The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup isn’t the highest profile competition in American soccer, yet its allure is hard to resist. Especially for fans of teams in the lower divisions, the Open Cup is a prize unlike any other. Never mind winning the whole thing, the chance to compete against and beat MLS clubs, is the immediate goal.
Minnesota have a rich history in the US Open Cup, but recently things haven’t worked out quite as planned. In 2013, the club was embarrassed at home by the Des Moines Menace. In 2014, they were very nearly embarrassed at Des Moines, before losing to Sporting Kansas City. In 2015, Saint Louis FC beat the Menace, but then beat Minnesota as well. Perhaps you’ve since blocked that game out of your memory (if so, good for you), but it was a desperately painful match involving 45 useless Jonny Steele minutes (his last appearance with the club), a terrible Tyler Polak tackle to give away a penalty, and some really bad penalty kicks to seal the defeat.
This year, Saint Louis FC beat AFC Cleveland in the second round, setting up a rematch. If Minnesota win this time, they will host SKC, and have a chance to avenge their 2014 exit.
Previous Meetings
You read all about it above, but just to reiterate, it was one of those matches where you just knew the team was going to lose. Even after J. C. Banks put the Loons ahead, the equalizer felt inevitable. The team simply wasn’t playing well.
If you’re foggy on the details of the game, you probably still remember Saint Louis FC’s commentary team. Minnesotans are surely used to homer local announcers, but the Saint Louis FC have earned infamy in United lore. Just check the Reddit match thread for the best hits (Full Disclosure: some of the comments are mine).
The whole match, bad play, bad commentary, and the rest, is on YouTube.
Officials
PRO has not released the names of the officials for this match on social media or their website, so we’re in the dark here. So why not read Doug Marshak’s fantastic article on the best referees instead of worrying?
Roster Report
Jeb(!) Brovsky, Bernardo Añor, Ben Speas, and Greg Jordan have not traveled to Saint Louis because of injury. Steward Ceus is out on international duty. Aaron Perez is unneeded.
Statistical Notes
via Mike Pendleton
Yesterday, we featured a great infographic comparing the winning percentages of various leagues against each other in US Open Cup play. The sample size is small, so the USL’s 7-0 thwacking of the NASL last year has heavily weighted the numbers. It’s interesting that despite the USL’s success against the NASL, the NASL has better numbers against MLS.
Something interesting is that in MLSvNASL & NASLvUSL, home team wins most. In MLSvUSL, MLS wins most, either home.
— Mark K (@sotosoroto) May 31, 2016
The host also matters a great deal. Last year, the USL hosted much of the matches against the NASL. This year, all but one NASL team (yep, the Loons) are hosting their opponents.
Saint Louis: Last Time Out
Saint Louis played two home matches in the last seven days. On Wednesday the 25th, they took on the league-leading Vancouver Whitecaps II. On Saturday the 28th, they faced the fourth place Rio Grande Valley Toros. Both matches finished 1-1.
Head Coach Dale Schilly appears to favor a 4-2-3-1. Against Vancouver, his team lined-up like this:
Against RGV, he made four changes. Salvadorian striker Irvin Herrera was replaced by Jamaican Jeremie Lynch. Former Minnesota man Mike Ambersley was swapped with the Zimbabwean Schillo Tshuma. Defensive midfielder Jake Bond was dropped in favor of Minnesota product Tyler David. Finally, left back Parker Maher gave way to Mitchell Lurie.
The first line-up, the one employed against the high-flying Whitecaps reserves, is Saint Louis FC’s A-squad, and given that they played last Wednesday, it seems likely they were being set-up to play on this Wednesday as well.
Striker Herrera is the primary danger man. He leads the team in goals with six in eight matches, but four of them came on just one night, and against an opponent down to ten men for much of the match. Loons fans ought to fear midfielder James Musa more. The New Zealander was the man of the match last year, dominating the middle of the park.
Attacking midfielder Jamiel Hardware isn’t the primary threat, but his last name is Hardware, which is pretty amazing.
Having watched a handful of Saint Louis FC highlights to prepare for this preview, I’m not an expert on the team, but goalkeeper Mark Pais struck me as a weak link. He was in net against the Loons last open cup as well, but has looked to have a shaky season so far.
The Matchup
It’s no secret that Minnesota are in a rut right now. The US Open Cup offers a (theoretically) easier match-up, and one that the Loons could use to work through some of their issues. Of course, history has shown that teams that underestimate their opponents in this tournament tend to lose to them.
This being United’s last year in the lower divisions, this is the last chance to really do something magical in the Open Cup. With the spring season basically lost, there’s nothing to be gained from holding uninjured players in reserve. Coach Carl Craig ought to field something very much like a first-choice line-up. Most interesting will be seeing midfielder Jack Blake in his first action for the team. The Scot couldn’t have come at a better time, with Jeb(!) Brovsky’s injury creating a temporary vacancy in defensive midfield. With Bernardo Añor at home as well, the team has less options in central midfield.Thankfully, that’s the team’s deepest position, but all the same it will be interesting to see who is called upon to fill the gap.
Saint Louis FC are an upper midtable team in the USL this season, and their recent results have impressed. They will be difficult to beat, especially on their home turf. Minnesota fans will need no excuse for fatalism when looking ahead to this match-up.
All the same, this is the deepest and most talented roster the Loons have put together. They outgun their opponents across the board. They should be the favorites.
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