But in an emergency meeting the night before — to grieve together and comfort one another — everyone agreed that taking the field was the best option.

Because that’s what Ponder would’ve wanted. He was on their minds at practice as they broke the huddle with the chant of “Dom.”

“Almost like a boost of energy, like he was there with us,” running back DeKalon Taylor said. “That’s what it felt like.”

Players found out about Ponder’s death throughout the day. Some found out the news Sunday after church. Some later in the day. Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion said he received a phone call from Ponder’s father while Marion was playing with his own son.

“I couldn’t move,” Marion said. “I was speechless talking to Dom’s dad.”

Ponder was driving a 2023 Tesla when he lost control on a curve and hit a guardrail, according to the Colorado State Patrol. The car struck an electrical line pole and rolled down an embankment. Ponder was pronounced dead at the scene in Boulder County. Police said a preliminary investigation “shows that speed is suspected as a factor.”

“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends & Loved ones,” Sanders posted Sunday on X. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1.”

Sanders is expected to address the media on Friday.

“It’s sad not being able to protect him [Ponder] off the field,” offensive lineman Yahya Attia said Monday. “I still don’t really realize it — I don’t want to believe it yet.”

Same with Taylor, who said Ponder was just showing off his new tattoo to him Friday. It was surreal being at practice without Ponder.

“Heavy at first,” Taylor said. “But we all bought in. We had no choice but to go hard for him. Everybody was running around and doing their best. And if we did mess up, we messed up at full speed.”

Because that’s how Ponder operated — at full speed. The backup QB and special teams player was a leader who learned how to guide a team by watching the likes of Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.

“[Teammates] saw how hard [Ponder] worked, how hard he wanted it, to prove that he could play at the collegiate level and be a college quarterback,” Marion said of Ponder, a transfer from Bethune-Cookman. “In an era where you have to force people to work hard, you had to tell Dom to stop working so hard. Just being around a kid like that, his energy was contagious as far as his work ethic.”

It was difficult for Marion being in the quarterbacks room at 5:30 a.m., knowing that Ponder was always there by that time.

“We’ll just save a spot for him in the room,” Marion said.

The practice Monday wasn’t so much for quality of work purposes, but a chance to simply be together.

“We didn’t coach with the same urgency, as far as screaming at guys and losing our mind,” Marion said. “We coached like you would coach your child.”

Defensive back Ben Finneseth became tight with Ponder since the 6-foot-5 sophomore from Opa-locka, Florida, transferred into the program. He visited Ponder and his family over spring break a year ago.

“Everything that we’re going to do moving forward is for him,” Finneseth said. “It was tough, meeting together [Sunday], everybody, and knowing what happened. Coach Prime asked us if we wanted to work [Monday].

“We decided, as a team, Dom wouldn’t miss the day. He wouldn’t miss the day of workouts. That’s what he would’ve wanted for us. He would have said, ‘Life’s got to move on. We’ve got championships to win and we still have goals, and the clocks are still rolling.'”

Finneseth shared the story about how a few weeks ago they were hanging out at his apartment complex and wanted to use the hot tub. Finneseth, who’s rehabbing his knee, didn’t have the key so Ponder hopped over the tall fence to get them inside.

“Always there for teammates,” Finneseth said. “Whatever we needed.”

Defensive back RJ Johnson felt the same way.

“That’s what we have to do this season,” Johnson said. “Play for Dom.”

It’s Monday, MLS action is back, and it’s time for ESPN’s Power Rankings.

Who looks the strongest? Who’s in for a long year? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 2 to come up with this week’s order. Let’s dive in.

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Previous ranking: 1

After a statement win over Miami on opening weekend, LAFC claimed another three points in a 2-0 road win over the Houston Dynamo. Courtesy of long-range efforts from Mark Delgado and Stephen Eustáquio, this LAFC side showed just how many ways they can beat you.

Previous ranking: 4

If there was any doubt about which Canadian club was the best in MLS (there wasn’t), the Caps put it to rest on Saturday in a resounding 3-0 win over Toronto. With Thomas Müller‘s brace leading the charge, Vancouver looked every bit as good as the team that made MLS Cup last year.

Previous ranking: 3

San Diego cruised to a 2-0 home win over St. Louis to close out the weekend’s slate of games. Along the way, Anders Dreyer, who scored the opener, became the second-fastest player in MLS history to record 20 goals and 20 assists behind only Lionel Messi.

Previous ranking: 7

Now that was more like it from the defending champions. After stumbling out of the gates against LAFC last weekend, Miami secured a dominant 4-2 road win over Orlando City. Javier Mascherano is still searching for a few answers when it comes to his team’s positioning, but no matter: Miami’s talent won the day on Sunday.

Previous ranking: 2

Missing Sam Surridge due to illness and balancing Concacaf Champions Cup play, Nashville put in a quiet performance in a 0-0 draw with Dallas on Saturday. The talent is obvious, but B.J. Callaghan’s group is still learning to play together.

Previous ranking: 8

Though the Revs put up a much tougher fight than Orlando did on opening weekend, the new-look Red Bull New York still collected a 1-0 victory against New England. The game’s lone goal? It came by way of three teenagers in Matthew Dos Santos, who found Adri Mehmeti to play the ball to scorer Julian Hall.

Previous ranking: 6

In one of the more disappointing results of the weekend, a nearly full-strength Sounders team outside of Jordan Morris fell to a short-handed Real Salt Lake outfit by a 2-1 scoreline. Cristian Roldan, who scored Seattle’s only goal, was a bright spot in an otherwise uninspiring showing.

Previous ranking: 14

With a goal from Kelvin Yeboah, Minnesota earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Cincinnati. Though there’s still work to be done for the players to adapt to new manager Cameron Knowles’ more patient style of play, there was clear progress shown on Saturday.

Previous ranking: 13

Timo Werner made his debut for the Quakes and wasted no time impacting the game. The German star nabbed the final assist in San Jose’s 2-0 win over Atlanta United, capping off a busy week that saw him participate in his very first training sessions with the Earthquakes.

Previous ranking: 5

In Evander‘s injury-induced absence, FC Cincinnati’s attack looked listless on the road in Minnesota. They fell 1-0 without creating consistent danger in the final third. The sooner their Brazilian star gets back, the better.

Previous ranking: 12

Thanks to a last-gasp winner from Tayvon Gray in the 99th minute, NYCFC finessed a 2-1 road win over the Philadelphia Union. In all, Pascal Jansen’s attack looked more well-rounded than it did on opening weekend against the LA Galaxy.

Previous ranking: 23

Though they’re still nowhere near full strength, Salt Lake impressed in a 2-1 win over Seattle. The youngsters showed out, with goal contributions coming from 18-year-olds Aiden Hezarkhani and Zavier Gozo. Plus, new DP attacker Morgan Guilavogui shone in his debut off the bench. Something is brewing in Utah.

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Ariath Piol scores goal for Real Salt Lake

Ariath Piol scores in the 47′

Previous ranking: 18

While the Galaxy’s attack was tepid to start the season against NYCFC, it was anything but in a 3-0 win over Charlotte FC on Saturday. Gabriel Pec ripped the visitor’s left side to shreds and the Galaxy never looked back after nabbing three goals in the first 13 minutes.

Previous ranking: 21

After taking the lead in the first half through a devastating transition attack slotted home by Jonathan Bamba, the Fire added two more goals even after going down to 10 men. Jonathan Dean‘s red card didn’t seem to slow down Chicago in a 3-0 win over Montréal.

Previous ranking: 17

The bad news? Dallas dropped points at home to Nashville in a 0-0 draw. The good news? New attacking midfielder Joaquín Valiente made his MLS debut, playing the final 30 minutes of the match. The best version of Dallas will feature the 24-year-old in the starting lineup.

Previous ranking: 19

Striker Wessam Abou Ali had a chance to score the game-winner from the penalty spot against Sporting Kansas City, but had his shot saved in a game that ended 2-2. The Crew left points on the board, which may well come back to bite in a competitive Eastern Conference.

Previous ranking: 10

The Dynamo conceded two goals and were shown two red cards in a game to forget against LAFC. The 2-0 home loss serves as a reminder of where Houston sit in the Western Conference hierarchy, even after a jam-packed offseason.

Previous ranking: 11

Make that two consecutive defeats in MLS play to begin the Union’s Supporters’ Shield defense. While it looked like Indiana Vassilev‘s 89th-minute penalty against NYCFC would close out the scoring on Sunday, a 99th-minute concession turned a would-be draw into a 2-1 loss.

Previous ranking: 15

While they didn’t concede many clear-cut chances, St. Louis simply didn’t have the attacking firepower to go toe-to-toe with San Diego. Yoann Damet’s team fell 2-0 on Sunday and will continue searching for the first win of the club’s new era.

Previous ranking: 9

The Timbers were outshot and outcreated in a 2-0 road loss to the Rapids on Saturday. Plenty seems to be resting on DP David Da Costa to return and immediately elevate Phil Neville’s attacking setup.

Previous ranking: 22

New striker signing Christian Ramírez made the difference for Austin in a 1-0 home victory over D.C. United. After the veteran No. 9 was waived by the Galaxy, Austin signed him as a depth option late last week. That depth came in handy on Sunday.

Previous ranking: 16

After 13 minutes, Charlotte had conceded three goals to the LA Galaxy. That’s where the bleeding stopped, fortunately enough. Still, Charlotte looked sloppy in possession and sluggish out of possession. That Dean Smith benched both of his starting central midfielders at halftime tells the story of Charlotte’s 3-0 loss.

Previous ranking: 20

D.C. managed just three shots from inside the box in a dire 1-0 loss to Austin FC on Sunday. They would benefit from Louis Munteanu entering the starting lineup, but the 23-year-old DP came off the bench for the second-straight week instead.

Previous ranking: 27

They struggled against one Cascadia team on opening weekend, but Colorado looked much improved in a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers on Saturday. With effective set-piece play and control in both attack and defense, it was a deserved victory for the Rapids.

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Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers – Game Highlights

Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers – Game Highlights

Previous ranking: 24

Despite some promising attacking play from Marco Pašalić and Martín Ojeda that saw Orlando take a 2-0 lead over Miami, Oscar Pareja’s short-handed defense was simply too leaky. They shipped four unanswered goals in a 4-2 defeat.

Previous ranking: 26

Toronto FC fans will want to push the team’s 3-0 loss to Vancouver out of their minds as quickly as possible in favor of a happier piece of news: Josh Sargent is officially a Toronto player. The striker should quickly become the focal point of Robin Fraser’s attack.

Previous ranking: 25

Outside of new defensive midfielder Tomás Jacob, things look bleak for Atlanta. The attack was, once again, toothless while the defense looked gappy in a 2-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes. Tata Martino has his work cut out for him.

Previous ranking: 29

Kansas City needed a late penalty save from goalkeeper John Pulskamp to preserve a 2-2 home draw with Columbus, but you won’t catch them grumbling about a point. With a roster still heavily under construction, keeping on level terms with the Crew was nothing short of impressive.

Previous ranking: 28

The Revs looked downright toothless in a 1-0 loss to Red Bull New York. They posted just five shots, barely troubling Ethan Horvath despite having a nearly full-strength lineup at Marko Mitrović’s disposal. It’s early days, but it’s not too early to worry about New England.

Previous ranking: 30

There’s no more uninspiring club in MLS than CF Montréal, who lost 3-0 to the Chicago Fire. Up a man for most of the second half, Montréal managed to concede twice rather than work their way back into the match. This team isn’t going anywhere.