New Mexico United and Orange County SC Share the Points in High-Scoring Draw
USL New Mexico United

New Mexico United and Orange County SC Share the Points in High-Scoring Draw

Published on October 11, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
New Mexico United News Release


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - New Mexico United (13-10-5, 44 pts) earned a valuable point on Saturday night, playing to a 3-3 draw against Orange County SC in a fast-paced, hard-fought contest at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park. In a match that featured multiple lead changes and standout individual performances, United demonstrated resilience and attacking quality as the race for playoff positioning continues.

Orange County opened the scoring in the 16th minute, taking an early 1-0 lead. United responded in the 33rd minute when forward Greg Hurst netted his sixth goal of the season to bring the sides level. Just three minutes later, Hurst struck again - this time finishing off a pinpoint cross from Dayonn Harris to give United a 2-1 advantage.

The visitors answered quickly, equalizing in the 39th minute before reclaiming the lead with a goal in first-half stoppage time (46') to head into the break up 3-2.

United came out with intensity in the second half and were rewarded in the 51st minute, when Kipp Keller scored his first professional goal to tie the match at 3-3.

Goalkeeper Alex Tambakis preserved the result in the 77th minute with a spectacular diving save to deny a close-range opportunity. The scoreline held until the final whistle, as United secured a valuable point at home.

New Mexico United continues to push toward playoff positioning with just two matches remaining in the regular season.

Stats Summary: NM/OC

Shots: 14/10

Shots on Goal: 4/9

Saves: 6/1

Corners Won: 7/8

Fouls: 11/11 Misconduct Summary:

OC: Malik Pinto (Yellow Card - 56')

NM: Mukwelle Akale (Yellow Card - 69')

OC: Ashton Miles (Yellow Card - 85')

QUOTE SHEET

Head Coach Dennis Sanchez

RE: Tonight's match

A lot of ups and downs. I think my fear all week was that ... there's a natural level of kind of letting your foot off the pedal when you clinch playoffs. I think the message all week is "we've got to stay focused."

We have an opportunity to secure home playoff matches. We know what that does for our club. We know what that means for our chances of succeeding in the playoffs. For me, it was a missed opportunity. I hope that more than anything, it's a lesson. It's a wake-up call of, again, doing everything that we need to do in order to be successful. And that's having our foundation. But I'd say, especially in the first half, in a lot of ways, we weren't ourselves. There were a lot of things that were not recognizable. Just the way we valued the ball, defensively, transition moments. You know, there was a lack of control, which is something that we always want to try to achieve. So. I love that we came back, but in the same breath, you go up 2-1, you're at home, that should be a game, set, and match. A lot of things that we can continue to learn from. We know that this is a difficult league. We know Orange County, Oakland, Rhode Island are all fighting for playoff spots, for contracts for next year, whatever it may be, and we have to respect that. It's important that we finish strong and continue to build momentum moving into the season.

RE: Five unbeaten matches and team momentum

I want more. You know, there's a balance of results and performances. I thought tonight was a mixed performance, with that being said, I still feel like we're in a relatively good spot. We're in control. I know Sacramento has a game in hand on us, but just like for us and for other teams, there's no easy game. We're gonna be facing two really good teams coming in. We have to put ourselves in the best position possible. And that really means staying consistent with our performances, that's gonna lend to better results moving forward.

Greg Hurst

RE: Game results and team energy

Frustrating. I think after clinching playoffs last week, it's natural that it takes a little bit of pressure off you, but obviously you want to keep pushing to get as many home playoff games as possible, so it was frustrating to come out and not get three points. We know from last year how important it is to go into the playoffs in a good run of form, so two dropped points, is I think the way we look at it. We need to pick it up next week and make sure that we're not getting too complacent and get after Oakland.

RE: Scoring goals

I think since I came back from injury I feel like I've been able to play better and be able to move more freely and get involved in games more, but the goals were kind of, I felt like they were drying up for me a little bit so it feels good to get back in the score sheet and it's always nice to score more than one and lift the team again and get us back up. We just need to make sure we're doing better to stay ahead and kill games off.

RE: Team momentum

I think the little spell we went through in mid-season kind of gave us a kick up the backside a little bit and we knew that going into the year we had to make a real push for it and show that we're still the New Mexico that wants to compete and win. I think the performances have been there, we were beating ourselves at times, I don't think teams are beating us, so that's a positive because that's something we can fix. There's definitely confidence there and we're looking forward to getting back on it next week and making a real run.

Kipp Keller

RE: Scoring his first professional goal

It was nice. To be honest with you, I do a lot of visualization and meditation ... I did some meditation work and visualization before this (game) and I pictured it and saw it, and I was like, all right, this is going to go. I don't know who it went off of, but it's going to bounce right to me. And it happened.

RE: Second half substitutions and conceding goals

I think it was a small error, to be honest with you. I think it was lapses in focus and concentration and energy. I think that was the biggest part, in my opinion, in what the difference was. I wanted to come in and try my best to bring that energy and get the guys going and try to get us back in it.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 11, 2025


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