New Mexico United Dominate at Home, Climb to Third in the Western Conference
USL New Mexico United

New Mexico United Dominate at Home, Climb to Third in the Western Conference

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


Albuquerque, NM - New Mexico United (9-9-3, 33 pts) continued their late-season surge on Saturday night with a resounding 4-0 victory at home, marking their second consecutive win and propelling them into third place in the USL Championship's Western Conference. A crowd of 7,347 fans at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park witnessed one of the club's most complete performances of the season.

From the opening whistle, United set the tone. In just the 5th minute, midfielder Zico Bailey stunned the stadium with a spectacular 55-yard strike from midfield, catching the goalkeeper off his line to open the scoring in dramatic fashion.

United doubled their lead in the 20th minute as Chris Gloster calmly finished a rebound inside the box.

The momentum continued into the second half. In the 70th minute, Greg Hurst rose high to meet a pinpoint corner from Dayonn Harris, heading home United's third goal of the night.

The dominant performance was sealed in stoppage time when Valentin Noël broke free on a counterattack and slotted the ball past the keeper, capping off the 4-0 rout and sending the home crowd into celebration.

With back-to-back wins and five goals scored across two matches, New Mexico United are finding form at the perfect time as the playoff race heats up. The victory not only lifts the Black & Yellow into the top three but also builds critical momentum ahead of their final stretch of the regular season.

Momentum Builds in the West as United Secures Crucial Win

United's latest victory delivered more than just three points- it sent a strong message to the rest of the Western Conference. With their trademark aggressive style, the Black & Yellow continue to surge forward in their late-season campaign.

Standout Performer: Alex Tambakis

Goalkeeper Alex Tambakis played a pivotal role in the win, setting the tone early with critical saves that shut down Detroit City's scoring opportunities. He recorded five saves on the night and earned yet another clean sheet- his 58th career shutout- tying the all-time league record. The performance further cements Tambakis's status as one of the most dependable goalkeepers in league history and reinforces the Greek Goats' growing legacy between the posts.

Stats Summary: NM/DET

Shots: 6/9

Shots on Goal: 3/2

Saves: 0/5

Corners Won: 6/1

Fouls: 12/17

Misconduct Summary:

NM: Alex Tambakis (Yellow Card - 21')

DET: Ryan Williams (Yellow Card - 53')

NM: Dayonn Harris (Yellow Card - 74')

NM: Marlon Vargas (Yellow Card - 74')

DET: Michael Bryant (Yellow Card - 90')

Up Next:

New Mexico United continues their home stretch on Saturday, September 13th to host FC Tulsa. The match is set for 7:00 PM MT and will feature the club's annual Meow Wolf Night, promising a vibrant and immersive game day experience for fans.

Tickets are available NOW

QUOTE SHEET

Head Coach Dennis Sanchez

RE: Securing the win at home

It felt great, but honestly I hate losing more, so I think for me it's just like ... you can see what confidence can do. You come out of the game in San Antonio, we know it wasn't pretty, but the confidence that we gained from that one, and look, at the end of the day you have to have guys make plays. And Tammy came up big in the first 30 seconds of the games, you have Zico who's making plays, you got all the guys coming off the bench to make plays, it was just for me a complete performance, and I'm really proud of them and happy for them. Now it's about, again, rest and recovery and getting ready for Saturday.

RE: Taking shots and taking chances

I think that goals change games. I think the timing of the second goal was important. We knew coming in at halftime that the third goal was going to be the knife in the coffin. And maybe it took us a little bit longer to find it ... but it's also important, too, to recognize who's scoring. You know, you get Greg on the score sheet again. You get Val on the scoresheet again. So a great, great job from everybody, again having a little bit more control than maybe what we've seen over the last couple of months, which is something that we want to go back to that's outside our core. And then a shutout, you know that that's most important as well.

RE: Climbing to third in the standing and playing FC TULSA on Saturday

It's always about us. I think that if you look at our last match against them, I thought that we were the better team in the first half and then we had an eight minute spell in the second half that we kind of fell apart. So hopefully we can draw confidence from that, but also respect that they have players that can change the game. So we'll be ready.

Dayonn Harris

RE: Securing the 3pts at home

It's been a long time coming. We were good enough to get that win in San Antonio, but we need the consecutive wins, right? So it was good to get the win today, build on that confidence.

RE: On the teams collective performance

It feels good, especially to have that in front of the fans, we owe it to them and they're out here day in and day out supporting us.

RE: Climbing the standings

We had a good group of guys ... We're not worried about that ... We're only worried about that next game. We're not worried about five games in advance. We just worry about the present and that next game. It's good to get that win today. We're gonna celebrate a little bit and then get back to it tomorrow.

Alex Tambakis

RE: Shutout + Win

It was so rewarding. I really wanted to do well, you know, for the team and for myself. Getting back there with the guys, it's an amazing feeling and what an amazing thing to do,to win and have a clean seat as well.

RE: Tying the record

I mean, that's what I wanted. I was actually thinking about it the last few minutes. I'm like, there's only a couple of minutes left. You know, I've got to keep it. But now I keep going, you know, that it doesn't matter. Keep going. More clean seeds, more wins. That's what we need.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 11, 2025


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