Home cooking? United hopes to spark playoff run at the Lab

Wednesday, 7 p.m., Radio: 101.7 FM; TV: KASY (English), Estrella (Spanish); Streaming: KRQE.com, ESPN+

A mere six months into the 2025 USL Championship season, New Mexico United is officially entering the home stretch.

With nine games left in the regular season, NMU finds itself in the middle of a jumbled Western Conference playoff race that features seven teams within four points of one another — six of them currently above the playoff line.

How messy is it, you ask?

Well, New Mexico goes into Wednesday's home match against Detroit City FC as part of a four-team tie for fifth place. A win over Detroit could push NMU into third place by evening's end.

On the other hand, should United fail to win Wednesday and Saturday against first-place FC Tulsa, coach Dennis Sanchez's team could find itself below the playoff line come Sunday morning.

"Yeah, it's tight," Sanchez said. "We're in a good position with six of our last nine games at home, but we can't look ahead even to Saturday. We're fully focused on Detroit and trying to build on our last performance. Every game is really important at this point."

New Mexico (9-9-3, 30 points) took a huge step forward with Saturday's 1-0 road win over San Antonio FC. The victory pulled NMU even with San Antonio, Phoenix and Colorado Springs in the standings and snapped a seven-game winless stretch that lasted more than two months.

It was something of a get-well performance both for United and for forwards Luther Archiméde and Dayonn Harris, who teamed up for the game's only goal. Both players missed most of 2024 after undergoing ACL surgery.

"That moment (and) that win were really special," said Archiméde, who scored on an assist from Harris in the 67th minute. "It felt good because I know I can affect the game and affect this team. This is the time we're trying to put things together and I want to be part of it, helping to win a championship."

Archiméde and Harris bring a welcome dimension of verticality to a United attack that's struggled to create consistent scoring chances of late. It came in handy in an intensely physical game against San Antonio, and Sanchez hopes to see more quick-strike opportunities for his team down the stretch.

"As a coach, you want variety," Sanchez said, "and I feel like Dayonn and Luther complement each other very well. When we get them working together with (forward Greg Hurst), it brings a different dynamic and makes us more dangerous."

Detroit City features a dangerous front line of its own, paced by 10-goal scorer Darren Smith, who has been in top form of late. Detroit is unbeaten (3-0-2) in its last five games with Smith posting three goals and an assist during that span.

Despite Smith's impressive numbers, Sanchez sees Detroit as a balanced club.

"They represent their city," he said, "very blue collar with no real superstars but a lot of veteran players who work hard and know their roles. They do have a very dynamic front three but they're also willing to grind. We're expecting a very hard game."

United, which has played 12 of its first 21 games on the road, is hoping to fill up on home cooking over the season's final stretch. New Mexico has the advantages of high altitude and a raucous home crowd that leads the USLC in average attendance, but NMU is just 0-2-1 in its last three league matches at Isotopes Park.

"Playing at the Lab helps us tremendously," Harris said. "It's a great environment, but we have to make sure we don't take it for granted. We have to come out and give the fans something to get excited about. We have to show what we can do."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Detroit (8-7-8): Much like New Mexico, Detroit City has been up and down this season, but with the postseason looming Le Rouge has been hitting its stride. Detroit is 3-0-2 in its last five matches and has climbed into a tie for fifth place in the USLC Eastern Conference standings. The front line has played a key role, led by forward Darren Smith, who ranks sixth in the league in goals scored (10) and has netted three in his last four games. Smith, Alasanne Diouf (4 goals), Jeciel Cedeno (3 goals) and Kobe Hernandez-Foster have combined for 101 of Detroit's 241 shots and 82 chances created. The club has split its goaltending duties between Carlos Herrera and Carlos Saldana. Each has 21 saves and each has four clean sheets. Defender Michael Bryant leads the club in minutes (1,930), interceptions (29), duels won (133) and clearances (80).

New Mexico (9-9-3): The chemistry experiment continued for United in Saturday's 1-0 win at San Antonio. Two players (Dayonn Harris and newcomer Carlos Moguel Jr.) made their first starts of the season as coach Dennis Sanchez looks for consistency down the season's home stretch. Recent additions Valentin Noel and Kipp Keller also started and played key roles, with newcomer Luther Archiméde coming off the bench to score the decisive goal. The lineup transformation has been significant as NMU's statistical leaders in numerous categories (Alex Tambakis, Mukwelle Akale, Talen Maples and Marlon Vargas and Ousman Jabang among them) were not in Saturday's starting lineup, but United found a spark and snapped a seven-game winless streak. Keller and Kalen Ryden were particularly solid anchoring NMU's back line.

GOAL KICKS: New Mexico goes into Wednesday's match tied with Phoenix, San Antonio and Colorado Springs for fifth place in the USLC Western Conference standings, but NMU may hold the most favorable spot in that logjam. United has played 21 games while San Antonio and Colorado Springs have played 22 apiece and Phoenix has played 23. Six of United's final nine matches are at home, although they still must face Colorado Springs and Phoenix on the road. Starting with Saturday's home match versus FC Tulsa, NMU will play seven straight against Western Conference foes.