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And we鈥檙e back. Well, New Mexico United is anyway.

After a two-week break, the club returns to USL Championship play on Saturday against Oakland Roots SC. And that means things are only going to get more interesting from here on out.

Here are some things to note:

Free kicks

1. READY FOR THE SECOND HALF? The USL Championship鈥檚 mental health break is officially over. And that means so is the first half of the season.

After a slow start, United has positioned itself fairly well in the 12-team . The club sits fifth with 18 points. As a reminder, the top eight teams make the playoffs with the top four seeds hosting a first-round game.

Now, there鈥檚 still plenty of matches left on the slate (United has 18 regular-season games to go including Saturday) and a lot can happen between now and the end of the regular season. But it should provide both clubs and fans with plenty of intrigue along the way.

Orange County SC leads the West with 26 points. San Antonio FC is second with 24. After that, the standings tighten up, with nine clubs separated by six points or less.

Roots are third with 21 points, followed by FC Tulsa (19), United, Phoenix Rising FC (17) and El Paso Locomotive FC, Sacramento Republic FC and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (16 each). Las Vegas Lights FC and Lexington SC both have 15, while Monterey Bay FC is at 14.

2. HE鈥橲 CERTAINLY NOT A VOLLEYBALL: 鈥淲颈濒蝉辞苍!鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Chances are you know : a volleyball with a red handprint drifts out to sea only for Tom Hanks鈥� character in 鈥淐ast Away鈥� to call out and look on in distress. 

A bad pun? Almost certainly. But just go with it. After all, Oakland forward Peter Wilson is far from a useless inanimate object. He鈥檚 caused quite a bit of consternation among opponents this season.

Wilson is tied for second in the USL Championship with nine regular-season goals, two behind Detroit City FC鈥檚 Darren Smith, in 12 appearances. Although, all of Wilson鈥檚 scores have come in his last seven outings. The production comes a season after he secured the league鈥檚 Golden Boot award given to the top scorer.

It might be worth noting Wilson did not score against United in the clubs鈥� first meeting of the season, a 2-1 Roots victory, on March 14.

3. ONE (SMALL) STREAK HAS TO END: New Mexico enters Saturday鈥檚 contest on a six-match unbeaten streak if you include the regular season, USL Cup and its international friendly. Oakland hasn鈥檛 suffered a defeat in its last four.

So, naturally, that has to change for one. But for now, there鈥檚 no doubt readers will want to see which clubs each team faced during that stretch.

After a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 20, United beat Charleston Battery (1-0), tied Hartford Athletic (0-0), topped Phoenix (4-0 in the USL Cup), drew with Orange County (1-1), beat Sacramento (1-0) and tied with Liga MX鈥檚 Atlante FC (3-3 in that international friendly on Wednesday).

Following a 1-0 defeat to Colorado Springs on May 30, Roots have bested Las Vegas (2-0 in the USL Cup), drew with Miami FC (0-0) and Birmingham Legion FC (1-1), and beaten Phoenix (4-3).

4. ENJOY THE HOME COOKING: Might as well if you鈥檙e United. It will be a while before the club plays another match at Isotopes Park.

After Saturday鈥檚 match 鈥� which will feature the club鈥檚 red, white and blue kits 鈥� New Mexico won鈥檛 play at home again . 

United plays at El Paso on July 11 in both clubs鈥� final USL Cup group stage game before traveling to Lexington on July 15 and Birmingham on July 24. But even after hosting Colorado Springs to start August, New Mexico will play two of its next three on the road. 

For what it鈥檚 worth, United is 2-3-1 away from Isotopes Park in the regular season, and it鈥檚 likely this stretch will play a role in determining what any kind of playoff seeding looks like.

Key matchup

United forward Greg Hurst vs. Roots goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel

It鈥檚 an obvious choice, but might as well go with it. in United鈥檚 international friendly 鈥� a 3-3 draw with Atlante FC. It was his first score in any competition since his brace against El Paso on May 6. And any kind of boost could be important with fellow forward Niall Reid-Stephen having nursed a knee injury through the break. Spiegel, meanwhile, has given up a few goals 鈥� 14 on 44 shots.

Player of the match

United forward Cristian Nava

The sa国际传媒官网网页入口 High alum has filled in Reid-Stephen鈥檚 spot in the lineup and has performed rather well both with his ball movement and pesky defense. He played 72 minutes in the win over Sacramento and then provided an assist against Atlante.

By the numbers

6: The number of assists Roots forward Wolfgang Prentice has recorded in the regular season. It leads the USL Championship. He also has five goals.

37: How many saves United keeper Kris Shakes has logged in the regular season. It鈥檚 tied for fourth in the league.

3: The number of consecutive USL Championship matches United will have played against a club from California.

1-1-3: Roots鈥� record in sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 

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