2022 New Mexico United season
# 2022 New Mexico United season

The 2022 New Mexico United season was the fourth season for New Mexico United in the USL Championship, the second-tier professional soccer league in the United States. This article covers the period from November 30, 2021 to the conclusion of the 2022 USL playoff final. The 2022 USL Championship season is set to begin on March 12, with New Mexico United set to play their first competitive game against Las Vegas Lights FC.

## Off-season and pre-season

The club concluded its 2021 season with a 3-1 win over Real Monarchs on October 30. Finishing 5th in the Mountain Division, New Mexico failed to qualify for the USL Championship playoffs. Following the conclusion of the season, Saalih Muhammad's loan spell ended, and he returned to Oakland Roots SC.

Six days later, on November 5 the club announced the departure of inaugural head coach Troy Lesesne after three seasons. His successor, Zach Prince, was announced on November 15, having served as Lesesne's assistant for the past three seasons.

In December, Justin Schmidt and Juan Pablo Guzmán left the club, with the former retiring from playing to join the US Army. December also saw 5 players join the club. Justin Portillo joined from Real Monarchs on December 18, followed by the signing of Haitian youth international Carl Sainté on December 22 from Haitian side Violette AC, and Comorian international Alexis Souahy on December 28 from Louisville City FC. United finished the calendar year by announcing the signings of Tabort Etaka Preston and Neco Brett on December 29 from Hartford Athletic and December 31 from Birmingham Legion FC, respectively.

In January, midfielder Will Seymore joined the club from Finn Harps F.C. On January 8, New Mexico announced the signing of Raddy Ovouka from Ghanaian side Accra Hearts of Oak. Second-choice goalkeeper Philipp Beigl left the club on January 10, moving to El Paso Locomotive. Forward Brian Brown left the club on January 25 in a player transfer with FC Tulsa for Jerome Kiesewetter. Isidro Martinez left the club on January 27, followed the next day by the announcement of the club's 2022 roster, which did not include Will Palmquist, David Najem, Alex Touche, Andrew Tinari, or Devon Sandoval.

## March

On March 1, the club announced the signing of goalkeeper and Albuquerque native Ford Parker from Birmingham Legion. New Mexico United began its competitive season on March 13, winning their home and season opener 2-0 over Las Vegas Lights. The team was unbeaten in their 4 competitive matches in March, beating El Paso Locomotive away on March 19 before consecutive home draws to Orange County SC and Oakland Roots on March 26 and 30, respectively.

## Club roster

    As of April 23, 2022

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Season signed | Previous club | Apps. | Goals |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Alex Tambakis | GK | (1992-12-08) December 8, 1992 (age 30) | 2021 | North Carolina FC | 35 | 0 |
| 12 | Ford Parker | GK | (1996-08-16) August 16, 1996 (age 26) | 2022 | Birmingham Legion FC | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Cody Mizell | GK | (1991-09-30) September 30, 1991 (age 31) | 2022 | New York City FC | 58 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 3 | Austin Yearwood | LB | (1994-08-12) August 12, 1994 (age 28) | 2019 | Richmond Kickers | 73 | 1 |
| 5 | Josh Suggs | LB/CB | (1989-04-24) April 24, 1989 (age 34) | 2019 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 76 | 4 |
| 6 | Alexis Souahy | CB | (1995-01-13) January 13, 1995 (age 28) | 2022 | Louisville City FC | 6 | 0 |
| 15 | Rashid Tetteh | CB | (1995-07-14) July 14, 1995 (age 28) | 2019 | High Point Panthers | 69 | 0 |
| 22 | Kalen Ryden | CB/LB | (1991-01-29) January 29, 1991 (age 32) | 2020 | Real Monarchs | 47 | 2 |
| 26 | Raddy Ovouka | LB | (1999-12-07) December 7, 1999 (age 23) | 2022 | Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. (on loan) | 4 | 1 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 4 | Sam Hamilton | DM/CB | (1995-07-26) July 26, 1995 (age 28) | 2019 | Colorado Rapids | 57 | 2 |
| 11 | Sergio Rivas | AM | (1997-10-03) October 3, 1997 (age 25) | 2021 | Reno 1868 | 35 | 6 |
| 16 | Will Seymore | CM | (1992-02-29) February 29, 1992 (age 31) | 2022 | Finn Harps F.C. | 7 | 0 |
| 18 | Carl Sainté | CM | (2002-08-09) August 9, 2002 (age 20) | 2022 | Violette AC | 4 | 1 |
| 23 | Micheal Azira | CM/DM | (1987-08-22) August 22, 1987 (age 35) | 2021 | Chicago Fire FC | 32 | 1 |
| 25 | Daniel Bruce | RW/RM | (1996-05-13) May 13, 1996 (age 27) | 2019 | UNC Charlotte 49ers | 76 | 5 |
| 33 | Harry Swartz | RB/RM | (1996-03-19) March 19, 1996 (age 27) | 2021 | Hartford Athletic | 19 | 2 |
| 43 | Justin Portillo | CM/DM | (1992-09-09) September 9, 1992 (age 30) | 2022 | Real Monarchs | 8 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 7 | Neco Brett | CF | (1992-03-22) March 22, 1992 (age 31) | 2022 | Birmingham Legion FC | 7 | 4 |
| 9 | Devon Sandoval | CF | (1991-06-16) June 16, 1991 (age 32) | 2019 | Atlanta United 2 | 82 | 25 |
| 10 | Amando Moreno | LW/RW/AM | (1995-09-10) September 10, 1995 (age 27) | 2020 | Chicago Fire | 36 | 11 |
| 14 | Ilija Ilić | CF | (1991-04-26) April 26, 1991 (age 32) | 2021 | Indy Eleven | 25 | 3 |
| 17 | Jerome Kiesewetter | CF | (1993-02-09) February 9, 1993 (age 30) | 2022 | FC Tulsa | 4 | 2 |
| 19 | Tabort Etaka Preston | LW | (1998-06-10) June 10, 1998 (age 25) | 2022 | Hartford Athletic | 8 | 1 |
| 41 | Chris Wehan | AM/CM/LM | (1994-01-29) January 29, 1994 (age 29) | 2021 | Orange County SC | 74 | 29 |
| 45 | Cristian Nava | CF | (2003-09-02) September 2, 2003 (age 19) | 2021 | — | 8 | 0 |

* 1 2 Also played for the club from 2019-2020

### Transfers out

| Pos. | No. | Player | To club | Exit date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| CB | 17 | Justin Schmidt | Retired | December 7, 2021 |
| DM/CM | 8 | Juan Pablo Guzmán | Free agent | December 10, 2021 |
| GK | 27 | Philipp Beigl | El Paso Locomotive FC | January 10, 2022 |
| CF | 99 | Brian Brown | FC Tulsa | January 25, 2022 |
| DM/CM | 7 | Isidro Martinez | Released | January 27, 2022 |
| GK | 12 | Will Palmquist | Free agent | January 28, 2022 |
| RB/RM/LB | 6 | David Najem | Free agent | January 28, 2022 |
| CB | 16 | Alex Touche | Free agent | January 28, 2022 |
| CM | 20 | Andrew Tinari | Free agent | January 28, 2022 |
| CF | 9 | Devon Sandoval | Free agent | January 28, 2022 |
| CF | 14 | Ilija Ilić | released | July 18, 2022 |

* ↑ Free transfer
* ↑ Later signed with RGV Toros
* 1 2 3 4 Player did not appear in the club's 2022 roster.
* ↑ Player later signed with Union Omaha

### Transfers in

| Pos. | Player | From club | Date |
| - | - | - | - |
| CM/DM | Justin Portillo | Real Monarchs | December 18, 2021 |
| CM | Carl Sainté | Violette AC | December 22, 2021 |
| CB | Alexis Souahy | Louisville City FC | December 28, 2021 |
| LW | Tabort Etaka Preston | Hartford Athletic | December 29, 2021 |
| CF | Neco Brett | Birmingham Legion FC | December 31, 2021 |
| CM | Will Seymore | Finn Harps F.C. | January 2, 2022 |
| CF | Jerome Kiesewetter | FC Tulsa | January 25, 2022 |
| GK | Ford Parker | Birmingham Legion FC | March 1, 2022 |
| CF | Devon Sandoval | Free Agent | May 19, 2022 |
| CF | Romario Williams | Al-Qadsia | July 14, 2022 |
| FWD | Kevaughn Frater | Hapoel Nof HaGalil F.C. | August 8, 2022 |

* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Free transfer

**Loans in**

| Pos. | Player | From club | Date | Until | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| LB | Raddy Ovouka | Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. | January 8, 2022 | End of season | |
| GK | Cody Mizell | New York City FC | April 15, 2022 | April 24, 2022 | |

* ↑ Player was loaned in for a indeterminate amount of time as an emergency goalkeeper loan

## Competitions

### Friendlies

In January, New Mexico United announced a series of three pre-season friendly matches in San Diego in February against San Diego Loyal SC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Orange County SC. Followed by a friendly in El Paso against El Paso Locomotive, before finishing up the pre-season schedule at home versus USL League 1 expansion side Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC at United's home training facility.

### USL Championship

On December 21, the USL announced the competition format for the 2022 season. New Mexico United was placed into a 13-team Western Conference, and will play 34 games in the regular season; a double round robin against conference opponents with an additional 10 games against various opponents from around the league. New Mexico United and the USL announced the full schedule on January 13.

**Conference table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | San Antonio FC (C, X) | 34 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 54 | 26 | +28 | 77 | Qualification for the Conference Semifinals |
| 2 | San Diego Loyal SC | 34 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 68 | 55 | +13 | 60 | Playoffs |
| 3 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 34 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 55 | Playoffs |
| 4 | Sacramento Republic | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 48 | 34 | +14 | 53 | Playoffs |
| 5 | New Mexico United | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 51 | Playoffs |
| 6 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 49 | Playoffs |
| 7 | Oakland Roots SC | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 46 | Playoffs |
| 8 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 34 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 46 | |
| 9 | Las Vegas Lights FC | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 45 | |
| 10 | Phoenix Rising FC | 34 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 42 | |
| 11 | LA Galaxy II | 34 | 11 | 16 | 7 | 53 | 63 | −10 | 40 | |
| 12 | Monterey Bay FC | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 42 | 59 | −17 | 40 | |
| 13 | Orange County SC | 34 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 49 | 59 | −10 | 34 | |

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Last updated: January 11, 2021. Source:

**Results by matchday**

Position in the Western Conference :

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Stadium | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | D | D | L | L | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Position | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

* ↑ Game date is not yet confirmed.

**Matches**

Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed

source:

### U.S. Open Cup

New Mexico United will enter the U.S. Open Cup in the Second Round, to be played between April 5 and April 7. The Second Round draw took place on February 11, 2022, where it was announced that United would face the winner of the opening round match between Park City Red Wolves SC and Las Vegas Legends. After defeating the Park City Red Wolves in the first round, Las Vegas Legends were defeated by United in the second. For the third round, New Mexico United were placed into the Mountain regional draw, along with fellow USL Championship member Phoenix Rising, USL League One side Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, and MLS side Real Salt Lake. Along with Northern Colorado, United declined to host in this round, so they were drawn to determine who would visit Wild Horse Pass, and who would visit Rio Tinto Stadium. As it happened, United were drawn away to Phoenix. This made their third round match their second consecutive match-up with Phoenix.

## Statistics

### USL Championship

    As of April 23, 2022

**Outfield players**

| # | Pos. | Name | GP | GS | Min. | Goals | Assists | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | DF | Austin Yearwood | 3 | 3 | 207 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Sam Hamilton | 6 | 5 | 480 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Josh Suggs | 2 | 1 | 123 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Alexis Souahy | 4 | 4 | 360 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Neco Brett | 6 | 5 | 474 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Amando Moreno | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Sergio Rivas | 5 | 2 | 224 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Ilija Ilić | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Rashid Tetteh | 4 | 4 | 356 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Will Seymore | 5 | 5 | 450 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Jerome Kiesewetter | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Carl Sainté | 3 | 1 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Tabort Etaka Preston | 6 | 5 | 359 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Kalen Ryden | 1 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Micheal Azira | 2 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Daniel Bruce | 6 | 5 | 451 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Raddy Ovouka | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Harry Swartz | 6 | 6 | 514 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | Chris Wehan | 6 | 6 | 522 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | Justin Portillo | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | Cristian Nava | 1 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

**Goalkeepers**

| # | Name | GP | GS | Min. | SV | SV% | GA | GAA | SO | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Alex Tambakis | 4 | 4 | 360 | 9 | 69.2% | 4 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Ford Parker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Cody Mizell | 2 | 2 | 180 | 5 | 71.4% | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### U.S. Open Cup

    As of April 20, 2022

**Outfield Players**

| # | Pos. | Name | GP | GS | Min. | Goals | Assists | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | DF | Austin Yearwood | 2 | 1 | 134 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Sam Hamilton | 2 | 1 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Alexis Souahy | 2 | 2 | 136 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Neco Brett | 1 | 1 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Sergio Rivas | 1 | 1 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Ilija Ilić | 1 | 1 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Rashid Tetteh | 1 | 1 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Will Seymore | 2 | 2 | 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | Jerome Kiesewetter | 2 | 1 | 109 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Carl Sainté | 1 | 1 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Tabort Etaka Preston | 2 | 0 | 97 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Micheal Azira | 2 | 1 | 122 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Daniel Bruce | 2 | 2 | 136 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Raddy Ovouka | 2 | 1 | 134 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Harry Swartz | 1 | 1 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | Chris Wehan | 2 | 2 | 142 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | Justin Portillo | 2 | 1 | 101 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

**Goalkeepers**

| # | Name | GP | GS | Min. | SV | SV% | GA | GAA | SO | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 12 | Ford Parker | 2 | 2 | 180 | 5 | 71.4% | 2 | 1.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
