Match Preview, Playoff Edition: MNUFC @ Real Salt Lake

On Tuesday, October 29, Minnesota United FC officially begins their 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs campaign with another trip to America First Field, in [Sandy] Salt Lake City. It is a best-of-three matchup and Minnesota will host Game 2 on Saturday but, first, they need to get out from under the shadow of their last two results against the West’s third place side. Still, in contrast to MNUFC’s previous playoff appearances, Salt Lake is a pleasant surprise.

Seventh Place Got Seattle

Seth Treptow spoke for all of us when he said, “Thank God we don’t have to play Seattle,” after the Loons’ 4-1 win on Decision Day which secured 6th place — hence saving the Loons from another 2nd v. 7th play-in match against Seattle. The regular season finale was not short of exciting moments and milestones.

@NinesNorth: “Robin Lod, Sang Bin Jeong, Loons win big!”

• Robin Lod’s opening goal in the 21st minute was the midfielder’s 22nd goal contribution this season, second most for MNUFC in the club’s MLS tenure (by the league’s tally)
• Sang Bin Jeong ended his regular season on a high note, adding two goals off of the bench, in the 72nd and 83rd minutes.

@slapshoe: Some scary stretches, but subs saved our bacon.”

• Sang Bin’s goals were the 12th and 13th scored by substitutes for the Loons, the second most scored by substitutes for any MLS club this season (Inter Miami tallied 14).

@rscspokenword: “Fragapane played defense for the first time ever.”

• Franco Fragapane and Clint Irwin were honored by the club before the match, following MNUFC’s announcement that the club and both players had agreed to part ways. While it was a Fragapane giveaway that led to Marcel Hartel’s goal in the 75th minute, the Argentine winger played [subjectively] some of his speediest defense of the season following that error. He went on to help the Loons continue attacking pressure up to the final whistle.

Once the dust settled on Decision Day, Minnesota sat in 6th, rather than 7th place, sending the Loons straight through to the first round – and away from Seattle.

Form (W-L-D)

MIN | 6th, 52 pts. 15-12-7 (8-6-3 on the road). After a rocky middle third, went 6-2-1 after the Leagues Cup break.
RSL | 3rd, 59 pts. 16-7-11 (11-3-3 at home). Ended regular season on six match unbeaten streak (3-0-3)

Regular Season Matchup

Apr. 6 @ Minnesota, 1-1: Goals – Arango 24′ (RSL), Oluwaseyi 86′; Red card – Rosales 89′

Oct. 2 @ Salt Lake, 0-0: Red card – Vera 90+3′ (RSL)

Availability

MIN | Out: Matúš Kmeť (thigh); Questionable: None

RSL | Unavailable at time of writing

Key Players

Robin Lod v. Diego Luna: Minnesota’s Robin Lod and Salt Lake’s Diego Luna have both shouldered heavy attacking burdens from their respective midfield positions. Lod, a finalist for the 2024 MLS Comeback Player of the Year, delivered 7 goals and 15 assists for the Loons, a record-breaking contribution for both player and club. While 7 goals in 32 appearances pales in comparison to Kelvin Yeboah’s equal tally in just 9 appearances, it stands out for a 31-year-old midfielder who lost his previous season due to injury. On the other side is Luna who, amidst Chicho Arango’s midseason slump, tallied 8 goals and 12 assists on his way to a second place finish in the 22 Under 22 rankings.

Kelvin Yeboah v. Chicho Arango: Aside from the aforementioned 7 goals-in-9-appearances, Yeboah has a way of lighting a spark in every iteration of Ramsay’s attacking lineup, which is exactly what the Loons will need to carry a win home. His counterpart, Arango, tallied an impressive 17 goals and 12 assists in 2024 but he has scored just once since his July 1st hat trick versus Austin. One of his 17 goals came at Allianz Field, way back on April 6. That was a 1-1 draw in which Arango’s goal in the 24th minute went unanswered for over an hour. (Tani Oluwaseyi scored the equalizer in the 87th minute.) In RSL’s home leg of the matchup, Arango posted one of his highest non-scoring xGs of the season, a 0.8 on 5 shots (3 on target). Meaningless stat? Yes. But it supports our “don’t feed Arango” stance.

Penalty Kicks (ie. Dayne St. Clair v. Zac MacMath): In this round, with the best-of-three format, a match that is level at the end of regulation will go directly to a penalty kick shootout rather than extra time. In a lot of matchups, that is a side note but, with these particular squads, it’s something to keep in mind through the match. In 2024, St. Clair kept 7 clean sheets in 25 appearances for the Loons, with 4 of those coming consecutively in the last 5 matches of the season (St. Louis took away what looked to be a fifth in the regular season finale.) MacMath saved all 3 of the Loons’ threatening shots on target in their last meeting. He earned 5 clean sheets in 17 appearances in the regular season. While MacMath has faced more penalties in his MLS career than St. Clair, the latter’s save percentage is far better: St. Clair – 8 faced, 4 saved, MacMath – 32 faced, 7 saved.

The Big [Playoff] Picture

Pablo Mastroeni’s side is good, as illustrated by their end-of-season form. But they have had to depend on last-ditch defense to hold on to those two draws against Minnesota. With no draws allowed, Minnesota United needs to find the edge they lacked in previous meetings with Salt Lake. More importantly, perhaps, they need to maintain discipline throughout — High altitude has a way of making Loons see red and a red card suspension could upend the balance of Ramsay’s squad going into Game 2 at home.

Match Details: 8:00 p.m. CT (MLS Season Pass – Free; FS1; MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN)

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