Match day: New Mexico United at Birmingham Legion FC

Nairavoice | Jul 24, 2026 2h ago 142 0 7 min read

Match day: New Mexico United at Birmingham Legion FC

Friday

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Dunnavant Valley Fields, Shelby County, Alabama

TV/streaming/radio: New Mexico 50/ESPN+/FM-101.7

Records: New Mexico United (7-4-3), Birmingham Legion FC (2-5-8)

The series: Legion leads 2-0-1.

New Mexico United wraps up its three-match road trip in Alabama on Friday. But the matchup at Birmingham Legion FC comes with a twist.

Here are some things to note:

Free kicks

TAKE YOUR FRIENDS AND PLAY IN THE PARK: Well, that’s where United is going to be playing — Dunnavant Valley Fields in Shelby County, Alabama. It’s just outside Birmingham.

Legion usually plays at the city-owned Protective Stadium, which is more known for hosting UAB home football games and the Alabama high school state football championships, but the facility is unavailable. It’s currently being set up for a joint Usher and Chris Brown concert next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Is playing in a non-stadium gimmicky? Yes, it is. Especially for a pair of professional teams. But there are certainly worse places in Alabama to play.

Dunnavant Valley Fields are on a 50-acre site and have hosted the United States Women’s National Team as well as teams from England, Brazil and Australia in the past. The countries used the fields as a practice facility during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Plus, Birmingham might have more of a home atmosphere playing at Dunnavant Valley. Protective Stadium has a capacity for a little more than 47,000. Legion averages a little more than a reported 3,600 fans per match, 18th in the 23-club USL Championship.

United, by contrast, is third with a reported average attendance of 9,214.

CROSSING THE MIDWAY POINT: New Mexico had six matches against Eastern Conference opponents when its schedule was announced. Friday will represent the fourth of such contests.

United hasn’t fared too badly against the opposing conference. The club earned four points over those first three matches, all of which were low scoring — a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 20, a 1-0 win against Charleston Battery on May 23 and a 0-0 draw at Hartford Athletic on May 30.

New Mexico, which has a nine-match unbeaten streak going, would like to pick up a few more points. United is third in the Western Conference standings with 24 points, one fewer than second-place San Antonio FC and four behind first-place Orange County SC.

There is still the matter of the other two matches against Eastern Conference opponents for a later date. United travels to Loudoun United FC in Virginia on Aug. 22 and hosts Indy Eleven on Sept. 11.

A TAD BETTER: It’s literally just a smidge for Birmingham.

Legion, which is coming off a bye, beat FC Tulsa 3-1 on July 11. It marked the first time in more than a month the club picked up a win, a span of six matches. It beat USL League One side Corpus Cristi FC on June 9 in a USL Cup match.

More importantly — if that’s a thing here — the victory against Tulsa helped Legion get out of its tie for fewest wins in the Championship. Now, it has the second fewest all to itself. Two is better than one. Progress, right?

Loudoun United and Sporting Jax have the lowest regular-season win total in the league. Each one for those curious.

Birmingham is also among the league leaders in draws. Its eight are second behind Loudoun’s nine.

MORE, MORE, MORE: Because why not?

United has scored multiple goals in four straight matches across all competitions — the regular season, USL CUp and its international friendly. It’s a season high.

Should New Mexico score two or more goals on Friday, that would obviously push that number to five consecutive matches.

The club has only done that six times previously in non-playoff games since its first season in 2019: April 26-May 29, 2019; July 24-Aug. 17, 2019; July 11-Aug. 8, 2020; May 14-June 15, 2022; April 26-May 17, 2023; and May 4-25, 2024.

The April to May dates in 2019 remain a club record. United scored multiple goals in seven straight matches during that run.

Key matchup

United defender Niko Hämäläinen vs. Legion midfielder Peter-Lee Vassell

Yes, United has found itself scoring a few more goals of late. But that aspect of the club is catching up to its defense. New Mexico has only conceded multiple goals once since the 4-0 drubbing it was handed by Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in USL Cup play on May 16 — the 3-3 draw to Liga MX’s Atlante FC in that international friendly on July 1. Goalkeeper Kris Shakes has played well in net, but a strong back line has helped with that as well. Hämäläinen leads United with 51 clearances and 14 blocks in the regular season. Vassell, meanwhile, scored two goals of the season in that win over Tulsa. He has notched four scores in Birmingham’s last five matches.

Player of the match

United forward Niall Reid-Stephen

It will be interesting to see how much — or if at all — Reid-Stephen plays on Friday. The forward checked in during the second minute of stoppage time in last Wednesday’s 4-1 win at Lexington SC. It was his first appearance since injuring a knee on June 13 against Orange County SC. He currently sits second on United with three regular-season goals.

By the numbers

1: United’s new placement in the USL Championship power rankings, bumping Charleston. New Mexico was at No. 3 last week.

2: Joseph Melto became the second-youngest United player to record a goal and assist in a USL Championship match. He did so at 20 years and 259 days. The record is held by Cristian Nava (18 years, 265 days).

10: Legion’s place in the 13-club Eastern Conference table. It has 14 points.

1,300: The number of miles United’s trip to Alabama is one way.

David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X @DavidGlovach.