FiftyFive.One
• Voices From Soccer's North •
Tag: Romain Metanire
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Matchday Thirteen: Joy At Home For Minnesota, After Productive Friendly, Narrow Win
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Matchday Thirteen: Joy At Home For Minnesota, After Productive Friendly, Narrow WinThe image that has stuck with me from Saturday night’s 1-0 Minnesota United win over the visiting Houston Dyanmo came a little while after the final whistle blew and the chorus from Wonderwall had been sung, when the last strains of the song were wafting through the loudspeakers. Ozzie Alonso’s daughter ran from him, towards…
-
Photo Gallery: Minnesota United Defeats Houston Dynamo
Categories: NewsContinue Reading: Photo Gallery: Minnesota United Defeats Houston DynamoIt’s a cross… it’s a shot… it’s a goal! Romain Métanire has been a revelation as right back this season. Not only does the defender do well to squash opposition attacking opportunities, but bombs forward consistently with aplomb. Typically he delivers crosses into the area, but sometimes he hits a cross, or maybe a shot,…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…