FiftyFive.One
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Tag: Matchday
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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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Matchday Twenty: Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Twenty: Where There’s A Will, There’s A WayAlmost from the opening whistle, Saturday’s game against FC Dallas looked like a 0-0 draw. True, the Loons did start the game with a nice spell on the front foot. But as soon as the visitors found their footing, the game devolved into something that wasn’t entirely pleasant to watch. If great soccer has the…
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Matchdays Eighteen and Nineteen: Loons Pass Two Huge Tests
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Eighteen and Nineteen: Loons Pass Two Huge TestsMinnesota United are rolling. Following wins this week against San Jose and in Montreal, the Loons have now won three league games in a row, five competitive games in a row counting the US Open Cup, and six in a row counting the friendly against Forward Madison. They have outscored their opponents 22-8 during this…
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Matchdays Fourteen, Fifteen, and Sixteen: At A Loss
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Fourteen, Fifteen, and Sixteen: At A LossI am running out of things to say about Minnesota United. Part of that is due to summer doledrums. The team’s composition has been stable, there are no gaping holes in the roster, or egregious line-up decisions being made week after week. We’ve been living with this team for a few months now, and we…
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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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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 Two: Loons Overcome San Jose Bogeys With Emphatic Win
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Two: Loons Overcome San Jose Bogeys With Emphatic WinAre the Loons good? Here’s what we know so far, through two games on the road: they’re not bad. With Saturday night’s 3-0 thumping of the San Jose Earthquakes on the heels of last weekend’s win in Vancouver, the Loons have already surpassed last season’s entire win and point total on the road. They also…
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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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Matchdays Thirty Three and Thirty Four: Loons Stagger Across Finish Line
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchdays Thirty Three and Thirty Four: Loons Stagger Across Finish LineThe 2018 Minnesota United FC season is at last over. On one hand, hallelujah. It’s been a miserable season for the Loons, who took as many steps backward as they took forward. The offseason begins now, and hope springs eternal. There’s always next year. On the other hand, it’s a bummer. When you look forward…
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Matchday Thirty Two: Even The Home Magic Is Now Dead, As Loons Sink To Season Low Against Colorado
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Thirty Two: Even The Home Magic Is Now Dead, As Loons Sink To Season Low Against ColoradoThe previous week’s 1-5 drubbing at the hands of Philadelphia felt like rock bottom for the floundering Loons. Then came this past weekend, where the team returned home and collapsed against a woeful Colorado Rapids team that had previously lost seven consecutive matches by a combined score of 1-22. That defeat sealed Minnesota’s 0-4 record…