Albuquerque, New Mexico: United Beat Phoenix Rising 2-0 to Reach USL Playoff Semifinals

New Mexico United opened its playoff run with a 2-0 win over Phoenix Rising FC on Sunday night in Albuquerque, taking the Western Conference Quarterfinal of the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs behind a goal early in each half. The match at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park started after a long rain delay, and the top seed in the West wasted little time once it began, according to the USL Championship match report.

Greg Hurst put United in front in the seventh minute. Valentin Noel won possession on the right against his marker, drove along the byline and centered the ball for Hurst to finish, the league reported. The goal was Hurst's 13th across the regular season and the playoffs this year, an individual single season high for him in the Championship, and it moved him within one of the club single season mark of 14 set by Kevaughn Frater in 2019.

LaCava doubles the lead after halftime

United doubled the lead three minutes into the second half. A chance for Dennis was blocked inside the box, the ball ran loose to Jake LaCava 30 yards from goal, and LaCava scored to make it 2-0 in the 48th minute. The league named LaCava, the right back who scored the clinching goal, its player of the game.

Phoenix never recovered the two goals, and goalkeeper Kris Shakes held off a late Rising push as the visitors tried to get back into the match with the season on the line, the league reported.

Phoenix finishes with nine players

The second half turned against Phoenix in the disciplinary record as much as on the scoreboard. Jean-Eric Moursou was sent off in the 52nd minute after he pushed over New Mexico head coach Dennis Sanchez while trying to retrieve a ball from the United technical area, according to the league report. Gunnar Studenhofft was then sent off in the 75th minute, shown a second yellow card for a strong challenge on Shakes, and Phoenix played the closing stretch with nine players.

The Arizona Republic reported that Rising finished its season with a 10-11-10 overall record, 7-3-5 at home and 3-8-5 away, and that the club's seven red cards this season were the most of any team in the USL Championship. The Republic also put the rain delay at two and a half hours before the start.

United advances, Rising season ends

The win sends New Mexico into the Western Conference Semifinals, and the league's playoff roundup noted that United has now advanced past Phoenix in the postseason for the second time in the past three seasons. Phoenix, the No. 8 seed, had made a late run over the final three weeks of the regular season just to reach the playoffs, according to the league, and that run ended in Albuquerque on Sunday night.

For United, the clean sheet and the two early goals in each half give the West's top seed a controlled start to the postseason at home. For Phoenix, a season that stayed alive into November ends with a shutout loss, two sendings off, and a long trip home from New Mexico.