We have arrived at the end of the regular season. 30 games over 7 months. RIFC will play game number 30 out west in Albuquerque on Friday night. It’s a meeting with New Mexico United, a team that RIFC haven’t played since their inaugural game in March of 2024. Both teams are playoff-bound, with New Mexico clinching on October 4th and RIFC securing their spot last time out with their 0-0 draw in North Carolina.

It’s always difficult to predict what’s going to happen in these games, even more so when it’s the last game of the season. But at the very least, I can provide some context on each side as they head into the playoffs. So without further ado….

Seeding Scenarios

As mentioned at the top, RIFC clinched a playoff spot last weekend with their 0-0 draw against North Carolina FC. And due to Pittsburgh’s 3-0 win over Monterey Bay, RIFC can now only finish 7th or 8th. Here’s how:

• 7th place matchup with the Charleston Battery:
  1. RIFC win against New Mexico
  2. RIFC lose or draw against New Mexico and Detroit City FC lose to the Tampa Bay Rowdies
• 8th place matchup with Louisville City FC:
  1. RIFC lose or draw against New Mexico and Detroit City FC win against the Tampa Bay Rowdies

For a league with several complicated tiebreakers, this ends up being pretty straightforward. With RIFC playing on Friday night, depending on the result we’ll all know if we need to watch the Tampa Bay and Detroit game on Saturday (I probably will anyway).

The Big Question

What is the status of JJ Williams?

It has become increasingly clear that this team will go as far as JJ Williams will take them. That was the case last year as well, as JJ caught fire late in the season and helped carry the team all the way to the final. Of course, the other 10 players on the field and others coming off the bench also helped. But the difference makers in attack were JJ and his partner in crime Noah Fuson. So it’s easy to see why JJ’s omission from the squad last weekend in North Carolina was alarming.

As it turns out, JJ was left out as a precaution (per the broadcast). And he was seen practicing and looking perfectly fine in RIFC’s recent social media posts. That gives the impression that he will be good to go heading into Friday night. I think it’s unlikely that JJ will go a full 90, but it’s important that we see him out there. Even if it’s just for a half. RIFC have no one that can match his presence and making sure he gets some minutes and is ready for the playoffs is massively important.

Season Overview

New Mexico United have had a solid follow up to their 2024 season. Last year, they finished first in the Western Conference but went on to lose to the Las Vegas Lights in the conference semi-finals. This year, they’re guaranteed to finish 3rd in the conference heading into the final game of the season.

Despite finishing below where they did in 2024, I credit New Mexico for having some consistency. There are plenty of examples of teams who have wildly different seasons from year to year. Las Vegas for example finished 4th in the conference last year and made the conference final only to be at the bottom of the league heading into their final game in 2025.

New Mexico have also had a consistently good 2025 outside of a bad run of 4 straight losses in the middle of the summer. They’re on a good run of form heading into Friday night as they’re unbeaten in their last 6 games with 3 wins and 3 draws.

Style of Play

The biggest thing you really need to know is that New Mexico are the best possession team in the league. Their average possession in league games this season is 61%. That’s almost 2 full percentage points ahead of the Charleston Battery in second who have 59.3%. New Mexico are also tied for 12th in goals conceded and 9th in goals scored this season. Neither of those numbers really stand out, but the goals conceded have jumped significantly recently as they’ve conceded three goals in each of their last two games.

The Big Question

Will New Mexico really be going for it Friday night?

As I just mentioned, New Mexico are guaranteed to finish 3rd in the Western Conference. This is due to Sacramento winning on Wednesday night against Charleston. It puts them 3 points ahead of New Mexico and they hold the tiebreaker. El Paso are currently 4th but are 4 points behind New Mexico and therefore can’t catch them.

With the team coming off of back to back 3-3 draws, I would think New Mexico manager Dennis Sanchez would want to see his team get some more momentum heading into the playoffs. But how he manages minutes is really anyone’s guess at this point.

This one is really tough to call but I’m going with RIFC to get the 3 points here that would secure 7th. I’m not all that convinced that either team is really going to go for it though. With New Mexico being locked in to 3rd and RIFC potentially needing to manage some fitness issues, it very well could be a strange game. But I’m predicting that JJ Williams starts, gets a goal, and then comes off at halftime. RIFC will then likely be playing very defensive and will look to hit New Mexico on the counter. But without JJ out there, they won’t get a second goal.

Up Next

I will be back here right after the game Friday night with the Riptide Report to go over some quick thoughts on the game. Tide Talk will be back with the podcast on Sunday night and Timmy will have his player ratings as well. It feels strange that this is the last Prematch Lookout of the regular season. But here we are. Thank you to everyone who checks out any of our content. While we do this for the love of the game, it’s always amazing to see support from the RIFC community. Until next time, UP THE TIDE!