One star stood out in Tinseltown sky tonight, and it didn’t have any Hollywood actor’s name sprawled across it. No, L’Etoile du Nord shone the brightest tonight, as Minnesota United took down the LA Galaxy 2-1 to earn their first road win of 2026. Despite some significant absences on the teamsheet, the Loons were composed from the first to the final whistle, putting in their best performance of the season so far. 

With veteran leaders Wil Trapp (illness) and Michael Boxall (injury) out, the Loons turned to midfielder Owen Gene and defender Nicolás Romero to fill the gaps. Joaquín Pereyra stepped up to wear the captain’s armband, serving as the righthand prong of one of the league’s most unique attacking tridents alongside Tomás Chancalay and Kelvin Yeboah. They were all active in this one, and it didn’t take long for them to stretch their legs. 

After just two minutes, the visitors had already generated two half-chances, punishing some careless mistakes from the Galaxy and setting the tone for what was ultimately a very spirited night of soccer. The Loons’ defensive shape was more organized and effective tonight than it’s been all year, with clear triggers signaling shifts from a low block, to a midblock, to a unified press. The shape wasn’t the only aspect that took a step up tonight, though, as Romero impressed in his second start of the season. His presence on the left side of the backline, along with the excellent positioning and leadership of Morris Duggan in the middle, kept the hosts from finding any attacking momentum in the first half.

With some excellent defensive play to build off of, the Loons were able to relax, maintaining possession and putting together a few passages of fluid passing. A relatively slow pace in the first 45 ultimately saw the teams go into the break level, but the visitors were certainly the happier side halfway through proceedings. It felt like a breakthrough was coming, and once again, it didn’t take long for the action to start.

Just six minutes into the second half, the Loons took advantage of a high Galaxy backline, as Pereyra fed Anthony Markanich to put him one-on-one with the keeper. Major League Soccer’s highest-scoring defender in 2025 did what he does best, sneaking his shot just past Galaxy keeper JT Marcinkowski to give his side the lead. 

Goals change games, as we know, and this one was no exception. With the dam broken, both teams began finding more and more creative opportunities, stretching the game and injecting far more pace than we saw in the first half. LA’s Marco Reus leveled the match just six minutes later, putting home a rebound after Drake Callender pulled out an impressive, point-blank save on the first attempt. Game on, and still half an hour to play. 

It was the Loons who struck the winning blow, when Chancalay and Yeboah combined for a lovely passage of play in the 67th minute. Chancalay’s quick feet saw him get to the endline, where he lifted a cross just high enough to get through traffic and into the path of his incoming teammate. With the lead restored, the gameplan shifted, but the attacking spark didn’t fade at all. 

While the Loons had been playing more aggressively to start the half, wingbacks Duncan and Markanich were noticeably further back at 2-1, providing cover and a springboard for counter attacks. They shifted with the kind of efficiency and discipline that we grew used to seeing last season, but with an attacking edge that felt distinctly new. 

Several close calls nearly gave MNUFC the final blow they needed to really kill the game off, but each chance fell just short. The Galaxy peppered Callender with increasingly desperate shots as time ran out, but the Loons’ keeper answered every challenge with confidence, seeing out the game in professional fashion. 

Tonight’s result came from a true team effort, with every single player wearing Black and Blue contributing to the performance. Owen Gene didn’t put a foot wrong on the night, demonstrating a calmness on the ball that’s more often seen in players far older than him. He and Nectarios Triantis formed a great partnership in Trapp’s absence, despite Triantis having just a day to recover from international duty and travel. Pereyra was particularly bright as well, diving deep into his bag of tricks to bring the kind of flair and creativity to the field that makes us fall in love with this game. All in all, not a bad way to get your first road win of the year.

With this result, the Loons are now on eight points, good enough for ninth place in a packed Western Conference. They’ll be looking to keep this positive momentum going, as yet another away match awaits them in San Diego next Saturday. We’ve got another 9:30 p.m. CT kickoff on the way, so take a nap before the game; you don’t want to miss MLS after dark, do you?