All Things MN United Season Thread

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Fínally got the win in KC and a full sweep of the series! It really feels like a different team and season from the spring. Any playoff games are a bonus. I was up and down on the team and future but this seems to be something we can work with for next year
 

Loons post a 3-0 win over Colorado on Saturday.

Yeboah with two goals and Dotson adds another.

possession goes to Colorado 57 - 43%. But Loons put up 10 shots on goal to 1 for Colorado and lead in corner kicks 5-3. also Loons with 18 fouls to 8 for Colorado and 3 yellow cards.

Loons now tied for 8th place in Western Conference, just 2 points out of 7th place.

Loons are at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday. Salt Lake currently 3rd in Western Conf. (14W- 10D- 7L). Loons are at 13W- 6D- 12L.
 

been meaning to post something here, but life keeps getting in the way......(car troubles....)

anyway - the Loons move into the MLS playoffs next week.

Loons are the #6 seed in the West and face #3 seed Real Salt Lake in a 1st round best-2-out-of-3 playoff series.

gm #1 Tues, Oct 29 at Salt Lake. TV on FS1 and supposedly streaming for free on Apple TV+.
gm #2 at MN on Sat, Nov 2. (TV on MLS Season Pass).
gm #3 if needed on Fri, Nov 8 in Salt Lake. (MLS Season Pass)

playoffs began Tuesday with a wild-card match between the #8 & 9 seeds. in the East, Atlanta United beat CF Montreal on Penalty Kicks. Tonight, in the West wild-card, it's Vancouver at Portland.

first round of playoffs is best 2 out of 3. No extra time is played in first round. if a game ends in a tie, it goes directly to a penalty-kick shootout.

starting with the Conference Semi-finals, all remaining matches are 1-and-done. team with better regular-season record hosts. Extra time will be played in these rounds.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
been meaning to post something here, but life keeps getting in the way......(car troubles....)

anyway - the Loons move into the MLS playoffs next week.

Loons are the #6 seed in the West and face #3 seed Real Salt Lake in a 1st round best-2-out-of-3 playoff series.

gm #1 Tues, Oct 29 at Salt Lake. TV on FS1 and supposedly streaming for free on Apple TV+.
gm #2 at MN on Sat, Nov 2. (TV on MLS Season Pass).
gm #3 if needed on Fri, Nov 8 in Salt Lake. (MLS Season Pass)

playoffs began Tuesday with a wild-card match between the #8 & 9 seeds. in the East, Atlanta United beat CF Montreal on Penalty Kicks. Tonight, in the West wild-card, it's Vancouver at Portland.

first round of playoffs is best 2 out of 3. No extra time is played in first round. if a game ends in a tie, it goes directly to a penalty-kick shootout.

starting with the Conference Semi-finals, all remaining matches are 1-and-done. team with better regular-season record hosts. Extra time will be played in these rounds.
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IMO, we really need to add a big name, European player (EPL, La Liga, etc) on the backend of their career to give us some more exposure and status.

I'm not talking about someone of Messi's stature, but for us soccer rubes, there's a lot of guys that could fit this criteria. I have no idea how our funding situation compares to all the other clubs, though.
 

Hey - I saw this in The Athletic. MLS considering changing its schedule to better match the rest of the soccer world.

Major League Soccer is considering overhauling its calendar, flipping to a fall-spring season with breaks in the summer and winter, multiple sources briefed on the league’s discussions tell The Athletic.

MLS executives and owners have been weighing the changes to the calendar, which they believe will help maximize the league’s participation in the global transfer market, among other benefits. The hope is for the league to institute the changes as early as the summer of 2026 coming out of the World Cup.

MLS executive vice president of sporting product and competition Nelson Rodriguez told The Athletic it is still “too soon” to know if MLS will institute changes or what those changes could be.

With the changes, the MLS season would begin, like most European leagues, in early August. The first portion of the schedule would run through mid-December before taking a winter break, likely around five weeks long. The season would resume in early February and run through the spring, with MLS Cup in late May.

A schedule change would flip the MLS playoffs and MLS Cup to a less crowded portion of the American sports schedule. A warm-weather MLS Cup, with less competition from other sports leagues, is certainly appealing to all.

A fall-spring calendar would also mean that MLS, like the rest of the world, would pause the season during all FIFA international windows, which would be a welcome change for most teams and players.
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So, you're going to play outdoor soccer matches in Minnesota in mid-December and early February? in December and February, average temps in the Twin Cities would be a high of 28 and a low of 16. Yikes.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
Hey - I saw this in The Athletic. MLS considering changing its schedule to better match the rest of the soccer world.

Major League Soccer is considering overhauling its calendar, flipping to a fall-spring season with breaks in the summer and winter, multiple sources briefed on the league’s discussions tell The Athletic.

MLS executives and owners have been weighing the changes to the calendar, which they believe will help maximize the league’s participation in the global transfer market, among other benefits. The hope is for the league to institute the changes as early as the summer of 2026 coming out of the World Cup.

MLS executive vice president of sporting product and competition Nelson Rodriguez told The Athletic it is still “too soon” to know if MLS will institute changes or what those changes could be.

With the changes, the MLS season would begin, like most European leagues, in early August. The first portion of the schedule would run through mid-December before taking a winter break, likely around five weeks long. The season would resume in early February and run through the spring, with MLS Cup in late May.

A schedule change would flip the MLS playoffs and MLS Cup to a less crowded portion of the American sports schedule. A warm-weather MLS Cup, with less competition from other sports leagues, is certainly appealing to all.

A fall-spring calendar would also mean that MLS, like the rest of the world, would pause the season during all FIFA international windows, which would be a welcome change for most teams and players.
-------------------------

So, you're going to play outdoor soccer matches in Minnesota in mid-December and early February? in December and February, average temps in the Twin Cities would be a high of 28 and a low of 16. Yikes.
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If they do that, they will have to frontload and backload home games for Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and us.
 

Bump for a reminder - Loons begin MLS Playoffs tonight.

Loons are the #6 seed in the West and face #3 seed Real Salt Lake in a 1st round best-2-out-of-3 playoff series.

gm #1 Tues, Oct 29 at Salt Lake. TV on FS1 and supposedly streaming for free on Apple TV+. Match starts at 7:50pm. (that's what it says on the MLS website.....)

gm #2 at MN on Sat, Nov 2. (TV on MLS Season Pass).
gm #3 if needed on Fri, Nov 8 in Salt Lake. (MLS Season Pass)

first round of playoffs is best 2 out of 3. No extra time is played in first round. if a game ends in a tie, it goes directly to a penalty-kick shootout.

(I will be watching a HS Volleyball playoff match at 7pm and will join Loons in progress as soon as the VB match is done.)
 

Wow. Minnesota wins game 1 over Real Salt Lake on penalty kicks.
 

gophersfan said:
Wow. Minnesota wins game 1 over Real Salt Lake on penalty kicks.
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very defensive first half, but in the second half, the Loons had 5 or 6 really good chances to score - with the RSL goalkeeper standing on his head.

went to penalties - in the initial round of 5 PK's, RSL goalkeeper made one save, and RSL missed one kick skying it over the net. went to a 6th kick - Loons made theirs, and RSL put it off the crossbar and over.

Stats -
possession RSL 58% - Loons 42%.
shots on goal Loons 7, RSL 6
fouls - Loons 13, RSL 9
Yellow Cards - Loons 1, RSL 0
corner kicks - Loons 6, RSL 3

gm #2 at MN on Sat, Nov 2. (TV on MLS Season Pass).
gm #3 if needed on Fri, Nov 8 in Salt Lake. (MLS Season Pass)
 



Random thoughts on the game:
  • It's a lot of fun watching Ramsey coach. They came out in a 5-4-1 formation with a high-line for the back 5. This completely clogged up the middle of the field, making Salt Lake players do a lot of running while we packed it in and played basically a zone defense. That's important when you're on the road playing at something like 5,000 feet elevation. For most of the first half, we weren't even trying to keep position. When we did get the ball, we'd just clear it deep and give it back to them. The only time this broke down was when Trapp gave up that easy turnover. If this were a boxing match, you'd call what Ramsey did in the first half "rope-a-dope". We totally removed Salt Lake's home-field advantage.
  • In the first five minutes of the second half we completely switched to a high-press attack, and we created many opportunities where we should have scored. This forced Salt Lake into making a change, pulling out a midfielder and replacing him with a defender, so they reduced their ability to attack. Once Salt Lake made that change, we settled back into our 5-4-1 formation.
  • At the 70-minute point of the game, we completely switched again, bringing on subs and going on the attack. So by playing the "rope-a-dope" we turned this from a 90-minute game into a 20-minute sprint, and again, at elevation that makes a huge difference. We got more opportunities and gave up a few, but the advantage was to the Loons.
  • When you have Dayne in the nets, going to a shootout on the road is a great outcome. Dayne isn't great with his feet or distribution, but he is really good at stopping shots.
  • We steal one on the road, and now can move on to the next round with a win at home.
 

Slim Tubby said:
IMO, we really need to add a big name, European player (EPL, La Liga, etc) on the backend of their career to give us some more exposure and status.

I'm not talking about someone of Messi's stature, but for us soccer rubes, there's a lot of guys that could fit this criteria. I have no idea how our funding situation compares to all the other clubs, though.
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Totally disagree on this. We can't compete with the big-budget teams on bringing in expensive players who are on the downside of their careers and are looking for a soft place to play for a couple more years. Instead, we're putting our money on younger players that are on their way to moving up. I'd much rather get a hungry player trying to prove their worth, than an old player that can no longer cut it in an overseas league. I really like our youth movement - we're set up really well for the future.
 

Full Speed Ahead said:
Totally disagree on this. We can't compete with the big-budget teams on bringing in expensive players who are on the downside of their careers and are looking for a soft place to play for a couple more years. Instead, we're putting our money on younger players that are on their way to moving up. I'd much rather get a hungry player trying to prove their worth, than an old player that can no longer cut it in an overseas league. I really like our youth movement - we're set up really well for the future.
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That's why I pointed out that funding makes it an obsolete dream of mine. I would have far more interest as a fan if we did have one of those veterans, though.

I've been watching La Liga and the EPL religiously for 20+ years. I have more interest watching the best in the world currently rather than relative unknowns trying to climb the ranks. I completely respect your point of view, too.
 





Loons and RSL tie at 1-1 in regulation. Loons outscore RSL 3-1 in the PK round.

Loons will face LA Galaxy in West Semi-Finals. This is a single-game elimination match.

It will be played on November 23rd or 24th. that is not a typo. a 3-week break before the next round.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Loons and RSL tie at 1-1 in regulation. Loons outscore RSL 3-1 in the PK round.

Loons will face LA Galaxy in West Semi-Finals. This is a single-game elimination match.

It will be played on November 23rd or 24th. that is not a typo. a 3-week break before the next round.
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I think it is possible, but a long shot, that if Colorado wins 2 in a row vs LA Galaxy, the Loons would get a home game. Galaxy up 1-0 vs Colorado.

Not likely, but possible.

Not 100% sure, but I thought I heard that mentioned.
 


Hey - remember the Loons? Yes, the season is still going.

Loons face LA Galaxy on Sunday 11/24 in a Western Conference Semi-Final.

Per Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press, match time listed at 5:00pm but kickoff will be at 5:25pm.

It will be shown on FS1 - and also on the MLS Season Pass if you subscribe.
 

well, that wasn't fun while it lasted.

Loons season ends with a 6-2 loss to LA Galaxy in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

LA scored less than one minute into the game. Loons tied it up on a great goal by Yeboah at the 6-minute mark. LA went up 3-1. then Yeboah scored again on a penalty kick and it was 3-2 at the half.

LA ended the suspense by adding three more goals in the second half. Loons finished the match a man short after Jefferson Diaz was sent off for his second Yellow Card.

stats were not pretty. LA had possession for 73% of the match.

we'll see what changes - if any - take place before next season, now the the new Sporting Director and Manager (head coach) have a full off-season to tweak the roster.
 

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