It was a beautiful night for the beautiful game, and the Loons made the most of it as they hosted the San Jose Earthquakes at a packed Allianz Field. After beating the Quakes on the road back in March, the Black and Blue were ready to double down on the other black and blue, and they wasted no time.

A second-minute left-footed corner from Joaquín Pereyra swept into the box, where Robin Lod was ready to head it to the feet of striker Tani Oluwaseyi. One touch was all he needed to swipe it past Daniel and give the Loons a very early lead. How’s that for the most aggressive set piece team in the world? (Yeah, we’re gonna keep milking that for a little while longer.)

Tactically speaking, this matchup was always going to be ground-shaking. San Jose, the second-highest scoring team in the West, pitted against Minnesota, easily one of the best defenses in the league. San Jose, aggressive in every sense of the word, racking up fouls against a team with an insane reputation for set pieces. Aside from Benji Kikanović’s injury — first in a nasty collision with the board, then going down again in the 28th, before making way for sub Nick Lima — there were really no lulls in action, the first half moving at a breakneck pace.

Despite the Quakes’ top scorer, Chicho Arango, playing on the left, the bulk of San Jose’s attack was concentrated in the right wing. Rodrigues and Ousseni Bouda played in sync, with Beau Leroux providing a number of great balls, though the three of them couldn’t quite put one past Minnesota’s killer backline.

In a return to the 5-3-2 Ramsay favored so often at the beginning of the season, Oluwaseyi and Kelvin Yeboah paired up in the front, and they did not disappoint. Oluwaseyi broke out on a stellar run toward the end of the first half, and though San Jose’s Rodrigues forced him to the endline, Oluwaseyi sent the ball curving to Yeboah for a brilliant header right into the corner of the net. Daniel’s dive couldn’t save it, and both halves of the dynamic duo had logged a goal by the 42nd minute.

Seven minutes of stoppage time gave the Loons even more chances, including a promising run by defender Jefferson Díaz, followed by a shot from Oluwaseyi that was brilliantly saved. Then, as Pereyra sent yet another corner sailing into the box in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Nicolás Romero headed the ball back to Anthony Markanich, who slammed a calculated right-footed shot into the top right corner. With Markanich’s fifth goal of the regular season, the ref called the half on a 3-0 lead for Minnesota.

A 68’ triple substitution from Bruce Arena had Bouda, Costa, and Daniel Munie leaving the pitch for Niko Tsakiris, Preston Judd, and Bruno Wilson. The swap was rewarded in the 70th minute, when Wilson scored in close quarters off an assist from Judd, putting the Quakes on the board. The visitors had a fire beneath them now, with Chicho picking up a yellow in the 84th and repeated attempts boosting San Jose’s shot count up to 10, but it wasn’t enough to shut down Minnesota’s disciplined defense.

Bongokuhle Hlongwane took to the field in the 78th minute in place of Gressel, followed shortly by a San Jose substitution of Jamar Ricketts for Rodrigues. Ramsay opted for a defensive addition in an 85th-minute substitution of Morris Duggan for Pereyra. Dayne St. Clair logged another critical save when Judd tried for a 90th-minute goal, and an identical seven minutes of stoppage time hit the clock with the home side up 3-1.

The Wonderwall, once again, wasn’t shy in demanding another goal from the Black and Blue. In the fifth minute of stoppage time (sound familiar?), Tani Oluwaseyi orchestrated a fantastic breakaway up the left side of the field, getting up close and personal with the keeper before sliding it right to a perfectly positioned Joseph Rosales, who netted the Loons’ fourth goal of the night in their highest-scoring game since May 10’s win over Inter Miami.

After Ramsay’s deviation from the 5-3-2 earlier this season, then some heavy schedule congestion and Oluwaseyi out on international duty, the pair of strikers haven’t had a ton of chances to play in tandem up front over the past several months. The return to the 5-3-2 tonight proved that Oluwaseyi and Yeboah are capable of thriving alongside one another, both locked in and entirely attuned to one another’s movements. The threat they posed as a unit tonight was absurd. Don’t be surprised if you see this formation become the norm once again. And don’t forget that nobody does set pieces (two goals off of 14 free kicks, five corners, and 18 throw-ins, to get specific) like us.