How it happened
Charlie Dennis settled this fixture before the half-hour. He scored in the 18th minute and again in the 27th to give New Mexico United a 2-0 half-time lead over Monterey Bay FC.
G. Hurst made it 3-0 in the 56th minute, and the contest looked finished. It was not quite. Sebastian Lletget answered in the 58th minute, two minutes later, to make it 3-1.
That was the last goal. Monterey Bay found a way through once but could not cut the margin further, and New Mexico United closed out a two-goal win.
The numbers
Dennis played 70 minutes, had 42 touches and created one chance, and his match rating of 8.7 was the best of any player. Niall Reid-Stephen was next on 8.3, with two assists and five key passes in 80 minutes.
Lletget was Monterey Bay's best performer. He earned a match rating of 8, had six key passes and 51 touches over the full 90 minutes, and scored his side's goal.
The match was closer on paper than the first half suggested. New Mexico United had 20 shots to 17, eight on target to five, and won the corners 7-3. Possession was 52% to 48%. Estimated expected goals were 1.9 to 1.52, a gap of 0.38. Monterey Bay goalkeeper Jacob Jackson made five saves and received a match rating of 5.6.
What it means
New Mexico United stay fourth with 49 points from 28 matches, and a goal difference of +11. Their last 10 matches brought four wins, three draws and three defeats, and they scored 18 goals in that spell.
Monterey Bay remain 23rd on 21 points, 28 fewer than their opponents. They have taken one win from their last 10 matches, an average of 0.6 points per match, and have conceded 49 goals this season.
New Mexico United also won the previous meeting between the sides, 5-2 away from home on 9 August.