ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Phoenix Rising fell to a heavy 4-0 loss to New Mexico United to end the club’s USL Cup hopes.

Rising started five youngsters in the match, and held on for nearly the entirety of the first half. However, a goal just on the stroke of the half-time break was followed up by a series of errors at the back during the second half.

A young squad for the USL Cup

It was a youthful side for Phoenix Rising to take on New Mexico United.

Five academy products started on the field, with Alexander Balander De La Cruz, Noah Cross, Eziah Ramirez, Jackson Gaydon and Jamison Ping all making the cut. Those changes came ahead of a week that also features a midweek match against Louisville followed by another road game against El Paso next weekend.

“You have to be smart with the rotations that you make,” Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah said. “We’ve had a lot of minutes on the legs with some of our players, so it’s also very important that we take care of them.”

As well as the rotations that Kah planned for the USL Cup clash, Hope Avayevu also missed out. According to the Phoenix coach, this was due to Avayevu feeling something in his hamstring during warmups.

one, two, three and four

Phoenix Rising’s youngsters held their own in the opening exchanges, but couldn’t find a way to break through on the counter.

On the other end, New Mexico had several opportunities from balls played across the face of goal. They couldn’t ultimately connect, until Niall Reid-Stephen found the back of the net on the stroke of half-time.

“Until the first goal, I think it was pretty even,” Kah said. “We had a couple of dangerous counters, that you could see, with Gunnar [Studenhofft] there.”

In the second half, New Mexico capitalized on a variety of mistakes at the back to increase their advantage, eventually scoring four goals.

“If you’re playing a bunch of young kids in here today because of the rotations that you have to make, we understood as a coaching staff and as a club that there will be some growing pains,” Kah said.

Ultimately, the 4-0 win for New Mexico was the largest margin of victory for any team in this rivalry, save for the infamous Baby Birds match of 2022 in which Phoenix was forced to field multiple youngsters with the bulk of its professional players isolating under COVID protocols.

USL Cup run is over

The loss in New Mexico mathematically confirmed it: Phoenix Rising’s USL Cup run is over for 2026.

The team will still travel to California to face AV Alta in July, but cannot mathematically finish in the top two of the group.

Rising’s USL Cup campaign started with a home loss to Colorado Springs, before a win in Phoenix against Orange County.

Well.

When you saw the two lineups, you had to know that Phoenix Rising’s chances of proceeding in the USL Cup were slim at best.

Rising was playing a youthful side. Fixture congestion, and the continued injuries, played a big role in that. New Mexico don’t have the same issues. They aren’t playing on Wednesday. They could far more easily put out a full, professional lineup, and the gulf showed at times.

From Phoenix’s side, it’s a calculated risk. Pa-Modou Kah said as much in his post-match comments. To him, the USL Cup is about playing youngsters, and a league fixture on Wednesday is more important.

I can’t entirely disagree with him. Rising’s chances in the cup were slim at best going into this match, so prioritizing USL Championship play makes sense. If this was a match against El Paso, or Colorado Springs, or even Orange County, I wouldn’t have any complaints about that assessment.

What makes it harder is that this result came against New Mexico United. As much as some people would like to downplay it, this is probably the club’s most detested rival. A 4-0 loss to them, regardless of the team Rising chose to field, hits hard.

Playing a weakened team in this match was a calculated gamble on Rising’s part. A result on Wednesday, even if only a draw, sees it pay out. Fail to do so, and you’ve essentially handed New Mexico a heavy win for free. In the former circumstance, it’s easier to forget. In the latter, not so much.

At least there isn’t time to dwell on this match. On Wednesday, we’ll see how they fare against a Louisville side that has remarkably managed just one point from its last five league games.

By Thursday, with any luck, this team will have forgotten all about what happened in Albuquerque.

Top image: New Mexico United