The night at Segra field started out like nearly every other New Mexico United away match. This time though, the Black & Yellow was able to take advantage of the opportunities they were presented with before picking up a 3-1 win over Loudoun United.
It took the club some time to get into a rhythm offensively, but until then it was a pretty even affair. Neither side could find a quality chance early on and a lot of the play centered around the middle of the pitch. Finally, in the 37th Alex Waggoner forced a mistake in Loudoun’s defensive half and turned that into the opening goal of the evening. After a heavy touch in the midfield by Hayden Sargis, Waggoner was able to take the ball off of Loudoun and turn upfield.
Between him and Santi Moar, the pair worked the ball into the goal area with Waggoner off to the left. The young man looked up and found Chris Wehan at the far post with a chipped cross. Wehan, ever the cool customer, squared the ball back to Amando Moreno, who pushed the ball home for the 1-0 lead.
Just after halftime, the midfield control once again turned into a goal for the Black & Yellow. Taking possession just inside the club’s own half, Sergio Rivas was able to pick out a pass to Moar in the left channel. Moar drove forward while Waggoner ran a great drawing run toward the far corner, drawing the attention of the Loudoun defenders. The movement on the left side left three United players completely unmarked in the middle of the pitch, including Rivas and Wehan. Moar put a through ball back to the right, directly in front of Wehan. One-on-one with the keeper, Wehan’s right foot was sharp as always. Going back across goal, Wehan slotted home into the left side of the net to extend the lead to 2-0.
As heard on TEAM Talk on ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM in his weekly segment, Peter Trevisani talked about the trip to Loudoun. “Loudoun is a very tough team. They’re very aggressive and can score a lot of goals. They’ve come a long way this year and this is the kind of game that you have to get on the road on a Wednesday night, get three points and put your foot on the gas.”
Two goals weren’t enough for Zach Prince and his men on Wednesday night. While the away commentators were talking about New Mexico needing to sit back, the club continued to push for the three points.
In the 64th, another turnover by the hosts inside their own half led to another goal for United. Picking up a loose ball off of a header, Moar picked out another key pass, this time to Moreno. Going to his right, Moreno attempted to shoot back across the face of the goal, but Hugo Fauroux was able to get enough of a gloved hand on it to push the ball away. Unfortunately for him, the ball fell to Rivas who punched it in for what was now a 3-0 lead.
The night wasn’t without some controversy for United though. In the waning moments, Wesley Leggett was played in behind Will Seymore and Kalen Ryden. As he raced toward goal, he put a heavy touch on the ball that seemed to make it unplayable, but he felt a touch from Ryden and went down, drawing a foul and the second yellow card of the night for Ryden. With the penalty awarded, Thomas Williamson stepped to the mark in the 87th and slotted home to cut the lead to what would be the final score 3-1.
Player of the Match
Chris Wehan – After missing much of the early season with a nagging injury, Wehan has now appeared twice within a week and he looks as good as ever. Adding a goal and an assist to his mark this season, Beez can provide a creative spark and more scoring opportunities for a club that is moving up in the West.
Up Next
After playing four matches in twelve days, United gets a well-deserved ten-day break before returning to league play. Their next match will be against San Antonio FC on May 27. Coverage of that match will begin at 5:30 p.m. (MT) on ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM with the pre-match show featuring Scott Galetti and Andy Hageman. The duo will carry the broadcast up until kickoff at 6:30 when they will bring you all the live action from Toyota Field.