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Cristian Nava stopped, looked around and soaked everything in.

The chants. The cheers. The picture and autograph requests 鈥� and there were plenty 鈥� after he was named Man of the Match for his sixth-minute goal in New Mexico United鈥檚 2-1 win over Oakland Roots SC on Saturday.

He couldn鈥檛 stop smiling. He didn鈥檛 need to, either.

鈥淏eing able to score in front of everyone, 14,000 fans, is something that when you wake up in the morning, you don鈥檛 really realize that it鈥檚 gonna happen,鈥� the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 High alum said. 鈥淏ut you enjoy every single second of it.鈥�

Finding that joy again has taken some time. Injuries and some initial uncertainty in his own abilities were the thieves. 

A torn ACL during a friendly against the University of Washington caused him to miss all but two regular-season matches in 2023. It took him almost a year to make his way back to the pitch and when he did, the same ACL gave out a second time, less than a week after being cleared.

All of it made Nava want to give up soccer, so he did. He announced his retirement on social media before the 2025 preseason and moved up to Colorado working a graveyard shift cleaning out the trailers of big rigs.

It was hard and grueling, the hours long. And in the end, he decided it wasn鈥檛 what he wanted. Soccer, the thing he had come to despise, was. He decided to come back. He slowly came into form and gradually impressed along the way. 

鈥淣ava, he鈥檚 an inspiration of grit and energy, whether it鈥檚 a pass or coming back to help a teammate,鈥� midfielder Valentin No毛l said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a great dude to have on your team because that鈥檚 someone you can rely on. He鈥檒l give you his best, 100%, that he has every single day and every single game. You鈥檙e like, 鈥業f Nava鈥檚 doing that, I have to do it, too.鈥� He brings the level of the group higher.鈥�

There was just a matter of getting that opportunity to prove himself ... again. 

It came after Niall Reid-Stephen, United鈥檚 scoring leader, injured his knee in the 89th minute of a 1-1 draw against Orange County SC on June 13. 

Nava has started the last three matches since 鈥� 72 minutes at Sacramento Republic FC on June 20, 45 in Wednesday鈥檚 international friendly against Liga MX鈥檚 Atlante FC and 68 against Oakland (5-4-6).

鈥淚鈥檓 hoping (Reid-Stephen) gets better and comes back soon,鈥� Nava said. 鈥淏ut I think everybody鈥檚 waiting for that chance, and when you get that chance, you have to perform. I hope I鈥檝e been doing that.鈥�

So far, he has.

Over those last three matches Nava has contributed an assist against Atlante and that goal against Roots, his first score since the U.S. Open Cup matchup against Cruizers FC on March 18. It was Nava鈥檚 first USL Championship goal since Oct. 15, 2022.

Zico Bailey chipped in a second goal in the 41st for United (6-4-3), which moved from fifth to third in the on Saturday.

Peter Wilson netted his 10th regular-season goal for Oakland in the 67th minute.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt (Nava) can work hard and he defends properly, and is committed and competes every time he steps on the field,鈥� United manager Dennis Sanchez said. 鈥淚 think what you鈥檙e seeing now is more of the quality that we know Nava has come to fruition more consistently. I think that was a great way to showcase that tonight.鈥�

It鈥檚 something Nava appreciates.

He knows how far he鈥檚 come. Those who cheered him on Saturday knew, too. And all of it couldn鈥檛 wipe away that smile.

鈥淚 think at the start of the season, I was more scared than anything,鈥� Nava said. 鈥淚t was just me not knowing if I was gonna get injured or not again. So, I think that was the problem. Now, I鈥檝e been doing it for a while again. You do this every day and it just becomes something that you realize you鈥檙e comfortable with and you鈥檝e done it all your life.鈥�

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