FiftyFive.One
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Tag: Angelo Rodriguez
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Matchdays Twenty-Nine Through Thirty-Four: Playoff Spotlight
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Twenty-Nine Through Thirty-Four: Playoff SpotlightThe Loons are on the threshold of their first playoff match in MLS, their first playoff appearance in any league since November 8th, 2015, and their first home playoff match since the infamous Fort Lauderdale game exactly a year before that. In other words, it’s been a long time coming. Minnesota got here by the…
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Matchdays Twenty-Three and US Open Cup Semi-Finals: Spark Joy
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Twenty-Three and US Open Cup Semi-Finals: Spark JoyOne of the things that bound me (and I suspect many others) closely to the sport of soccer was the culture that was built up around clubs. Sports are fun regardless, and to some degree all teams, from the Boston Red Sox to the Vegas Golden Knights, create their own culture. But what’s exceptional in…
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Matchdays Seventeen: Hope For The High Road
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Seventeen: Hope For The High RoadWhen we last left off with Minnesota United, back at the start of the month, the club was reeling off the back of three straight league defeats. An embarrassing mess in Atlanta. A gun punch at home against Philadelphia. Worst of all, an ugly display in Colorado. The club was notably struggling on offense, and…
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Matchdays Eleven and Twelve: Low One Week, High The Next, For Inconsistent Loons
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Eleven and Twelve: Low One Week, High The Next, For Inconsistent LoonsSaturday, May 11th, was the day that Minnesota United played the Chicago Fire out in Bridgeview, IL. It also happened to be the day before Mother’s Day and my grandmother’s birthday, and ended up missing that match. It was a lucky escape. I haven’t watch the highlights yet, and I’m not sure I plan to.…
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Matchday Ten: Loons Hard To Read After Dramatic Week, Captivating Draw Against Seattle
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Ten: Loons Hard To Read After Dramatic Week, Captivating Draw Against SeattleWhat a week! Normally I use the opening section to discuss the weekend’s match, but I actually don’t have a lot to say about it. I thought it was a really fun game, a draw was probably the fair result, and that the atmosphere seemed to be kicked up a notch. Soccer is fun. But…
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Matchdays Seven, Eight, and Nine: The Good, The Decent, And The Ugly For Minnesota In Three Key Games
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Seven, Eight, and Nine: The Good, The Decent, And The Ugly For Minnesota In Three Key GamesWelcome back to our regularly scheduled post-game notes. Three games in one this week, because I was on vacation last weekend, and after the midweek match, it seemed prudent to let these results percolate and see what came of this past weekend. What a series of three games it was. From one perspective, the Loons…
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News in Brief: Loons Win, Doyle’s Recap, and More…
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: News in Brief: Loons Win, Doyle’s Recap, and More…Minnesota United FC get first win in Allianz In its third game in the new stadium, Minnesota United FC got its first win in Allianz this weekend, topping D.C. United 1-0. A late goal for the Loons sealed the victory, including some nervy defending, but supporters got to sing Wonderwall for the first time in…
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Matchday Six: Allianz Field Soars, but Loons Result Stings
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Six: Allianz Field Soars, but Loons Result StingsI have been walking through a kind of fog for the last forty-eight hours, and maybe you have been too. I didn’t even go to the game, I watched it on stream! From the high midfield angle of the main camera, it looked like any professional soccer match I’ve watched. But the energy coming from…
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Matchday Five: Minnesota Bounce Back, Beats Red Bulls With Grit Plus Luck
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Five: Minnesota Bounce Back, Beats Red Bulls With Grit Plus LuckGood? Bad? Is there even a word that encapsulates the Loons right now? One week after their worst performance of the season, a deflating 1-2 loss to bottom feeders New England, Minnesota United marched into the fortress of the defending Supporters Shield champs, and came away 2-1 winners. They will now head into their homecoming…
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Matchday Four: Clueless Minnesota Embarrassed By New England
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Four: Clueless Minnesota Embarrassed By New EnglandOkay, are we so sure the Loons are not bad? Were we all too quick to decide, as I wrote after the opener, that Minnesota are on track to exceed expectations? Depends on your definition of expectations. On Twitter following United’s unacceptable capitulation against the New England Revolution, I had a back and forth with…
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Matchday Three: Minnesota Put Under Pressure By Galaxy, Beaten For First Time In 2019
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Three: Minnesota Put Under Pressure By Galaxy, Beaten For First Time In 2019Are the Loons mediocre? Maybe. They’re still not bad. Minnesota fans now what bad looks like. But after a 2-3 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy, the air should come out of some of the slightly silly hype that swirled around this team after their opening two wins of the season. The Loons are winning…
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Matchday One: Offseason Upgrades Shine In Opening Win In Vancouver
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday One: Offseason Upgrades Shine In Opening Win In VancouverAre the Loons good? Yes, I know it’s only week one. Yes, I know Vancouver are a team who are so thoroughly rebuilding that they more resemble an expansion side than this year’s actual expansion side. But on a Saturday afternoon in the Rain City, Minnesota United did something I haven’t seen in over three…
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After Productive Offseason, Loons Look Set For 2019, But Not Beyond
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: After Productive Offseason, Loons Look Set For 2019, But Not BeyondA couple months ago, after Minnesota United announced their roster cuts, I surveyed the wreckage of two years of a “soft open” approach to team building. The team’s roster had massive holes, especially in midfield and defense. Although the club did not move as swiftly and confidently as I expected, they have made five big…