It was a beautiful night in Saint Paul to close out an eventful summer of soccer, as the Loons hosted the Portland Timbers in a matchup with major postseason implications on the line. Matchday 31 had the potential to be the earliest Minnesota United has ever clinched a playoffs berth, and that pressure only pushed them harder.
The first half was characterized by a combination of incredibly clean tackles, a solid trio of saves from keeper Dayne St. Clair, and some phenomenal midfield combinations that maintained the push-and-pull feeling that ran all the way up to the whistle. Recent Portland signing Matías Rojas was a constant threat on the ball, making things feel dicey in the box on a number of occasions, but Minnesota’s defense prevailed. Anthony Markanich was on top of it on the left, shutting the Timbers down in the defensive third and getting forward quickly to contribute to the attack, while Jefferson Díaz’s defensive acumen saved the day on several occasions.
Minnesota’s dynamic midfield constantly shifted to engineer space in off-the-ball movement and cover significant ground when the Black and Blue did have possession. The double pivot of Rosales and Trapp slipped seamlessly between defensive and attacking play. Joaquín Pereyra and Robin Lod expertly navigated the wings, creating opportunities all over the place. Minnesota’s quick-footed wingbacks covered every inch of the pitch. With all that fluidity, the initial 5-4-1 more often looked like a 5-3-2 or even a 4-3-3, a testament to the versatility of every Loon on the pitch.
Despite several set pieces and shots on both sides, neither club could put themselves on the scoreboard in the first 45, only adding to the mounting tension. The loss of striker Tani Oluwaseyi was keenly felt up front, but the Loons hit the ground running in the second half with a stellar run by Bongokuhle Hlongwane. Pereyra made a shot out of Bongi’s perfect pass, but Portland’s James Pantemis was there to knock it away. Lod, ready on the rebound, tried to make the best of the play but found the crossbar instead. A heck of a 49th minute.
The next stretch of minutes found play concentrated in Minnesota’s attacking third, but still Portland’s defense found ways to mitigate attacks from the home team. Both sides opted to shake things up with a pair of subs in the 61st: Julian Gressel and Carlos Harvey on for Díaz and Rosales, respectively, and Portland’s David Da Costa and Felipe Mora taking to the pitch for Rojas and Kevin Kelsy.
Gressel quickly grabbed the opportunity to progress the ball, leading to a brilliant 66th-minute shot by Lod that was deflected by Pantemis. When former Olympiacos player Kristoffer Velde returned the favor in the 70th, St. Clair was ready to shut it down. With 20 minutes left on the clock and nothing on the scoreboard, the tension was palpable at Allianz Field; every minute still felt neck-and-neck.
New signing Momo Dieng, acquired from Hartford Athletic just before the end of the transfer window, made his debut in the 77th minute to electric applause and scarf-twirling for a classic Michael Boxall throw-in. The new momentum was unfortunately squandered shortly after, however, when a 79th-minute run by Portland’s Antony ended in a Nicolás Romero own-goal. Now down by one, the fire lit under the Loons burned even hotter.
Lod took advantage of it with an absolute brilliant touch in the 85th minute, when he brought Trapp’s phenomenal service from centerfield down over the shoulder right in front of the goal box. Pantemis couldn’t beat that right foot in such close quarters.
The whistle blew on a 1-1 draw, and Minnesota became the third team to clinch a spot in the playoffs as other matches wrapped up in the West minutes later. That’s right, let’s scream about that for a second — YOUR LOONS ARE GOING TO PLAYOFFS! Time to do a happy dance in your living room, folks. That’s just about the best result you can get from a draw.
Now, several Loons head out for international duty while the rest of the team enjoys a brief break from MLS action. They’ll be back on September 13 for a showdown with first-place San Diego, bringing the energy and using every minute on the pitch to get ready for the playoffs run of a lifetime. Cuz maybe… this could be our year.
