READY FOR THE SECOND HALF?

Sports

Matchday: Oakland Roots SC at New Mexico United

Nairavoice | Jul 4, 2026 1h ago 75 0 6 min read

Matchday: Oakland Roots SC at New Mexico United

Saturday

When: 7:25 p.m.

Where: Isotopes Park, 1601 Avenida Cesar Chavez SE

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

Records: Oakland Roots SC (5-3-6), New Mexico United (5-4-3)

The series: Oakland leads 4-3-3.

And we’re back. Well, New Mexico United is anyway.

After a two-week break, the club returns to USL Championship play on Saturday against Oakland Roots SC. And that means things are only going to get more interesting from here on out.

Here are some things to note:

Free kicks

READY FOR THE SECOND HALF? The USL Championship’s mental health break is officially over. And that means so is the first half of the season.

After a slow start, United has positioned itself fairly well in the 12-team Western Conference table. The club sits fifth with 18 points. As a reminder, the top eight teams make the playoffs with the top four seeds hosting a first-round game.

Now, there’s still plenty of matches left on the slate (United has 18 regular-season games to go including Saturday) and a lot can happen between now and the end of the regular season. But it should provide both clubs and fans with plenty of intrigue along the way.

Orange County SC leads the West with 26 points. San Antonio FC is second with 24. After that, the standings tighten up, with nine clubs separated by six points or less.

Roots are third with 21 points, followed by FC Tulsa (19), United, Phoenix Rising FC (17) and El Paso Locomotive FC, Sacramento Republic FC and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (16 each). Las Vegas Lights FC and Lexington SC both have 15, while Monterey Bay FC is at 14.

HE’S CERTAINLY NOT A VOLLEYBALL: “Wilson!”

Chances are you know the scene: a volleyball with a red handprint drifts out to sea only for Tom Hanks’ character in “Cast Away” to call out and look on in distress.

A bad pun? Almost certainly. But just go with it. After all, Oakland forward Peter Wilson is far from a useless inanimate object. He’s caused quite a bit of consternation among opponents this season.

Wilson is tied for second in the USL Championship with nine regular-season goals, two behind Detroit City FC’s Darren Smith, in 12 appearances. Although, all of Wilson’s scores have come in his last seven outings. The production comes a season after he secured the league’s Golden Boot award given to the top scorer. He had 18 goals in 2025.

It might be worth noting Wilson did not score against United in the clubs’ first meeting of the season, a 2-1 Roots victory, on March 14.

ONE (SMALL) STREAK HAS TO END: New Mexico enters Saturday’s contest on a six-match unbeaten streak if you include the regular season, USL Cup and its international friendly. Oakland hasn’t suffered a defeat in its last four.

So, naturally, that has to change for one. But for now, there’s no doubt readers will want to see which clubs each team faced during that stretch.

After a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 20, United beat Charleston Battery (1-0), tied Hartford Athletic (0-0), topped Phoenix (4-0 in the USL Cup), drew with Orange County (1-1), beat Sacramento (1-0) and tied with Liga MX’s Atlante FC (3-3 in that international friendly on Wednesday).

Following a 1-0 defeat to Colorado Springs on May 30, Roots have bested Las Vegas (2-0 in the USL Cup), drew with Miami FC (0-0) and Birmingham Legion FC (1-1), and beaten Phoenix (4-3).

ENJOY THE HOME COOKING: Might as well if you’re United. It will be a while before the club plays another match at Isotopes Park.

After Saturday’s match — which will feature the club’s red, white and blue kits — New Mexico won’t play at home again until Aug. 1.

United plays at El Paso on July 11 in both clubs’ final USL Cup group stage game before traveling to Lexington on July 15 and Birmingham on July 24. But even after hosting Colorado Springs to start August, New Mexico will play two of its next three on the road.

For what it’s worth, United is 2-3-1 away from Isotopes Park in the regular season, and it’s likely this stretch will play a role in determining what any kind of playoff seeding looks like.

Key matchup

United forward Greg Hurst vs. Roots goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel

It’s an obvious choice, but might as well go with it. Hurst came through with a goal in United’s international friendly — a 3-3 draw with Atlante FC. It was his first score in any competition since his brace against El Paso on May 6. And any kind of boost could be important with fellow forward Niall Reid-Stephen having nursed a knee injury through the break. Spiegel, meanwhile, has given up a few goals — 14 on 44 shots.

Player of the match

United forward Cristian Nava

The Albuquerque High alum has filled in Reid-Stephen’s spot in the lineup and has performed rather well both with his ball movement and pesky defense. He played 72 minutes in the win over Sacramento and then provided an assist against Atlante.

By the numbers

6: The number of assists Roots forward Wolfgang Prentice has recorded in the regular season. It leads the USL Championship. He also has five goals.

37: How many saves United keeper Kris Shakes has logged in the regular season. It’s tied for fourth in the league.

3: The number of consecutive USL Championship matches United will have played against a club from California.

1-1-3: Roots’ record in Albuquerque.

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