Story byAlbuquerque Journal, N.M.

NM United routs Lexington, extends unbeaten streak to nine

David Glovach, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.Thu, Jul 16, 2026·5 min read

Dennis Sanchez didn’t overcomplicate things. Certainly not with New Mexico United on a short week.

Simplicity was the best way to go.

After the club’s win at El Paso on Saturday, the manager gave his players Sunday off. United followed with a light training session Monday. And after spending part of Tuesday traveling to Kentucky for Wednesday's match against Lexington SC, New Mexico used the remainder of its day going over some scouting reports.

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“As a coach, you’re trying to simplify things as much as possible,” Sanchez said. “And make sure (the players) have the development information that’s needed.”

Was it ideal? Perhaps not. Four days between matches rarely is, particularly when they are back-to-back on the road.

But United might not mind if it had a few more Wednesday matches going forward, especially if it performed like it did at Lexington — a 4-1 rout, which tied its season high in scoring.

“Yeah,” said Sanchez, whose club doesn’t play again until a trip to Alabama on July 24. “That’s part of it. We need to adapt to what the demands are. If we need to play three games in a week or two games in a week, it is what it is. But we’re ready for anything.”

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Lexington (5-6-3), on the other hand, wasn’t. At least not from the 43rd minute on, when Greg Hurst converted a penalty kick for United (7-4-3) after Lexington was called for a handball inside the box on a free kick. Hurst added another goal in the 62nd minute on a running off-balanced shot that went to the bottom left corner.

It’s the second time this season the forward finished with a brace and brought his season total — across all competitions — to five. He scored twice against El Paso on May 6 and found the back of the net in the international friendly against Liga MX side Atlante FC to start July.

Valentin Noël and Joseph Melto, meanwhile, contributed a goal and assist each.

Noël scored in the third minute of stoppage time to close the first half on a shot from 30 yards out and contributed to Melto’s goal in the 68th. Melto provided the pass for Hurst’s second score.

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This match marked the second consecutive effort in which Lexington conceded a season-high four goals. It lost to Louisville City FC 4-2 on Saturday.

Phillip Goodrum delivered Lexington’s goal Wednesday. He scored in the 70th minute to highlight a team performance that featured as many yellow cards as shots on target. Lexington tallied five in each category.

“Once we got into a little bit of a rhythm, things started to emerge (and) guys were (making) plays,” Sanchez said. “Just the goals we scored tonight, you’re seeing the quality of this group.”

It’s a sentiment that’s become hard to argue against.

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United’s win pushed its unbeaten streak to nine between the regular season, USL Cup and its international friendly. The club’s 24 points have it third in the Western Conference table, one behind second-place San Antonio FC and four off Orange County SC.

San Antonio hosts Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday. Orange County is off until July 25.

New Mexico’s victory came in a match that had forwards Justin Rennicks and Jake LaCava out with injuries, while defender Kipp Keller, and forwards Dayonn Harris and Niall Reid-Stephen were on the bench. (For rest or precautionary reasons.)

Harris subbed in during the 86th minute. Reid-Stephen, who had been sidelined with a knee injury since June 13, came on in the third minute of the closing stoppage.

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But whatever works, right?

“There’s a balance in recognizing the why behind success,” Sanchez said. “Over the last couple months, our mentality has grown. … This group is hungry and we’re not satisfied with where we’re at right now.”

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

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