New Mexico United clinches playoff spot with 2-1 win over Phoenix Rising

Cam Wilkerson's 81st-minute winner lifted New Mexico United past Phoenix Rising FC 2-1 on Sunday, sealing a seventh playoff berth in eight USL Championship seasons.

New Mexico United locked up a place in the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs on Sunday, beating Phoenix Rising FC 2-1 at Isotopes Park. The berth is the club's seventh in eight seasons, with 2021 the lone exception. Seven playoff places in the Western Conference remained undecided entering the match.

Manager Dennis Sanchez admitted the achievement caught him off guard. Even after the stadium announcer and video board delivered the news and his players celebrated, Sanchez asked, "We clinched?" He said he had deliberately avoided studying the scenarios, explaining: "All I know is you can lose that game and you can be in eighth place, so I try to just focus on being present, focusing on how we can help the guys and support them, and how we can be our best self."

Greg Hurst gave New Mexico a dream beginning, scoring in the fifth minute off a feed from Charlie Dennis. The goal was Hurst's 11th of the season and moved him within one of Chris Wehan's club record of 38 goals.

Phoenix, now 8-10-9, drew level through Kelvin Arase in the 72nd minute. United had repeatedly let positions slip during its recent slide, but the response this time came within minutes.

Cam Wilkerson restored the lead in the 81st minute with a drive from the top of the penalty area that sailed beyond the reach of goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky and in under the crossbar, with Cristian Nava credited with the assist. It was Wilkerson's first goal of the season in any competition, spanning the regular season, U.S. Open Cup and USL Cup, coming in his 26th appearance for the club and second consecutive start. "Sometimes you close your eyes and hit it hard," Wilkerson said. "But it felt good and caught it right, and luckily, I got it."

Dennis, who arrived on loan from Phoenix on Sept. 7 and was lining up against his former club, said the outcome carried more weight than the manner of it. "The most important thing is the result," the midfielder said. "We found ourselves shooting ourselves in the foot a few times (over the past few weeks). But we've learned from that and we didn't do that today."

The win ended New Mexico's roughest run of the year: a 1-3-3 stretch since a 13-match unbeaten streak came to an end. Matches against San Antonio FC on Aug. 29, Indy Eleven on Sept. 6, Birmingham Legion FC on Sept. 11 and Sacramento Republic FC on Sept. 29 during that span had featured squandered leads and early concessions. Fifteen of the 32 goals United has allowed this regular season arrived inside the opening 15 minutes of a half or at the start of the second. Against Phoenix, New Mexico avoided both problems.

The result kept New Mexico (13-7-7) second in the Western Conference with 46 points, one behind El Paso Locomotive FC, and a defeat would in fact have left United no lower than fourth. Three matches remain to settle the club's playoff seed, among them the regular-season finale at El Paso on Oct. 24, with late-October postseason soccer and a shot at a trophy now guaranteed. "Everything's up for grabs right now," Sanchez said. "We still very much control our own destiny. We know the West is tight, but it's really just going into the playoffs in the best form possible."