March 11, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Minnesota United FC News Release
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. – For the first time since 2019, Allianz Field was at full capacity for an MNUFC home opener last Saturday night as the Loons took on Nashville SC. The boys from The Volunteer State got on the board quick in the fifth minute with a sliding finish from C.J. Sapong. Then, after a weather delay that led to chanting on the concourse, Dotson did as Dotson does and buried the ball in the back of the net to secure a draw. Next up, the Loons will fly out to the East Coast to take on the Red Bulls for New York’s 2022 home opener. So far this season, New York has secured six points on the road with a 3-1 win in San Jose and a 4-1 win in Toronto. The last time the Loons and the Red Bulls faced off in 2019, MNUFC secured its first win against the boys from The Big Apple. In order to replicate the success they had in their last meeting, the Loons will need to be prepared for a productive New York offense and get on the scoreboard early to keep the Red Bulls at bay.
ADRIAN HEATH ON THE CLUB’S HOME OPENER THIS LAST SATURDAY NIGHT
“Thought the supporters were incredible, especially the ones that stayed. It’s never easy when it’s so cold, everybody is wet then you got to wait another hour before everybody comes back out. I thought we started the game too slow, but after the first 20, 25 minutes, when we got a foothold in the game. I thought the first half, [Nashville] would probably shaded it, second half I thought we were the better team… Loss column is still at zero, the longer that stays that, the better, and we’ve got a big game coming up this weekend.”
BRENT KALLMAN ON THE UPCOMING GAME AGAINST RED BULLS
“I think you’re always in for a tough game anytime you play Red Bulls. It’s going to be nasty. It’s going to be gritty. You gotta be ready to fight for the first ball at all the knockdowns over the course of 90 minutes. They really test you and they have quality too but the games have been a fistfight. I think you have to be ready to match that and do it better than they do. It’s different, they bring you in to their style of play and, inevitably, you’re going to have to play an ugly game. We’ll be ready for them.”
THE OPPOSITION
Minnesota United FC has its work cut out for itself this Sunday evening. The Loons face a Red Bulls squad that took all six possible points from its first two away matches of the season, is currently leading the league in goals scored (7) and goal differential (+5), and is led by dangerous winger Lewis Morgan, who tallied a hat trick in the first half of last week’s win in Toronto and took home MLS Player of the Week honors. RBNY is off to its best start since 2017 and is looking to start the season with a 3-0 mark for the first time in franchise history. The tough schedule to start the season continues, but this match in New Jersey provides an exciting opportunity for MNUFC. It will be hard to keep the Loons hype train quiet for much longer if the club is able to notch points in a third consecutive game against a participant from last year’s Eastern Conference playoff bracket.
STORYLINES PRESENTED BY BMW
SLOWING DOWN THE CHARGE: New York has scored the second-most goals in all of Major League Soccer over their first two games – three in their first game against San Jose and four in their second game against Toronto. Minnesota will certainly need to slow that down if they aim to get points from this matchup. That said, it remains to be seen if New York’s early success augurs a future trend or is simply a product of a small sample size. In 2021, they scored more than two goals in just one match the entire season (September 17 against Miami). Remove games against Miami from that list and they only scored three or more goals twice in 2020 and 2021 combined.
FIRST TOUCHES
Caden Clark: The Medina, MN native joined New York in late 2020, after playing for the Minnesota Thunder academy as recently as 2016. He transferred to Red Bull Leipzig of the German Bundesliga in June 2021 but has since been loaned back to RBNY for the second half of 2021 and the 2022 MLS season. Clark has appeared off the bench in both of New York’s games thus far, notching an assist in their opening victory over San Jose.
PLAYER AVAILABILITY REPORT:
Minnesota United
OUT:
P. Weah – Knee (out for the season)
QUESTIONABLE:
B. Dibassy – Ankle
O. Fisher – Thigh
C. Gasper – Head
R. Metanire – Thigh
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