page_title: New Mexico United
section_title: USL franchise
hierarchical_section_title: New Mexico United / History / USL franchise
caption_attribution_description: English: Chris Wehan sends in a corner kick vs. Portland Timbers 2 on April 26, 2019 during New Mexico United's inaugural season
context_page_description: New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2018, the team plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer.
context_section_description: On June 6, 2018, the USL announced an expansion club from Albuquerque that would begin play in March 2019. The club announced its name, New Mexico United, and colors on October 9, 2018, following fan suggestions that generated 226 total names.
  The team played its opening match on March 9, 2019, with 12,896 fans in attendance at Isotopes Park. Devon Sandoval scored the team's first-ever goal in a 1–1 draw against Fresno FC. New Mexico United enjoyed popular success in its inaugural season, leading the USL Championship in average attendance and selling out Isotopes Park with 15,023 spectators on May 5, 2019. In the 2019 U.S. Open Cup, the team defeated two MLS clubs (the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas) before losing in the quarterfinals to Minnesota United FC; for the match in Minnesota, the club organized a charter flight from Albuquerque that carried 180 away fans.
caption: New Mexico United's Chris Wehan takes a corner kick during a USLC match in 2019
exif: {"Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "ILCE-7M3", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 8.2.1 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2019:04:27 16:20:30", "Image Artist": "Matthew Kowal", "Image Copyright": "Matthew Kowal", "Image ExifOffset": "264", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "972", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "14598", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "16/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "500", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "500", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0231", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:04:26 20:08:23", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:04:26 20:08:23", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "870723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "209759/62500", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "843/320", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "31/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "35", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "429419/256", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "429419/256", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "35", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[35, 35, 7/5, 7/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art 018"}