There were at least four tubas being played in the crowd as Minnesota United kicked off their tenth season in MLS in the live music capital of the world, earning a gritty 2-2 draw against Austin FC. Both sides had moments to hang their hats on before the final whistle, but it was a last-minute header from Kelvin Yeboah that made the lasting difference.

To say it was a slow start from the Loons wouldn’t be quite right. The visitors came out running plenty fast, but it was disjointed, leaving space for the hosts to play with, and keeping Cameron Knowles’ side from building any meaningful attacks. It was clear that both sides were growing into some new personnel and new tactics, making for a very open, exhilarating first 20 minutes. 

The Verde and Black maintained the lion’s share of possession during that settling-in period, producing several impressive counters behind some raucous crowd energy. Their opening goal didn’t come from the run of play, though, with Facundo Torres’ corner kick being headed home by an unmarked Brendan Hines-Ike in the 7th minute. 

Nico Estévez’s men continued to play on the front foot for the next several minutes, but the Loons got their lines sorted by the half-hour mark. With their spacing figured out, the Black and Blue found far more success in their aggressive defensive approach, winning the ball in crucial areas and generally managing to pin their opponents in their own half for much of the closing 15 minutes.

That pressure paid dividends in the 40th minute, when Morris Duggan got behind his marker to head home the equalizer at the back post, scoring his first MLS goal and making it a corner goal apiece in this season-opening matchup. The Loons went into the locker room looking the more composed of the two sides, evidently shaking their early excitement and falling into the patterns that their new head coach is hoping to see them perfect in 2026. 

The second half saw Austin’s Jayden Nelson shoulder the creative burden for the hosts early on, giving DJ Taylor all he could handle on the Loons’ right flank. The Loons continued to apply pressure, refusing to let the opposition have much time on the ball regardless of where they were on the pitch. This translated into a very spread-out first 15 minutes to start the second half, putting extra miles on everyone’s legs and leaving room for more periods of established possession once the starters grew tired. 

Carlos Harvey and Julian Gressel were called upon in the 65th minute, replacing Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Taylor in the hopes that fresh legs might change the balance. Austin turned to the bench as well, and it was their substitute that supplied the ball that broke the deadlock. As soon as the Loons left space for Austin to play with the ball, Robert Taylor’s curling service found the backpost run of Jon Gallagher, who sent the ball into the path of Myrto Uzuni for a tap-in in the 76th minute. 

With just 13 minutes and change to play with, the Loons turned to the bench yet again, putting on Homegrown defender Devin Padelford in place of Anthony Markanich. MNUFC2’s Troy Putt made his MLS debut as well, coming into the match alongside Mamadou Dieng in the 86th minute. Chances continued to crop up on either side of the field as time ticked away, but just as it seemed the Black and Blue would have to go home empty-handed, it was the hometown kid that stepped up.

In the 90th minute, Padelford found himself with the ball at his feet and acres of space ahead. He glided forward, got just enough space past his defender, and sent a pinpoint, curling cross into the box for Kelvin Yeboah to rifle into the back of the net with his head, opening up his 2026 goal-scoring account in dramatic fashion.

Both teams were integrating new ideas in today’s match, and it showed. After their somewhat frantic start, the Loons settled into their shape nicely, alternating between a 4-4-2 in defense and a very fluid 3-5-2-esque shape with the ball. The ideas that Knowles emphasized in preseason are clearly beginning to take shape, with the line of confrontation well ahead of where it was throughout 2025 and the general disposition of the players appearing to be much more aggressive, on and off the ball. If this trend continues, the Loons could make for quite the exciting watch in 2026.

The stat sheet told the same story as the scoreline in this one. While the Loons edged the expected goals race, there was very little to separate these two sides by the end of the night in what could be chalked up as a promising start for two clubs getting used to some significant offseason adjustments. Your Loons will be back at Allianz Field next weekend for their home opener, hosting FC Cincinnati in a massive cross-conference showdown.