In the five years since Minnesota United joined MLS, the Loons had never managed to beat the Seattle Sounders. A perennial powerhouse of the league, Seattle had a 13-game unbeaten streak going, but all of that ended on July 18. The Loons simultaneously snapped the Sounders’ streak and got the win over the Rave Green for the first time in their history.
“The most important thing was we got the win,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “I thought the manner of the win as well, I thought first half, first 35 minutes, we were excellent. And I loved the fact that the crowd was so involved in the game. I think it might be one of the best atmospheres we’ve had at the stadium. It was fantastic. Made you realize how important the supporters are and what a difference they make to this sport. It was an all-around good day. The fact that [Seattle] hadn’t been beaten all season, the fact that we got 18 points from the last nine games – that’s two points a game, which we always talk about – it gets you towards the top of the table. But it sets us up nicely for a big game against Portland now at home.”
The victory for the Loons came in the 80th minute, as Minnesota United midfielder Niko Hansen slotted a pass to forward Robin Lod on the back post. There, Lod finished the play and gave Minnesota the goal they needed to beat the Sounders.
“Before I came in, even, he [Adrian Heath] said, ‘Make a difference,’” said Hansen. “You could tell the game was dying down a little bit, the back three was getting tired and I could just see it. I was licking at the chops to get in and get in behind and make a difference.”
With Seattle done and dusted, the focus for the Loons shifts to the Portland Timbers. The Loons have been preparing themselves this week as they have an unbeaten streak going against Portland here in Minnesota. The key to keeping the streak alive is the fans.
“We’ll need the fans, once again. And if you didn’t learn anything from Sunday, it’s certainly the fact that we need our fans and we love playing in front of them,” said midfielder Wil Trapp. “Ultimately this game coming Saturday will be very much about how we can keep them engaged with how we’re playing but also we need to score, we need to score more than one goal and we need to keep the zero, because when we get shutouts, we win games and that’s just what we’ve seen so far this year and we have to continue that.”
Portland currently sits in sixth after a victory win on the road at LAFC this past Wednesday night. Minnesota are right behind them in seventh with 18 points, one less than Portland. Saturday night’s match is one the Loons need to win — a classic six-pointer against a conference opponent close to them in the standings.
“I think we match up quite well with them,” said Heath. “I think it’s four or five games now, and we’ve won a couple of times [in Portland] as well. We had the Open Cup [Semifinal] victory. But the one thing I do know is if they’re on a good day and the likes of [Sebastian] Blanco, and the likes of [Diego] Valeri, you look at the kid [Dairon] Asprilla, he has days where he looks unplayable, [Jeremy] Ebobisse, and [Felipe] Mora is back in, they’ve got a lot of weapons and I know now that if we don’t play well, if we don’t play to the level that I know we need to play at, it’s going to be a tough afternoon for us on the weekend.
