On Sunday, Oct. 19, New Mexico United faced off against the Oakland Roots at Isotopes Park, with a nail-biter of a match ending in a 3-3 draw. The most notable highlight from Sunday’s matchup included a solid defensive performance from goalkeeper Kris Shakes, who tallied a total of five saves.
The Black and Yellow struck first and early, with forward Mukwelle Akale sneaking one past at the 12-minute mark. Oakland would retaliate a mere three minutes later, with forward Peter Wilson scoring, knotting it up at 1-1. At the 19-minute mark, United would regain the lead, aided by an own-goal from Roots defender Neveal Hackshaw, followed by a missile of a penalty kick from defender Talen Maples.
However, United’s defense would begin to show its cracks after Wilson scored his second goal of the match. The half would conclude with a 3-2 score. After nearly 90 minutes of back and forth between New Mexico and Oakland, Roots defender Gagi Margvelashvili found the top right corner of the net to save his team from a loss and snatch a draw.
When asked about United’s showing, Head Coach Dennis Sanchez referred to it as a “naive performance.”
“I think that at this point in the season, there’s a lot of clarity on the things that we need to do week in and week out, to be successful as a team, your fear as a coach, especially when you clinch a playoff position, you take your foot off the gas and you start to take things for granted. But the reality is it’s a difficult leak,” Sanchez said
New Mexico United plays their next home game on Friday against the runner-up 2024 USL Champions, Rhode Island FC. This will be their final regular-season game before the playoffs.
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
