Going into 2019, it was hard to tell how New Mexico United would play. Some of this was only natural for an expansion team in its inaugural season. But a lot of it was down to something else: the hire of Troy Lesesne both their head coach and technical director—a pair of roles the 35-year-old had never previously held at any level. And yet, Lesesne has built and led a team that hadn’t previously kicked a ball to the top of the USL’s Western Conference and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup, knocking off two MLS teams (Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas) along the way.



How’s that for a first impression?



The cup run is largely to thank for a competitive streak Lesesne has harbored for decades, ever since he was a standout player coming out of high school ten miles from the campus of the University of South Carolina. Naturally, Lesesne hoped to land a spot playing with the Gamecocks. He wasn’t offered a scholarship.



USC’s...