Matchday 33 was a wild night all around the league, with upsets and hat tricks left and right. At the end of it all, two Loons landed in the Team of the Matchday lineup, and boy, is the honor well-deserved.
Playing in San Diego for the first time, Saturday’s matchup was a critical juncture for the Loons. A loss would essentially hand the conference title to the expansion side, while a win would keep Minnesota in the race for the Supporters’ Shield. And win they did, taking home a 1-3 victory complete with a Goal of the Year candidate that nobody can stop talking about.
Dayne St. Clair was locked in from the get-go, thwarting a left-footed Anders Dreyer shot in the 11th minute and then logging save after save until the whistle blew. He closed the first half on a crucial 0-0, keeping Minnesota in the game, and tallied a whopping 12 saves by the end of the match. Conceding only once on a last-minute Tverskov header that wasn’t nearly enough to rescue San Diego, the match marks St. Clair’s first TOTM honor of the season and 11th since 2020.
While St. Clair held down the fort, Coach Ramsay made a 63rd-minute substitution: New signing Nectarios Triantis, formerly of Sunderland FC, who touched down in the Twin Cities just days before the match. Without even having had much of a chance to train with the team, the U22 midfielder made his MLS debut, and I think it’s safe to say nobody has ever made quite such a first impression.
In the 77th minute, Triantis grabbed a Kelvin Yeboah pass in the attacking third and quickly handed it off to Carlos Harvey, who doubled the lead with a left-footed shot from the right side of the box. A first assist just 14 minutes into a debut? Not bad, Triantis, not bad.
But he wasn’t done yet. In the second minute of stoppage time, with the Loons up 0-2, Triantis decided a two-goal margin wasn’t quite enough for one of the most decisive matches of the season. He sent an absolutely gorgeous shot from past centerfield into the net of a backpedaling CJ Dos Santos, cementing a huge victory for the Loons and making a name for himself even in the chaos of a matchday that saw crazy scoring all around the league.
What a way to set the momentum ahead of the most intense road to the postseason yet. The win in San Diego means your Loons are in contention for not one, not two, but three trophies this year: the MLS Cup, the Supporters’ Shield, and the U.S. Open Cup. Speaking of which, Minnesota will build on this momentum as they host Austin FC in the Open Cup semifinals this Wednesday, September 17 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Time for more saves, more goals, and more progress toward some very important silverware.
F: Denis Bouanga (LAFC), Idan Toklomati (CLT), Thomas Müller (VAN)
M: Emmanuel Sabbi (VAN), Evander (CIN), Nectarios Triantis (MIN), Diego Rossi (CLB)
D: Bernard Kamungo (DAL), Miki Yamane (LA), Alex Freeman (ORL)
GK: Dayne St. Clair (MIN)
Coach: Jesper Sørensen (VAN)
Bench: Kristijan Kahlina (CLT), MathÃas Laborda (VAN), Conrad Wallem (STL), Sebastian Berhalter (VAN), Ali Ahmed (VAN), Dániel Gazdag (CLB), Zavier Gozo (RSL), Jamal Thiaré (ATL), Danny Musovski (SEA)
