Tacoma Defiance traveled to face New Mexico United in the penultimate game of their season. Tacoma fielded an especially young roster as they were without the U-17 World Cup-bound trio of Ethan Dobbelaere, Danny Leyva, and Alfonos Ocampo-Chavez, and the team also left a few regular starters back home or on the bench. The young squad stood resolute defensively and managed to hold onto a 1-1 road draw.
Facing an opponent in need of a win to keep their season alive, they ran out a back-line that included Tacoma debutante Bryson Hankins and fellow 16-year-old Alex Villanueva as the two fullbacks.