Another week down, another week closer to the start of the 2026 MLS regular season. This week is all about preseason prep, with Minnesota United making the most of their time in the sun before heading home this weekend.
The Cleanest Sheets in California
Since last week’s report, your Loons have played two of their three CVI tune-up matches, and they have yet to concede a goal out in California. In their first game of the tournament, the boys took on Sporting KC, taking down their friendliest rivals 3-0 with a strong lineup on the field. A pair of goals from Anthony Markanich saw the defender continue his streak of being in the right place at all the right times, while a striker’s finish from Kelvin Yeboah showed the forward’s sharpness heading into 2026. Head Coach Cameron Knowles was pleased with his side’s efforts.
“I thought it was a really positive experience,” he said. “It was a good first game for us. We’re probably the only team in MLS that hadn't played an MLS opponent up until this point. We wanted to see some good stuff on the ball, some of the ideas that we're trying to drip in, and we saw that. We wanted to see moments when the team's trying to defend a little bit higher up the pitch, a little bit different structure within that, and we got to see that.”
The match against D.C. United saw an entirely different lineup take the field, playing out what was a hard-fought 0-0 draw against their first Eastern Conference opponents of the year. Standout performances from Devin Padelford at left back and Momoh Kamara in the midfield made for some interesting sparks, as did the battle between new Loon, Peter Stroud, and his brother Jared, who lined up for the opposition.
All along, the plan was to play two largely different lineups in games one and two, giving the whole roster a chance to get valuable minutes ahead of the season kickoff. While one would imagine the lineup we saw against Sporting KC is closer to the starting eleven the coaching staff would select for a league match, there are still plenty of factors to consider, including the eventual introduction of James Rodríguez and the continued evolution of how the team plays.
After an offseason that has seen many aspects of the team change, Coach Knowles emphasized the unique situation the club finds itself in.
“It's a difficult balance when you're in transition like we are,” he said. “I think if you're coming in with largely the same team, largely the same style of play, and you're just going to rinse and repeat, then it's more about building minutes, maybe integrating one or two players.
“We're trying to see if we change a few things, and who are the partnerships if we do? What units look like the most likely to be able to execute what we want? So there is a challenge with that, and a challenge with not having any games until now. But I think for the most part, we've done well with that. The players, to their credit, have really attacked the 11v11 scrimmages that we've had like games, and then once we got here, you could see there was a real hunger for that first game, so where other teams might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of preseason finishing, our guys are really, really hungry for a different opposition and to play in those games. So I think we're riding that balance.”
The final match of preseason will be February 14, at noon CT. The Loons will be taking on Charlotte FC, the fourth-place team in the Eastern Conference standings at the end of last season. Fans can expect to see yet another rotated lineup, likely with more similarities to the match against SKC. Streaming is available for FREE on mnufc.com, with the game also available via FOX Television Stations and Gray Media properties.
