Saturday
When: 6:30 p.m.
Where: Toyota Field, San Antonio, Texas
TV/streaming/radio: New Mexico 50/ESPN+/FM-101.7
Records: New Mexico United (14-7-7), San Antonio FC (9-7-12)
The series: United leads 10-6-1.
The regular season is almost over. But there is still plenty of intrigue remaining. There’s certainly a bit on the line.
For New Mexico United. For San Antonio FC. All of it will make Saturday an interesting watch.
Here are some things to note:
Free kicks
1. EIGHT ISN’T ALWAYS GREAT: San Antonio finds itself in a bit of a predicament. At least when it comes to the possibility of how long its season will go.
The club is eighth in the 12-club Western Conference table with 39 points. The top eight make the playoffs.
The problem? Phoenix Rising FC and Las Vegas Lights FC both have 36 points, and Oakland Roots SC isn’t all that far behind with 35. There are just two regular-season matches left to play.
But there is some good news for San Antonio — if you want to call it that. Phoenix is playing at Orange County SC, which also has 39 points but sits seventh in the West with tiebreakers. Theoretically speaking, a win by either would be helpful to San Antonio’s cause. Only if, of course, San Antonio beats New Mexico.
Then there’s Las Vegas, which hosts Lexington SC, a club that has already locked up a postseason berth. Oakland is at FC Tulsa, which has a playoff spot locked up as well.
2. TWO ISN’T AS GOOD AS ONE: Certainly not when it comes to the Western table.
But United has a chance to regain its place at the top, a spot it lost after a 1-2-3 September.
United currently sits second in the conference with 49 points, one behind El Paso Locomotive FC. El Paso is hosting Sacramento Republic FC, the club third in the standings with 45 points. Locomotive beat Republic 2-1 in their previous meeting on March 28.
Saturday, meanwhile, will mark New Mexico’s third match against San Antonio (more on that below).
A win or draw for United and an El Paso loss would move New Mexico to first place. An El Paso win and a United loss would all but secure the No. 1 seed in the West for Locomotive. But if both New Mexico and El Paso win, lose or draw, then things become a little more interesting.
The two play in the regular-season finale in El Paso on Oct. 24, meaning it could determine which hosts throughout the playoffs and which does not. Sacramento, which closes its regular season against Oakland, however, could still be a factor depending on the above scenarios.
3. THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM, RIGHT? As mentioned before, Saturday will mark the third time United and San Antonio have played this season.
And the first two did not go New Mexico’s way.
There was the 1-0 loss on March 21 in San Antonio thanks in part to Daniel Barbir’s 74th-minute score.
And then there was the 2-1 loss in Albuquerque, which snapped United’s 13-match unbeaten streak against USL competition, on Aug. 29. New Mexico United defender Kipp Keller was awarded an own goal in the seventh minute. United forward Dayonn Harris provided an equalizer in the 46th, only for Nicky Hernandez to give San Antonio back the lead six minutes later.
But the match wasn’t without some controversy, especially from New Mexico’s perspective.
United forward Greg Hurst had a potential equalizer waved off in the 84th minute for being ruled offside. The diverging opinions came whether San Antonio defender Akeem Ward had intentionally headed a Tyler Blackett pass as Hurst ran past San Antonio’s backline. Hurst and United believed Ward had, rendering Hurst onside. The officials, which New Mexico manager Dennis Sanchez relayed to the media afterward, had ruled it was not intentional.
Therefore, no goal and no equalizer. That ugly September followed.
4. HEALTH CHECK: United has remained relatively healthy over the last month in terms of its match-day injury report.
Harris has missed the last five matches with a “lower-body injury.” The forward has logged six goals — four in the regular season — and six assists, which is still a team-high. Sanchez said last week Harris was “on the road to recovery.” Whether Harris suits up for Saturday remains to be seen. He wasn’t all that active during Friday’s training session.
Maliek Howell, meanwhile, also missed last Saturday. Sanchez described that as “precautionary” with the defender dealing with some hamstring tweaks during the latter part of the season. He appeared to be moving fine Friday.
Key matchup
United defender Tyler Blackett vs. San Antonio midfielder Jorge Hernández
Blackett started last week as one of the outside defenders alongside Keller, Chris Gloster and Niko Hämäläinen. Does he get a second straight start? Maybe. Hernández could prove an interesting challenge. The midfielder either leads San Antonio or is tied for the lead in goals (5), assists (7) and chances created (68).
Player of the match
United forward Greg Hurst
An easy choice here. Hurst is one goal away from breaking his tie with Chris Wehan for more goals in United’s record book. Both are at 38. Hurst is also two away from tying his career high of 14 goals in a season set in 2021 when he was with USL League One side Union Omaha.
By the numbers
7: United’s place in the latest USL Championship power rankings. It’s a five-place improvement from last week. San Antonio is 17, the same spot, in the 25-club league.
5: The number of clubs to clinch a playoff spot in the West.
1: The number of postseason berths still available in the East. Miami FC (36 points) and Indy Eleven (34) are fighting for it.
29: The number of goals San Antonio and both scored and conceded in the regular season.
David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X @DavidGlovach.
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