Loons struggle in Leagues Cup Opener, a win against Necaxa is needed to advance

July 30, 2024
|In Leagues Cup, MNUFC
|By Ashle Paige
Action from MNUFC’s away defeat to Seattle in Leagues Cup play on 26 July, 2024 (Photo courtesy of MNUFC)

After finally breaking a nine match winless streak with a 2-0 home victory over San Jose, Minnesota United headed to Seattle to begin Leagues Cup play. MNUFC, who are winless in the Emerald City had already lost to the Sounders at Lumen Field once this season. That loss actually kicking off a six game losing streak for the Loons as part of the nine match skid.

While MNUFC had been hit hard by the injury bug and international callups lately, the Loons were only missing two major players this time around in Seattle. Defensive linchpin Michael Boxall was out due to International Duty as he is representing New Zealand in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Additionally defender DJ Taylor was out due to a suspension.

The first forty-five minutes played saw most of the action being held in the middle third, with the Loons breaking out only rarely snapping up just four shots and one on target. The second half started off in very much the same fashion for the first 20 minutes. In the 65th minute Hassani Dotson was issued a straight red card after a bad foul after tackling Raúl Ruidíaz.

The red card put Minnesota on the back foot for the remainder of the match, though the Loons held out well until near the end of the match. In the 87th minute Seattle’s Jordan Morris broke the deadlock with the first goal of the evening.

At 90+1′ MNUFC’s Samuel Shashoua fouled Seattle’s Cristian Roldan inside the box giving the Sounders a late penalty and perfect opportunity to double the lead. Albert Rusnák stepped up to the spot for the penalty but Dayne St. Clair made a spectacular save to keep the Loons in the match late.

Though that would not last long as at 90+4′ Paul Rothrock scored the Sounders second goal with an assist from Jordan Morris.

“The end of the game in a situation like that, where you’re down to 10 men, it’s tough. I said to the players at the end, in a situation like that, you have to be mistakeless,” said Eric Ramsey regarding the final minutes of the match. “You have to be perfect, and unfortunately, we weren’t. We’ve committed to big errors that have been really costly, but I’m very willing to put the context on the table in that you’ve got a group of guys there that are very unfamiliar with one another.

With the transfer window open from the 18th of July until the 14th of August, Minnesota United has already begun making a splash in the market. Striker Kelvin Yeboah has been signed as a new designated player for the Loons. Alongside Yeboah, the club has also signed defender Jefferson Diaz. A full story on MNUFC’s new signings will be coming up later in the week

Tonight the 30th of July, Minnesota United hosts Liga MX side Club Necaxa in their final match of the group stage Leagues Cup. Necaxa has just begun their 2024-25 Liga MX campaign and are 1-2-1 (W-L-D) through their first four matches of the season. Last season Los Rayos finished in 9th place of the Clausura, qualifying for the play-in round of the Final Phase, the Liga MX playoffs. Necaxa fell in the 8th seed match of Final Phase play-ins to C.F. Pachuca, and finished 11th in overall aggregate 2023-24 Liga MX table.

After Minnesota’s loss to Seattle the Loons need to win in order to potentially advance. Win in regulation or on penalties will allow MNUFC to advance, depending on the Sounders/Necaxa result. If Necaxa wins, regardless of whether the win is in regulation or on penalties Minnesota will immediately be eliminated from the Leagues Cup.

Kickoff tonight is set for 8pm from Allianz Field in St. Paul. The match can be seen on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Club Necaxa Eric Ramsay Leagues Cup MNUFC Seattle Sounders