Lexington SC earned its first victory in the USL Championship since the opening day of the 2025 season on Saturday night, delivering one of the surprise results of the campaign so far as it defeated first-place New Mexico United 2-1 at Lexington SC Stadium.

New Mexico struck in first-half stoppage time as Mukwelle Akale set up Luiz Fernando for a close-range finish, but the hosts rallied to level in the 66th minute when Sofiane Djeffal headed home a cross by Joe Hafferty. Lexington then took the lead seven minutes later through Xavier Zengue and then held defensively in the closing stages to take all three points.

Here are three things we took away from the contest.

1. Lexington’s decisiveness in final third paid dividends

Prior to Saturday night, Lexington hadn’t been held below 45 percent possession in any game in the Championship this season, but despite ceding more than two-thirds of the ball to New Mexico the hosts were more decisive when they got into the attacking third of the field, resulting in more consistent opportunities.

Central to this was left winger Michael Adedokun, who LSC looked to try and feed regularly when it moved up the field. The Club de Foot Montréal loanee completed a game-high 5 of 6 crosses and 2 of 4 dribbles as he combined with Nick Firmino and Marcus Epps as they provided support from central areas. That allowed Lexington to create more chances inside the penalty area – the hosts recorded 13 of their 16 shots inside the penalty area compared to 4 of 12 for New Mexico as each side recorded 21 touches inside the box.

Ironically, it was the lone open play cross that didn’t connect for Adedokun that ended up proving the pivotal moment of the game. While a New Mexico United defender broke up the initial ball into the box, the ball fell kindly for Xavier Zengue, who was on the spot to finish calmly for the winner.

2. New Mexico combined well centrally but lacked second-half spark

With the lions’ share of possession, New Mexico worked the well ball throughout the first half to put it in dangerous positions at the top of the penalty area. Those ideas paid off with a beautifully executed opening goal that saw Marlon Vargas and Mukwelle Akale combined brilliantly to set up Luiz Fernando for a tap-in that had Lexington all at sea defensively.

As Lexington began to take control of the game’s momentum in the second half, however, it proved difficult for United to regain its grip on the game. It wasn’t until the hosts scored their second goal of the night that New Mexico was able to regain its attacking presence, and then it relied too much on efforts from outside the penalty area instead of working the ball into more dangerous spaces. A late opportunity for Akale that was blocked away proved the last hurrah for the visitors as they fell after leading at halftime for the first time in almost two years.

“We have to learn something from this one,” United Head Coach Dennis Sanchez told the Albuquerque Journal. “We had some opportunities but that final pass and final action just wasn't there tonight. We'll come home, take a close look at this and it'll be interesting to see how we respond.”

3. Lexington finally sees out a much-needed result

As poor as Lexington’s record was going into the night at the bottom of the Championship’s Western Conference, the biggest reason was the side’s inability to close out results. No team in the league had dropped more points from winning positions this season than LSC, which a week ago had seen that total rise to 13 points after it failed to build on an early lead in a 2-1 defeat to Monterey Bay FC.

The performance against the Western Conference leaders, though, was of a side that still has a level of confidence in its abilities. Adedokun in particular shone but the side collectively battled to end up winning the majority of duels (56.1%) and aerial duels (61.5%) to help see out the result. In an inconsistent Western Conference, all it could take is a short rise in form to see LSC quickly move above the playoff line, a spot it would already be inhabiting if not for its prior lapses.

“I felt like there’s times we left some points on the board,” said LSC Head Coach Terry Boss. “To watch the guys celebrate together, to watch them embrace the fans, and watch the fans embrace us and keep pushing us in those tough moments. You felt it in the stoppage time there how important the fanbase is. And so, we’re happy that the guys rewarded themselves for the work and rewarded everyone that came out to watch. It’s a great game to build on.”