The Twos are marathoning into the third of five May matchups tomorrow, quite the change in pace after a relatively spaced-out schedule in March and April. Four consecutive victories were followed up with tough back-to-back home losses to reigning champs North Texas SC and St. Louis CITY2, leaving the boys looking to rekindle their early momentum over Austin FC II this Friday.

MNUFC2 are sitting at eighth in the West, but lead the conference in points per game (2), having played fewer matches than any other MLS NEXT Pro team so far. Winning four of six matches plus seeing some major U.S. Open Cup action is a pretty promising record in my book. Austin has won only two of their eight matches so far, most recently on the road against Ventura County FC, where they pulled off a 1-0 victory over the West’s top team. They last played MNUFC2 in the Loons’ early March season opener, in which Minnesota won off a stoppage-time goal from Kisa Kiingi.

Several Twos players have seen first-team minutes since, with Wessel Speel notably starting in goal for both U.S. Open Cup victories. Nine MNUFC2 players were called up for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 against Louisville City, where Darius Randell scored in his debut to advance the Loons to the Round of 16. Kieran Chandler also made his MLS debut in Houston on May 14.

Curt Calov has put in some solid performances lately, scoring his first professional goal against St. Louis CITY2 and operating as a playmaker in the midfield. In the same game, midfielder Alpha Kabia and forward Troy Putt made their MNUFC2 debuts. Some intense first-team schedule demands have left the Twos with fewer players from the first team roster available for selection, but Devin Padelford and Löic Mesanvi have consistently taken to the pitch and demonstrated excellent leadership starting five and six games this season, respectively.

The Loons search for a return to the winners’ column at Parmer Field tomorrow, May 23 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Catch the action on MLS Season Pass.