Splash! Maples, United net 3-0 win in rainy Orange County

New Mexico United players may not have been singing in the rain Saturday night, but they probably felt like it.

Talen Maples scored twice on penalty kicks, Luiz Fernando added a clinching goal late and United rolled to a 3-0 road victory over Orange County SC in rainy Irvine, California.

New Mexico (6-3-0) led 1-0 after a back-and-forth first half and dominated the final 45 minutes to snap a two-game losing streak. Both teams had occasional issues with a soggy field, but United was sharp and aggressive throughout the second half.

“Good football weather,” NMU coach Dennis Sanchez said in a postgame phone interview. “The field was really slick, so that was a little bit challenging for the guys, but the rain wasn’t too bad and it was a cool night. It always feels good to win, too. Good collective team effort.”

NMU got a strong performance from goalkeeper Kris Shakes, playing in place of Alex Tambakis who received a red card in last week’s 2-1 loss to Phoenix. Shakes made five saves, including a pair on point-blank shots, to post United’s fifth clean sheet of the season.

Shakes was particularly good in the first half, when Orange County forced some New Mexico turnovers and created transition chances with vertical passes over the top.

“I’m happy for Shakes,” Sanchez said. “The reality is that teams need two good goalkeepers. He stepped in for Tambi tonight and played well.”

If United’s players left the pitch happy, such was not the case for OC defender Koa Santos, who had a match to forget. Santos was twice called for handballs in the penalty area, and later turned the ball over in front of the net to set up New Mexico’s third goal.

Santos’ first handball was clear as he batted Chris Gloster’s centering pass over the end line in the 27th minute. Maples stepped up and zipped the resulting penalty kick into the right corner, freezing OC goalkeeper Colin Shutler.

United led 1-0 at halftime despite some close calls by the home team. Shakes punched away a hard shot by OC’s Cameron Dunbar and later was knocked down when Lyam MacKinnon blasted a one-on-one shot that hit him in the face — but stayed out of the net.

“Credit Orange County, they were aggressive with the press and gave us some problems,” Sanchez said of the first half. “We made some adjustments at halftime that helped and I thought we did a better job in the second half.”

Maples struck again in the 53rd minute after a Zico Bailey shot appeared to bound off Santos’ arm. Maples completed his first career two-goal game by switching up and firing the ball to the left corner on his second penalty kick.

United had opportunities to score again in the ensuing minutes but Shutler made stops on shots by Mukwelle Akale and Thomas Amang. He couldn’t stop Fernando from finding the net in the 79th minute, however, as the NMU forward intercepted a backward pass from Santos and chipped the ball in from close range.

United finished with a 14-12 shot advantage after being outshot 7-5 in the first half. The visitors finished with 56% of possession and allowed just one shot on goal in the second half.

“Goals always build confidence,” Sanchez said, after NMU equaled its season high with three tallies. “But I thought that was a really strong defensive effort and our defense helped set up our offense. Overall, it’s three points on the road. That’s what I feel best about.”