I reckon the lake is extra salty tonight. After four games, 360 minutes, two goals apiece, and a season’s worth of frustrating draws, Minnesota United emerged victorious when it really mattered tonight, winning their second-consecutive shootout against Real Salt Lake to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. Can I get a “YOU’RE GONNA BE THE ONE TO SAVE MEEE”?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s a tired cliche, but Eric Ramsay decided it was worth listening to tonight, rolling out the same lineup for the third consecutive match for what feels like the longest streak of the season. The familiarity between the starters was clear from the beginning, as the Loons flipped the script on the visitors, starting fast and never really slowing down. The high-pressing, confident RSL side we saw in Utah seemed to have stayed home, as the Black and Blue asserted themselves in every single facet of the game.
Composed, purposeful possession defined MNUFC’s fluid play on the ball, while a solid mid-block saw them take away any useful space for RSL to build in. Creators like Diego Luna and Anderson Julio were forced to come back into their own half to get onto the ball, taking away their outlets up top and preventing any meaningful build-up. Oh, and Brayan Vera got his deserved boos everytime he was on the ball. Well done, Loons faithful.
Despite not scoring in the first 45, the home team’s side-to-side movement was done with authority and intent, moving the opposition to open up lanes to attack through. Massive performances from Carlos Harvey and Kelvin Yeboah helped set the tone early on, while the discipline of the midfield pairing of Hassani Dotson and Wil Trapp saw the Loons control the middle of the pitch completely. It was a promising start, and it was only a matter of time before the breakthrough finally came, but it would have to wait until the second half.
The game started back up with some drama, as RSL’s Vera seemed to score a go-ahead goal in the 46th minute. However, VAR did its thing, calling the goal back for Crooks’ crafty offside antics. Nice try, but karma had us covered there, buddy. Minutes later, the Loons went the other way, with Robin Lod powering the ball down the right side of the field and fighting through contact to get the ball across to Yeboah. The striker turned to find the next open man, and Joseph Rosales slotted home his first goal of 2024 with a cool, one-touch finish from the top of the box. That’s 1-0 to the good guys, and they were cruising. Oh, how the turn tables, huh?
Some absolutely superb combination play from Joaquín Pereyra helped the Loons rediscover the play that put them on top in the first half, and was just a piece of what was undoubtedly the Argentine midfielder’s best performance in a Loons jersey. The dominance of the home side forced Maestroni’s hand, as he brought on some attack-minded subs at the hour mark to find the goal he needed.
While the visitors certainly became more threatening, they left themselves open in doing so. The Loons found space on the counter, though they were ultimately unable to do anything with it. Meanwhile, the Claret and Cobalt found half chances through sheer effort and numbers, rarely through truly breaking their hosts down.
In the 75th minute, a fantastic run from Emeka Eneli proved just enough to burst through the Loons’ backline, where he was able to slot his low shot through Dayne St. Clair’s legs. Don’t worry, ladies and gentlemen; the Loons’ keeper took that personally.
Fantastic defensive work from Joseph Rosales and the rest of the backline kept the game level for the entirety of the 10-minute added time, while near-misses on the other end meant that another shootout was imminent. Game 2 was destined to be decided from the spot.
Remember when I said DSC took that goal personally? Well, he took his anger out in the shootout with two ridiculous saves, stopping both Diogo Goncalves and Diego Luna. Matt Crooks did his part, too, sending his penalty 20 rows into the Wonderwall. Sang Bin Jeong hit the dagger, sending MNUFC through with a 3-1 shootout win.
Outstanding performances from Joseph Rosales and Joaquín Pereyra, as well as generally great work across the board, pushed the Loons to this series clinching win. While they could have easily won in regulation, they’ll take the win and run with it to avoid another trip to the Beehive State. In the words of your fearless keeper, “I TOLD YOU WE AIN’T GOIN’ BACK!”
We’ve got a little while until the conference semis; sorry Loons fans. With an international break between now and then, the Black and Blue will have plenty of time to rest and prepare themselves for another matchup with Riqui Puig and the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California sometime between November 22 and 24.
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