NM United looks to short out high-powered Charleston Battery

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

High-powered attack versus lockdown defense: that's what jumps off the stat sheets and makes Saturday's New Mexico United-Charleston Battery showdown one to watch.

Charleston (11-3-2) brings the USL Championship's highest scoring offense into Isotopes Park, leading the league in scoring (33 goals), shots (221) and conversion rate. The Battery is second in the USLC Eastern Conference standings, two points behind Louisville for the league's best mark.

United (8-5-1) has played two fewer games than Charleston and has scored 12 fewer goals and attempted 76 fewer shots. But New Mexico ranks among the leaders in fewest goals conceded (15), clean sheets (6) and has surrendered just five goals in six USLC matches at home.

Asked about the prospect of trying to slow down Charleston's prolific attack, NMU defender Talen Maples smiled.

"We're excited," he said. "Going against a top opponent with really good forwards is exciting. We've got some of the best one-on-one defenders in the the league, so this is a good challenge for us. We're definitely looking forward to it."

United has four 1-0 victories to its credit this season and undoubtedly would take another one Saturday. But coach Dennis Sanchez and his players would much prefer to get their own attack firing on all cylinders after an ineffective outing in last week's 1-0 loss in Pittsburgh. The Riverhounds outshot NMU 18-6.

Statistical trends don't always hold up, of course. United has scored as many as four goals in a match (versus San Antonio), while Charleston's last two games ended with 0-0 and 1-0 scores.

Still, Sanchez was quick to credit Charleston's dynamic attack while remaining confident that United's offense can hold its own against a top Eastern contender.

"There's no doubt Charleston has some good attacking pieces," Sanchez said, "but every team has strengths and every team has weaknesses. We have some of the top numbers in the attacking metrics we look at, as well. We just have to make our opportunities count."

United also wants to capitalize on what will be its last home appearance for more than a month. After Saturday's match, NMU enters a midseason scheduling lull with just three games in a span of 33 days — all of them on the road. NMU's next home match comes Aug. 16 against Las Vegas Lights.

PASSING FANCY: Charleston and New Mexico rank 1-2 in the USLC, respectively, in total passes and both prefer to dominate possession. But can a team have too many passes in a match? The numbers say yes.

United attempted 654 passes against Pittsburgh, the most by any team in a league match this season, but managed just six shots. According to uslchampionship.com, teams attempting 600-plus passes in a game have just a 29.9% winning percentage since 2017.

"We have to be more aggressive," United forward Luiz Fernando said. "We had a lot of possession (70%) against Pittsburgh but we didn't put enough pressure on them. When we have the ball, we have to be more efficient."

NET OPPORTUNITIES: NMU goalkeeper Alex Tambakis has a shot at two career milestones Saturday. Tambakis needs one clean sheet to equal since-retired Evan Newton's career record of 58 shutouts. Tambakis also needs two saves to become the first to reach 650 in USL Championship history.

CAMO, ANYONE? United will honor U.S. service members with Saturday's Soccer Salutes Service promotion. NMU players will sport their alternate camouflage uniforms for the first time at home. United got double production from the alternate kits by wearing them for last week's Fourth of July match in Pittsburgh. The host Riverhounds agreed to wear white for the match, allowing United to get back-to-back appearances in their camo uniforms, NMU president Ron Patel said.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Charleston (11-3-2): If you like firepower, the Battery has quite the loaded arsenal. Forward Cal Jennings shares the ULS Championship lead with 11 goals this season, while forward Matt Myers has 8 — twice as many as anyone on New Mexico's roster. Charleston features the league's most potent attack, leading the USLC in goals scored (33), shots (221) and passes (7.596), though it has played two more league matches than United. Even with the scoring prowess of Jennings and Myers, midfielder Juan Torres has been the straw that stirs Battery's prolific attack. Torres has scored 4 goals and leads the USLC individually with 7 assists, 50 shots, 98 crosses and 41 chances created. Charleston has heavy possession numbers and leads the USLC with 7,596 passes (United has 7,328) led by midfielder Aaron Molley (1,098 passes).

New Mexico (8-5-1): United has been spinning its wheels a bit recently, going 2-2-1 in its last five USLC matches. That span includes a 4-2 win over San Antonio but only four goals combined in NMU's other four games. Leading scorer and forward Luiz Fernando (4 goals, 18 shots) pointed out United's lack of aggressiveness on the attacking third in recent contests. Despite ranking among the league leaders in passing, accuracy and possession numbers, NMU ranks 16th in total shots (145) and 15th in shots on target (57). Forwards Mukwelle Akale and Marlon Vargas have been top playmakers, combination for 4 goals, 7 assists and 47 chances created, while McKinze Gaines has 2 goals and 3 assist. NMU goalkeeper Alex Tambakis ranks among the leaders with 34 saves and 5 clean sheets but his last shutout came vs. Oakland on May 24.

GOALKICKS: Charleston's roster includes a familiar face in midfielder in Houssou Landry, who played for New Mexico last season. Landry — who went by Nannan Houssou while playing for United — has 3 goals, 7 shots and a team-high 8 yellow cards so far this season ... United goes into this weekend leading the USLC in home attendance this season (9,845 per match). Charleston is 18th in home attendance at 3,743 per home game.