The Twos capped off their five-game homestand on Saturday with a decisive 5-2 victory over St. Louis CITY2, complete with a Darius Randell brace and a Marcus Caldeira hat trick that earned him his second Player of the Matchweek title of the season. Caldeira is now tied for first in the MLSNP Golden Boot race, equalling Columbus Crew 2’s Zachary Zengue and Atlanta United 2’s Arif Kovac at 10 goals each.
Randell’s brace brings him to a total of six goals on the season, second-most in the club, and he and Caldeira are fantastic examples of players with first-team contracts who have taken the development opportunities offered by MLS NEXT Pro and run with them. As regular starters and high scorers for the second team, both of them are fast-tracking their skill development and leadership ability while piling on the minutes that will serve them well in later MLS play.
With that win, the Twos have climbed to sixth in the West, and now they’re taking that momentum into a midweek matchup in California. LAFC2 is coming off a loss to a powerhouse Austin side, though the game was only the second time they’ve been shut out all season. Prior to the loss, they went undefeated in four consecutive May matchups.
Tommy Mihalić leads the club with six goals, with Gavin Zambrano topping the assist column with four. Fabian Sandoval’s side boasts a creative three-man attack, pairing Mihalić with the likes of Jacob Machuca, Charlie Kosakoff, or Ernesto Rodriguez to navigate tricky back lines. Their net is manned by a rotation of four goalkeepers who have racked up a total of 53 saves. For context, the young Loons have totaled 46, though they’ve also managed three shutouts to LAFC2’s zero. Minnesota has also rotated through four keepers this season, a common occurrence in MLS NEXT Pro as teams take the opportunity to develop draft picks and Academy players for future first-team positioning.
With only three points separating these two intrepid teams on the table, this head-to-head is shaping up to be quite the show. Tune in live via MLSNEXTPro.com or OneFootball as the Twos take on LAFC2 on Wednesday, June 24 at 9:00 p.m. CT at USC - Rawlinson Stadium.
