United comes up empty in 1-0 loss to Charleston
Sep. 2—Empty feeling.
Those two words pretty much summed things up for New Mexico United on Saturday night.
Desperately needing a win to keep its playoff hopes off life support, United simply couldn't generate much. Visiting Charleston Battery parlayed a second-half goal into a 1-0 victory and departed Isotopes Park with three points.
New Mexico, on the other hand, accumulated just four points over a critical four-game homestand when it needed considerably more. United (9-12-6) slipped into 10th place in the USL Championship's Western Conference, three points behind seventh-place Colorado Springs, two behind eighth-place El Paso and one behind Monterey Bay with seven games remaining.
Neither effort nor energy were lacking for NMU on Saturday. Unlike Wednesday's performance in a 3-3 draw with Las Vegas, United was pressing defensively and looking to attack against Charleston (14-7-7) throughout the night.
But despite outshooting the visitors 12-10 and limiting Battery to just two shots on goal, New Mexico came up on the short end in front of 9,034 fans. Augustine Williams' header off a free kick in the 74th minute accounted for the only goal of the night.
"I'm proud of the way we defended as a unit," United coach Eric Quill said. "Unfortunately, the scoreline didn't reflect that effort. Both teams fought defensively, not many clear-cut chances and (Charleston) scores on a set piece. I feel bad for the guys. I thought they deserved better."
Defender Josh Suggs agreed.
"We had a great mentality all night," Suggs said. "We fought for each other. We just have to take more pride in our scoring opportunities and find a way to finish."
Battery dominated the ball for much of the evening (57% possession), and United was able to generate only a pair of top-quality chances, both in the second half.
Amando Moreno eluded four defenders on a run to the center of the pitch and sent a low shot toward the left post that was deflected just wide in the 72nd minute.
Moreno later set up Greg Hurst with a golden chance, tapping the ball back to him for a wide-open shot from the left corner of the 6-yard box. Hurst fired the ball into the outside of the net.
United finished with three shots on goal, but none of them seriously threatened Charleston goalkeeper Trey Muse, who racked up his 10th clean sheet of the season.
Andrew Thomas, who joined NMU on loan from MLS Seattle Sounders on Friday, started in goal and came up with a big first-half save to keep things scoreless. Thomas had no chance to prevent Williams' goal, however.
"I thought Andrew was awesome," Quill said. "It's not easy to come in the day before a game but he was up to the moment. He communicated well, made the right plays and fired a ball (on a throw) 60 yards on a rope to set up one of our best chances of the night. Andrew was great."
The tally came after one of a slew of Battery free kicks, this one from just outside the left side of the penalty area. A kick to the back post was headed in front by Nick Markanich, where Williams redirected it into the net for his 11th goal of the season.
New Mexico, as it has for most of the season, struggled to capitalize on its own set-piece opportunities. United had eight corner kicks and several free kicks in the attacking third but most were easily cleared away by Charleston defenders.
Moreno, who leads the club with nine goals this season, will miss United's Sept. 10 game at Birmingham while representing El Salvador for a pair of Concacaf Nations League contests. Moreno is expected to miss just one game for NMU.
United will play four of its final seven games on the road, all seven against teams currently in playoff positions. Its next home game is set for Sept. 15 against Indy Eleven.
"We have seven games left and it's kitchen sink now," Quill said. "Throw everything we can at it and try to make the playoffs."
