New Mexico United Advance to First-Ever Western Conference Final with Dramatic Stoppage-Time Win
USL New Mexico United

New Mexico United Advance to First-Ever Western Conference Final with Dramatic Stoppage-Time Win

Published on November 8, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
New Mexico United News Release


Albuquerque, NM - Before more than 10,000 roaring fans at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park, New Mexico United made history - advancing to the USL Championship Western Conference Final for the first time in club history with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Orange County SC.

The electric atmosphere set the tone for a night that will live forever in United lore - a night defined by heart, resilience, and a dramatic finish worthy of the moment.

From the opening whistle, playoff intensity filled the air. Orange County pressed early, but goalkeeper Kris Shakes stood tall, delivering a stellar first-half performance that included two key saves to keep the visitors scoreless. His diving stop in the 20th minute drew a roar from the crowd and set the defensive tone.

United struck first just after halftime. In the 49th minute, Greg Hurst saw his initial header crash off the crossbar - but he stayed alert, burying the rebound to put United up 1-0. The goal marked Hurst's 26th for the club, moving him into second on United's all-time scoring list and notching his eighth of the season.

Orange County fought back, equalizing in the 68th minute off a corner kick to quiet the crowd - but only briefly.

As stoppage time ticked away, The Lab erupted into pure chaos. In the 93rd minute, Dayonn Harris latched onto a perfectly placed pass from Valentin Noël and rifled home the dramatic game-winner, sealing a 2-1 victory and sending United to their first-ever Western Conference Final.

When the final whistle blew, the stadium exploded. Scarves waved, smoke filled the air, and history was written under the lights in Albuquerque.

Stats Summary: NM/OC

Shots: 13/10

Shots on Goal: 4/3

Saves: 2/2

Corners Won: 4/6

Fouls: 12/9

Misconduct Summary:

NM: Talen Maples(Yellow Card - 91')

What's Next:

With their historic win, New Mexico United has advanced to the Western Conference Final of the USL Championship Playoffs- the deepest postseason run in club history. The Black & Yellow will look to keep their momentum going as they travel to Oklahoma to face FC Tulsa on Saturday November 15th at 6:30 PM MT.

QUOTE SHEET

Head Coach Dennis Sanchez

RE: Game winning goal

There's a lot of thoughts and emotions tonight. I thought that at 1-0, we looked pretty secure. But goals change games and I think that coming into the playoffs, it's not going to be perfect. I thought our performance in terms of just our rhythm and a little bit of sharpness was probably better last week. But to be fair to the guys, we stayed disciplined. We stayed true to ourselves. I just kept encouraging them, especially at halftime, to play our way, be brave. We got to keep playing our game. And look, when you get a goal scored on you at that time, you can lose momentum real quick. And I thought that we did a good job of deflecting that, finding our way again. And then look, you need guys to make plays and I'm so proud of the entire group, but I mean for Dayonn especially, what he's had to come back through over the last year and a half with his ACL, finding his rhythm again, he always talks a little bit of smack to me of like, why am I taking him out in the 80th minute, I can go 90 and tonight he did 90 and he scored a game-winner for us, so really, really proud of him.

RE: Advancing to the Western Conference Final two consecutive years (with LVL last year and with NM this year)

The job's not done. My message tonight was that we have three doors in front of us. The only way that we're gonna get through the door tonight is by respecting Orange County, focusing on one game at a time. And then we'll approach the next door when it comes. And I just heard we played Tulsa, it's gonna be a great game. They're a great team. Nobody's here by accident. So it's going to take a great performance from everybody.

RE: Team vision and execution

It's not just my vision, it's the club's vision. You know, I came here because I was sold by Pete and Ron and Itamar, and honestly, playing here last year and seeing the fans and the supporters ... to be able to be a steward for this club I hold in high regard and it's something that I very much cherish. You see how much this club means to the community and vice versa, and the best thing that we can do for them is... Give our all every time we step on the field and trust our process, bring in good players that have the qualities that they do and hopefully bring a trophy here.

Greg Hurst

RE: Overall team performance

Probably not as good a performance as last week, but that's playoff football. Sometimes you have to just grind it out and win no matter what. I still think we were the better team tonight overall and I can't be happier for the boys and for Dayonn especially to get such an important goal like last kick of the ball, that's what playoffs are about and it's nice to take that step from last year and get over the finish line on the semifinal and now we look towards the Western Conference Final.

RE: Believing

I mean that's the word, belief. No matter what the score is, we always believe we can win games. We've come back down from two goal deficits, one goal deficit this year ... There's just so much belief and confidence in the group that no matter what the game goes, we're going to get something out of it and that's so crucial for us in playoffs.

RE: Fan atmosphere

I can say in my whole career, this is one of the best nights in terms of atmosphere. These fans show up every weekend and give us everything they got and that's what I said, we're doing it for them to give back everything we can.

Dayonn Harris

RE: Overcoming injury and adversity this season

I mean, it's been great. The guys have really rallied around me and allowed me to get back to where I was, and even better. So I just want to continue that into the next game, and we're in a good spot. So we're just looking to continue.

RE: Fan atmosphere

I blacked out. Goals like that ... some players don't get many of those in their career, right? So, I was just trying to savor it, and you know, just take it all in.

RE: Advancing to the Western Conference Final for the first time in club history

We have a special group, we couldn't take that for granted, we had to work hard and take full advantage of the guys that we have because we have a really good group and we have the potential to go all the way and we're looking to do that.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from November 8, 2025


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