A rotated starting squad took to the pitch at Allianz Field tonight, with midfielder Nectarios Triantis taking on the role of right center back, Owen Gene manning the double pivot with Wil Trapp with Darius Randell and Dominik Fitz on the wings, and Momo Dieng leading the charge up front. After Wednesday’s devastating loss in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, several starters who played nearly the full 120 minutes got a bit of a break, with the Loons’ newer faces looking to cement a home bounceback.

The young guys looked ready to step in right off the bat. A Fitz free kick fed the ball to Romero for a header back to Gene, who logged a shot on target in the first minute. Chicago’s Chris Brady scooped it up, but the momentum was sparked. The dynamic trio of Randell, Dieng, and Fitz created a number of chances for Minnesota in the early going, and the Black and Blue held onto pretty even possession for the first 20 minutes. They looked comfortable on the ball, the fresh faces hungry for attacking action and entirely unafraid to make strong pushes forward.

The Fire made some changes to last week’s lineup as well. Mirroring the Loons' tried-and-true formation, they went with a five-man backline of their own, with Andrew Gutman and Jonathan Dean playing the role of wingback, bracketing the front three of Philip Zinckernagel, Hugo Cuypers, and Jonathan Bamba. While a more defensive approach on paper, it proved to be an incredibly attack-oriented formation for a club that already presented quite the offensive threat.

Dayne St. Clair made four major saves throughout the first half, with Triantis and Romero dominating turnovers and Anthony Markanich performing the attack-minded wingback role that’s served him so well all season. But Chicago’s 26th-minute free kick saw a bit of a mind game: Zinckernagel lurched forward in a fake-out, leaving Andre Franco to take the real kick and sending the ball to former Montréal defender Joel Waterman, who sent a left-footed shot into the lower right to give the Fire the lead.

After the Chicago goal, Randell continued his relentless work rate from end to end, and a number of great combinations with Fitz and Dieng resulted in several runs, corners, and shots, but the Loons couldn’t convert. Trapp picked up a yellow in the 40’, and we all got a sense of deja vu. Zinckernagel again faked the free kick, Franco sent it into the box, and Dje D’Avilla slammed it past St. Clair to double the lead for Chicago.

Shortly after the half, at the 55’ mark, Ramsay pulled a quadruple substitution: Joaquín Pereyra, Michael Boxall, Robin Lod, and Bongokuhle Hlongwane came in for Randell, Trapp, Gene, and Fitz, respectively. Despite a quick free kick and subsequent corner by Pereyra, the Loons couldn’t quite find their stride. It was a bit of a push and pull, with Chicago and Minnesota trading stretches of time in their respective attacking thirds. The Loons briefly appeared to have some life when Momo Dieng swept in on a Pereyra pass in the 68’, swerving around Brady to find a late goal, only to be declared offside.

With 20 minutes left on the clock, Gutman broke forward to feed the ball to Zinckernagel, who dodged Romero’s slide and made it three for the visitors. Chicago won a penalty in the 87th minute, and club-leading scorer Cuypers stepped up to take the shot, but St. Clair saved it with a dive to the corner. Things got dicey following the save, with both Romero and Chicago’s Jack Elliot picking up yellows shortly after. There was no shortage of passion on the pitch, but it just wasn’t enough to get your Loons on the scoresheet in the end.

If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that we saw some promising attacking prowess from a trio of young Loons. (And that there were horns in the Wonderwall.) But the fact remains that after San Diego’s draw in Atlanta earlier tonight, this match could have tied Minnesota for first in the West and kept the Loons in contention for the Shield. The result is a hard loss, especially on the heels of Wednesday’s Open Cup elimination. It’s a gut punch, but Minnesota has a full week to recover ahead of a road match in Colorado. With three regular-season matches left and a secured spot in the playoffs, there’s a lot of life left in this Loons side.