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Tag: Francisco Calvo
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Matchdays Twenty-One and Twenty-Two: A Tale Of Two Draws
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Twenty-One and Twenty-Two: A Tale Of Two DrawsAfter the Loons’ thrilling 1-0 win against FC Dallas, Head Coach Adrian Heath went after… the writers at MLSSoccer.com… for… uh… ranking Minnesota too low in their Power Rankings. As a former writer of Power Rankings, let me offer this advice to players and coaches: ignore them. By the way, if you are a player…
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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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Minnesota United FC Starts Strong, Beats Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2 on the Road
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Minnesota United FC Starts Strong, Beats Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2 on the RoadMinnesota United FC started their 2019 campaign and five game road trip strong, beating fellow Western Conference side Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2. Darwin Quintero converted a penalty and Francisco Calvo and Romario Ibarra added goals in the second half to give Minnesota the victory. The third year of the three year plan comes with high expectations.…
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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…
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As Their Expansion Partners Lift The Cup, Loons Face Critical Third Year
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: As Their Expansion Partners Lift The Cup, Loons Face Critical Third YearThe 2018 MLS Season is now officially over. The Damned United are holding the cup, reaching the pinnacle of league success within just two years of existence. While the newly minted champions now face an uncertain offseason, with their coach and a number of star players leaving, this has been a moment that nobody can…
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The More Things Change…a Comparison Between the 2017 and 2018 MNUFC Seasons
Categories: The AngleContinue Reading: The More Things Change…a Comparison Between the 2017 and 2018 MNUFC SeasonsMinnesota United finds itself in a familiar position. With five matches left, their points per game, goals for, and goals against are tracking to be nearly the same as they were last year. For a team that admitted it got some things wrong last season, signed a number of new players in the off season,…
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Match Preview: Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers FC
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Match Preview: Minnesota United FC vs. Portland Timbers FCThe Loons will return to the relatively safe harbor of TCF Bank Stadium for the first time in seven weeks on Saturday, aiming to salvage a bit of pride and assess its options for 2018. The club will have most of its preferred options available and will be playing a tough Portland Timbers side. With…