New Mexico United took on Rhode Island FC at Isotopes Park, with the black and yellow emerging victorious with a 2-1 score in their final matchup of the regular season on Friday, Oct. 24. United goalkeeper Kris Shakes acted as a brick wall against Rhode Island’s unrelenting offense, tallying a total of five saves.
Along with celebrating their “Black-Out Night,” United also honored the career of forward Daniel Bruce, who recently announced his retirement from professional soccer due to injuries, having been a member of United since its inaugural season in 2019. As a way of toasting the occasion, New Mexico United distributed hundreds of signs to fans, displaying Bruce’s last name, signature and jersey number.
Friday night’s contest began with Bruce walking onto the pitch in crutches, still recovering from ACL and meniscus surgery, before promptly being subbed out and immediately embraced by coaches and teammates, marking an end to a career fans won’t soon forget. After giving Bruce a proper send-off, United got right to work against Rhode Island, with forward Mukwelle Akalle scoring his fourth goal of the season.
For the entire duration of the 25-minute mark, fans held up their Daniel Bruce signs, showing their appreciation to the club’s all-time leader in appearances. At the half, City of Albuquerque Chief Operating Officer Patrick Montoya handed Bruce a plaque officially proclaiming Oct. 25 ‘Daniel Bruce Day’ in the city of Albuquerque.
Rhode Island’s defense was ruthless, drawing yellow-cards on three separate occasions throughout the match, with the first of which coming from Rhode Island forward Albert Dikwa against New Mexico defender Kipp Keller, the second occurring a short time later from Rhode Island midfielder Marc Ybarra against United forward Greg Hurst, and the third given to Rhode Island forward JJ Williams. This pressure from Rhode Island would pay off, with defender Hugo Bacharach drilling a shot into the top left corner of the net shortly after the 37-minute mark.
United seemed to wake up, as the club failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities to score before Rhode Island knotted up the match 1-1. After securing a direct free kick, United defender Talen Maples would come in clutch, giving New Mexico a 2-1 lead and sending fans into an all-out frenzy.
New Mexico will face San Antonio FC at home on Saturday, Nov. 1, for a playoff match.
John P. Hefti is a freelance reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
