Recap

Loons Fall to Relentless Rapids in Tense Home Match

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Sunday evening at Allianz Field started with an all-around warm feeling to match the weather: mascots galore, kids’ activities lighting up the Great Lawn, and Minneapolis soccer player Tommy Schweinitz taking to the pitch with the Loons and fulfilling his Make-a-Wish dream. A ceremonial kickoff was quickly followed by Schweinitz’s goal off an assist by Tani Oluwaseyi, and while the move didn’t make the official scoreline, it certainly started the night off on a high-energy note at Allianz Field.

After a fast-paced and crowded Phase One of Leagues Cup that saw both Colorado and Minnesota knocked out of the tournament, the Loons made a rocky return to regular-season play against a Rapids side still reeling from the loss of star midfielder Djordje Mihailovic in a club record-breaking cash-for-player trade to Toronto FC.

Armas kept up his favored staggered midfield, which has maintained a four-man backline with varying arrangements in the attack throughout the season. He compensated for Mihailovic’s absence with Sam Vines, Darren Yapi, and Calvin Harris backing up Rafael Navarro in the sole striker spot opposite Minnesota’s Kelvin Yeboah.

Both sides started firing off shots almost immediately, with a fourth-minute attempt by Navarro being saved by Dayne St. Clair and then a Bongokuhle Hlongwane shot kept away by Colorado captain Andreas Maxsø. Kelvin Yeboah led the 5-4-1 with Tani Oluwaseyi taking on that more fluid position in the right midfield, a combination that’s proven to be lethal many times before, but the Rapids forced Minnesota into 57.2 percent possession — the scenario in which Ramsay’s side struggles the most, as evidenced by their final Leagues Cup match against San Luis.

The first half was a relentless series of shots and turnovers and near-misses. A trio of shots from Joaquín Pereyra all in the span of a few minutes (13’, 16’, 17’) had the opposing defense on high alert. Hlongwane swept in to knock the ball out when Sam Vines got a bit too close to goal in the 36th minute, sacrificing a corner in a calculated move and show of trust in the Black and Blue defense. True to form, St. Clair snatched Cole Bassett’s corner right out of the air and returned the game to run of play.

A steady double pivot of Wil Trapp and Robin Lod, some coordinated wingback work, plus some top-notch defending from a backline trio of Michael Boxall, Nicolás Romero, and Carlos Harvey kept the first 45 primarily in the Loons’ favor.

But Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen was on his A-game, saving four shots from Minnesota and never hesitating in his distribution. Getting the ball past him proved to be a challenge, and despite the persistence of the Loons’ attack — including nine shots and three corners — the whistle blew on a scoreless first half.

Tensions continued to mount in the second half, with several attempts coming incredibly close. A wildly fast run by Navarro into an open attacking third had Minnesota on edge, but Trapp (in the 350th start of his MLS career) swooped in to save the day in a brilliant show of speed and footwork. A Yeboah-Lod combo nearly paid off from the center of the box, but Maxsø deflected the shot before it could reach Steffen’s zone.

The Rapids took the lead in the 60th minute with a tricky right-footed shot by Yapi, a shock to the system as Colorado made a run up the left side in a speedy counterattack that capitalized on the Loons’ scattered defense.

The Loons responded with a barrage of set pieces and shots that just weren’t paying dividends. Ramsay made a trio of substitutions, bringing in Joseph Rosales, Julian Gressel, and Owen Gene in for Markanich, Lod, and Hlongwane. Rosales delivered on back-to-back corners, but Steffen just wouldn’t stop saving, whether it was a 64th-minute header or a 65th-minute left-footed shot from Oluwaseyi.

Colorado made another rapid (pun intended) counterattack in the 70th minute, with Navarro breaking away and sending a ball to Yapi on the right and making it a brace — much to the dismay of a crowd that wasn’t holding anything back. The Loons channeled the frustration into their first goal of the night, erasing the Rapids’ clean sheet when Rosales delivered a great ball to Oluwaseyi, who slammed it into the upper right in the 73rd minute to get Minnesota on the board.

Chris Armas put Ted Ku-DiPietro and Keegan Rosenberry in for Calvin Harris and Ian Murphy in the 78th, and the rest of the match was a series of persistent shots from the Loons that just wouldn’t go in. Oluwaseyi’s 80th-minute shot went wide. Pereyra’s brilliant shot from the center of the box was knocked out by Vines. Not two minutes later, another was blocked by the Rapids’ Noah Cobb. Harvey blasted a right-footed shot from outside the box that was saved yet again by Steffen. In the end, the Loons logged 22 shots, 10 on target, but couldn’t snap back.

As the last eight games of the regular season approach, Minnesota remains in third in the West. To confidently keep themselves in the top three, like they have been since May, they’ll need to find a return to the winning form they were in prior to Leagues Cup. Whether that requires a mindset shift or a tactical one, or even some fresh perspectives with new signings before the end of the secondary transfer window, the Black and Blue won’t be coasting through the remainder of the season. It’ll be a grind to remain one of the top contenders in the West, and next week’s home game against fourth-place Seattle could be the key to lighting a fire under these Loons.