Orange County SC

New Mexico United was dominant on Saturday night, defeating Orange County SC by a final score of 3-1 in front of 10,048 fans at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park. Greg Hurst scored twice for the Black & Yellow, and Josh Dolling assisted all three goals – the first player in club history to accomplish that feat, and just the 25th in the history of the league.

Greg Hurst got the scoring started for United in the 22nd minute, as a high ball was chested down by Dolling into Hurst’s path. The Scotsman took two touches on his right foot before firing low past goalkeeper Cody Cropper for a 1-0 lead. That lead would last until the 58th minute, when Alex Tambakis made a terrific save on a low shot. That palmed stop redirected onto the head of Josh Suggs for an own goal.

But United would retake the lead just a few moments later, as Greg Hurst doubled his delight. Dolling took a short pass from Moreno with the outside of his foot, turned, and went between the legs of a defender to a streaking Hurst, who did the rest. Hurst took one touch before again firing low past Cropper for a 2-1 lead.

11 minutes later, it was Albuquerque’s own Sergio Rivas who put the exclamation point on the victory. Dolling brought the ball through center and played a terrific diagonal ball to Rivas, who timed his run perfectly before slotting home from the left side for the final score of the evening.

The win moves United into playoff position, despite still having two matches in-hand over many of their conference rivals. Their next match is on the road on Friday against RGVFC.