ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico United announced on Wednesday it had exercised its contract option on goalkeeper Alex Tambakis, retaining the Greek shot-stopper for the 2022 USL Championship season.

The 29-year-old led New Mexico with 2,790 minutes of action in the 2021 USL Championship season as he started 31 of the club’s 32 regular season contests and made 84 saves, tied for seventh in the league with Birmingham Legion FC’s Matt VanOekel. Tambakis posted seven shutouts and a save percentage of 69.4 percent, while earning a goals-against average of 1.19.

Tambakis first competed in the Championship on loan for the Charleston Battery in the 2016 season following his signing by Atlanta United FC prior to the club’s inaugural season in Major League Soccer in 2017. Since then, he has also competed for North Carolina FC between the 2018-20 seasons in the Championship, and overall has made 134 regular season appearances while recording 402 saves and 33 clean sheets.

Tambakis’ 402 saves rank third all-time in the Championship’s history, while he currently sits just outside the top five in shutouts. This past season, he ranked in the Top 10 in Goals Added among goalkeepers in the Championship with a +5.23 rating above replacement according to American Soccer Analysis, while over the past five seasons he ranks third overall with a +11.57 G+ rating above replacement.