The New Mexico United’s 22nd match of the season took place on Aug. 12 against the current second ranked team in the Western Division – San Antonio FC.
The game went long with minute before half time and an extra seven minutes additional by the end – still not enough time for the boys in black and gold. United lost to San Antonio 3 - 0; all three goals were made in the first half, the first made within the two minute mark.
It was the worst way a team could start out, United Coach Eric Quill said. #18 Rida Zouhir of San Antonio secured a goal off of a corner kick two minutes into the match. This changed the atmosphere of the game, and allowed San Antonio to take control and start with a blistering.
The game continued with San Antonio dominating the ball for most of the first half-hour, and in the 29th minute, their second goal was secured off a free kick. United did not give up as the midfielders and forwards were scrappy, playing well against the direct playstyle of San Antonio.
To make it worse, just 10 minutes after the second goal, San Antonio’s #19 Christian Perano scored the third goal.
Both teams subbed in different players and United seemed to get back into their form to start, particularly #10 – Amando Moreno. Moreno was one of the most active players on the field, keeping up the pressure to score while goalie Alex Tambakis began to put a fire in his belly and made sure every shot on the goal San Antonio had was either saved or deflected.
“I’m really proud of the way we started off the second-half of the game. We needed to get that first goal for us – something to put life back into the team and at least try to make up the three nil loss,” Quill said at the post-game conference.
Even with Tambakis and Moreno playing their best, it wasn’t enough against San Antonio’s un-movable defense. The second-half displayed the team’s ability to maintain control of the game in a passive way, not over-exerting their options for scoring while never letting United score a single goal.
“San Antonio has a very distinct playstyle – one that’s a mentality challenge, really. I had hoped we would be able to stand up to the challenge, but it just wasn’t one of those nights,” Quill said.
During the second-half, San Antonio had two injuries – setting off the seven minutes of extra time. This also caused United to receive their one and only red card of the game, prompting a free kick that did not change the score. Quill and defender Josh Suggs wanted to personally apologize to the fans for the performance, but urged that this was not the end.
“It’s hard having three losses in a row, and then what happened tonight. But we just have to move on as fast as we can, focus on training and be ready for San Diego,” Suggs said.
It was a rough game for United fans to watch. Despite the outcome, United played well against San Antonio, who is known for their overwhelming ability.
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New Mexico United will be playing their next game in San Diego on Saturday, Aug. 19.
BillyJack Davidson is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @BillyJackDL.
BillyJack Davidson is a beat reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached on Twitter @BillyJackDL
