The First Noël
Valentin Noël (#21) scores in his first appearance, but it’s not enough to help New Mexico United advance in the Jägermeister Cup.
In soccer, it’s said that some draws feel like wins while others feel like losses. But what about a win that comes with a slight tinge of defeat?
With stoppage time goals from debutant Valentin Noël (#21) and Dayonn Harris (#5) — the latter of whom was making his triumphant return following ACL reconstruction — New Mexico United clawed out of a 2-0 hole against San Antonio FC Saturday night to somehow level the score at 2-2 after the clock had crept past 90 minutes. Unfortunately, United couldn’t summon a winner in regulation and had to “settle” for a decisive win in penalties, with New Mexico converting on each of their first three chances while SAFC saw their attempts saved by Alex Tambakis (#1), clang off the post, and sliced clumsily into the cotton-candy San Antonio night.
The format of the Jägermeister Cup awards the team who wins in regulation three points while the losing side leaves with zero. Standard stuff.
There is an (admittedly fun) wrinkle when a match ends in a draw, though. The sides immediately go to pens, which simultaneously sent me into a spiral of anxiety, panic and the comfort of a tall, cold $9 Estrella Jalisco lager. The winner of the bonus portion of the competition — New Mexico United on Saturday night — went home with two points while the loser, SAFC, got one. This is relevant because New Mexico needed all three points to continue on in the tournament, as two were not enough to see them earn a wild card and advance. American sports, amirite? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So like a team in the EUFA Champions League knockout phase who wins the second leg, but still loses the tie on aggregate, there were competing feelings of victorious jubilation and the slight, nagging dejection of elimination.
In the span of ten minutes, the New Mexico perspective shifted from resignation (2-nil), to foolish hope (2-1), to actual hope (2-2), and back to dejection (end of regulation). This tornado of feelings culminated in delirium when United ultimately won on penalties, their final defiant act before showing themselves the exit from the tournament.
As I left the venue and walked through the parking lot with friends, I didn’t quite know how I felt. I was elated, naturally. Two goals in stoppage time! A thrilling win in PKs!! But it didn’t feel like that ending should equate to elimination from the competition, and my emotional pendulum swung a bit as I worked to accept it for what it was — an electrifying win on the road against a great team that will be competing for the title. There may not be any more Jägermeister on tap this year (is the smell or the taste worse?), but that type of win in a new star’s first game could be the type of performance that galvanizes a team for the home stretch and the USL Championship playoff run.
Burying the Lëdë 🛬
While rushing to the airport to get to Texas for the match, my friends and I were at the terminal when news of a flurry of transactions with Las Vegas Lights FC broke. The net result was three players changing shirts, as well as money and international roster spots going opposite directions. Here is the breakdown of those transactions:
New Mexico United acquired Valentin Noël (#21) for an undisclosed fee
New Mexico United acquired a 2025 international spot for McKinze Gaines (#10)
New Mexico United received an undisclosed fee for Anthony Herbert (#4)
The 26-year old Noël becomes the third player to wear #21 for New Mexico United, the previous two being our old friend, Danny Vitiello (for one game in 2019) and Romario Williams in 2021. Valentin is the 98th-ever first team player for United, the third French-born player* in team history, and the first player to feature umlauts in his surname! Fün!
I thought the 100th player in United history would likely be a name arriving in the distant future and landing on the 2026 roster, but with Herbert and Gaines going out, and Brucey’s (#25) season-ending knee injury, there’s now a chance, slim though it might be, that New Mexico United fans could meet player #100 this season.
*Alexis Souahy (#6) was born in France and represented the island nation of Comoros in 2021-2022. Joris Ahlinvi (#26) was born in France and represented the West African country of Benin just once in a match against Equatorial Guinea in 2015.
Gaines and Losses 🛫
Speaking of Herbert and Gaines, it’s said that a good trade is one where both teams’ excitement over the player(s) acquired is equaled by the sense of loss for the players shipping out. If there’s any truth to that, then this is likely a very good trade.
Both Tony Herbert and McKinze Gaines are established players, known quantities in the league, and firmly in the primes of their careers at 27 years of age. Each showed flashes of brilliance with New Mexico, and Herbert’s performance against LAFC in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup was the easy answer when I asked Tony what his signature New Mexico United moment was.
“Defending against those top players. I enjoyed that game because I excelled there. That was my best moment here, so far.” With Herbert moving on to Vegas, his monumental shift against LAFC will likely stand as “The Tony Herbert Game.”
McKinze Gaines may have only been here for part of the 2025 season, but he left his mark, appearing 18 times for United in league and cup competitions, bagging three goals and assisting on four more. One of his goals came against his future team, Las Vegas Lights, no doubt a moment that stuck in the minds of the talent evaluators in the Nevada desert. His best goal, though, has to be this wild solo effort he somehow pulled off at home against Phoenix:
Thank you for your contributions, guys, and best of luck in Vegas, baby.
Gedion Sellin’em 💸
Last week I had the opportunity to interview Gedion Zelalem (#6) for the book. At the end of our conversation, I had to inquire about the validity of a 2015/16 Arsenal kit I have featuring his name and the #19. I couldn’t track down photographic evidence of him ever wearing that number in England, so I asked.
“At Arsenal?” he replied. “I don’t think so. I don’t think I ever wore the #19.”
It was oddly satisfying to have the player himself inform me that my eBay pickup was, in fact, a piping-hot pile of counterfeit garbage!
Book Update! 📖
Thanks to New Mexico United, I’ve been attending the club’s media day pressers like a real journalist, and have been afforded the chance to conduct one-on-one interviews with the guys after they’ve wrapped up training. Last week I got the aforementioned Gedion Zelalem (#6) interview knocked out and also spoke with one of my favorite guys, Ousman Jabang (#15). That pushed me up to 42(!!!) completed interviews for the forthcoming United by the Numbers book. With the arrival of Valentin Noël (#21), I’ve thus far been fortunate enough to interview 42 out of 98 players that have worn the black, yellow (and sometimes turquoise) for the first team.
That’s a cool 42.8% of players who have walked out of the tunnel onto Isotopes Park for United. I’m proud of that.
Endless thanks to David Wiese-Carl, Ron Patel and Jules Myers for helping me facilitate so many of these interviews.
That’s it. Thanks for reading. As always, the All-Time Numerical Roster can be found here.
Oh, and if you missed my conversation with United’s Senior Manager of Match Production & Impact, Jules Myers, due to the episode dropping at the same frenetic time as the Noël transfer news, you can still listen to it here.