The opening weekend of the 2019 USL Championship season produced plenty of stand-out performances.

Shane Malcolm’s hat trick for Colorado Springs Switchback FC in a 4-1 victory over the LA Galaxy II headlined a group of impressive individual efforts, while North Carolina FC’s emphatic win by the same scoreline over defending USL Cup champions Louisville City FC took my top spot in terms of terrific team displays.

And I’d be remiss to forget the fans – after all we wouldn’t be here without you – who showed up in droves to support historic home openers for four of the league’s expansion clubs and provided the soundtrack to the action across the country while setting record attendance numbers in the process.

However, in my humble opinion, no-one had quite as good of a weekend as homecoming kings Devon Sandoval and Billy Forbes.

Sandoval, an Albuquerque native and University of New Mexico alum, led the front line for New Mexico United in its inaugural match against Fresno FC and produced a moment of magic that he and the 12,896 fans at Isotopes Park won’t forget any time soon.

In the 25th minute, Sandoval took a pass from fellow New Mexico native Josh Suggs and curled a right-footed shot from nearly 30 yards out past C.J. Cochran into the corner of the net, sealing his spot in club history and sending the home crowd into delirium.