Loons and Storks End Bird Battle in a Draw

Minnesota United hosted German side KSV Holstein better known as Holstein Kiel, Die Störche (The Storks) on Monday, July 7,. After 90 minutes, the bird battle ended 0-0, but winning was not the only goal of this international friendly. For MNUFC, this game became a chance to give minutes to a combination of first team players and MNUFC 2 players.

For Holstein Kiel, this match is part of their preseason after being relegated. They need to look at which players combine well and who makes the starting lineup before their 2. Bundesliga opener in August.

Coaches for both teams stressed on using this match to reinforce their club identity. Acting manager Dennis Lawrence emphasized the Loons’ “commitment to working hard.” He explained, “That’s one of the key things. Technically, tactically, you can also get those things wrong or right, but I think our physical output: our demands on how we approach the game in defense and attack. Those are the non-negotiables that we be looking at closely tonight.”

Holstein Kiel manager Marcel Rapp stated, “In the pre-season, it’s more that we play it to the principle everybody knows, [even] the new players. They know our principle style that we want to play.”

Schedule Congestion

This match kicked off a busy week for Minnesota United: International Friendly on Monday, a U.S. Open Cup (USOC) quarterfinal Tuesday, and an MLS match on Saturday.

Ramsay on Monday mused about managing multi-match weeks: “We’ve got to be sensible about who plays and who doesn’t in the mid-week games, and we’ve got to make sure that we balance rhythm but also freshness, particularly with the explosive players.”

First Team Assistant Dennis Lawrence said, “First, we needed to prioritize the importance of the games. I think tomorrow [USOC] is the most important one. But also we need to be respectful with our German comrades here. So, it’s important that we try to put out a balance enough team to make sure that we can make something out of it for them. So we’ve got a mixed group where some of the [first team] players who haven’t been getting minutes, including some of the second team players.”

KSV in the U.S.A.

KSV Holstein arrived in Minnesota on June 29 and had a chance to train at the National Sports Center (NSC) in Blaine during their stay. Manager Marcel Rapp stated, “We also have good facilities in Germany, of course. So sometimes if you go to training camp, it’s not perfect, but here it was great. Okay, it was amazing, and we could use all the things from Minnesota United. So that’s a ‘thank you very much’ for this.”

Julian Gressel and Morris Duggan, both raised in Germany, were two Loons who accompanied the Storks to the German American Institute and the Sunday Minnesota Twins game. Duggan had never seen baseball before, and relied on Gressel to explain the game: “He sat right next to me with his daughter, & every time I had a question, he was able to answer me. So that was helpful as well  because the other the players from Holstein Kiel were more lost than me.”

The English-language Bundesliga website has some great pictures and video of Holstein Kiel in MN, including Goalkeeper Marcel Engelhardt throwing out the first pitch.www.bundesliga.com/en/bundeslig…

— Northland Soccer Journal (@northlandsoccer.com) 2025-07-07T21:08:35.973Z

Marcel Rapp also talked about building team chemistry between returning and new players: “We have a good team spirit here because we have made a lot of [memories] together. We watched the baseball game, were on the Lake Minnetonka on the Fourth of July, the fireworks. And so the team spirit is good because  have a lot of new players, and this was one of the reasons why we are here.”

Starting XIs

With the busy week, MNUFC rotated both coaches and players for this international friendly. Dennis Laurence would act as head coach, and his starting lineup included seven players from the first team and four from MNUFC 2.

Of the four MNUFC 2 starters, only Britton Fischer previously played for the senior team in the May USOC match against Louisville City. Kipp Keller, Kieran Chandler, and Curt Calov all made their first team debuts.

The bench consisted entirely of MNUFC 2 players. Kage Romanshyn Jr. played for the senior team last year against FC Dallas and Babacar Niang was subbed late in the May USOC match against Louisville City. Apart from the those two midfielders, the other five Twoons had never seen senior team minutes.

Holstein Kiel, manager Marcel Rapp took over as manager in the Fall of 2021. While other managers helped the club rise from German Division 4 to Division 2, Rapp is the manager that coached the small club to the top tier. Unfortunately, they were only in the 1. Bundesliga last season, in which they finished 17th out of 18 and were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga.

For Rapp and Holstein Kiel, this is preseason friendly and chance to look at different roster combinations. Rapp said, “We have a lot of players who can, can demand to play in the first 11.” As such, their starting lineup was a mix of established players and less experienced players. One newcomer that started was 21-year-old goalkeeper Jonas Krumrey who has signed a two-year deal with KSV after time at Lyngby and Red Bull Salzburg.

Observations on the Run of Play

Similar to when Minnesota’s first team starters play, MNUFC was willing to cede possession. They defended in tight mid blocks and tight low blocks in a 5-3-2 formation. On attack, they would send their wing backs forward more.

In the 42′ Britton Fischer cleared a long ball down the right. Loïc Mesanvi dribbled down and shot a tough, shallow-angle shot that hit the inside of the far post and bounced out. That would the closest the Loons came to scoring.

There were no goals scored, but no goals conceded — and 11 MNUFC 2 players got first team minutes at Allianz Field. Eight of those 11 had never played a match with first team.

Coach Lawrence remarked postgame, “The commitment to make sure that we stayed tight and compact being able to read balls over the top, trying to get out and stop crosses, picking up second balls: all those horrible little details that a lot of teams don’t like doing. But we showed tonight that we can do it. And it’s great to be able to see continuity between the groups: first team and second team because that’s what we all about. We’re all about principles and trying to set philosophy for Minnesota United Football Club. So, tonight was really pleasing from that point: to be able to bring in so many second team players and then having to show that we are committed to what we’re trying to do.”

Holstein Kiel manager Rapp also pointed out MNUFC’s defense: “We’ve also watched the games for preparation to the game, and we know about this: that they play a good mid block. They play very good in defending.” He later added, “It was not so easy to score goals. I think we have a lot of chances, but for the second half, we are not clinical enough in the last third.”

Holstein Kiel supporter Felix Scholz also noted the need to be better in attacking. He grew up in northern Germany, but in 2009 he moved to the Twin Cities area and currently lives in Maplewood, MN.

He commented, “I think Minnesota went with it like a B or C team, and obviously then it sucks, but at the end of the day, I think Holstein was the dominant team. And they may lack some skills in scoring. They had some really good balls put in into the box. They had some amazing stuff going on there, great set pieces, but they lack the skill to capitalize on that. But then again, it’s pre-season. So I hope, I hope they get more composure.” Every time he returns to northern Germany, his friends with season tickets take him to a Holstein Kiel match.

Defensive Standouts

One reason it was not easy for the German side to score was the aforementioned Loons’ defense. Another reason was goalkeeper Alec Smir who had two tough saves early in the first half about one minute apart and had at least six saves by the final whistle. Lawrence beamed, “He was fantastic tonight. I’m really pleased for Al [Alec Smir] because obviously it’s not easy when he is sitting behind a keeper like Dayne [St. Clair]. We all know how good Dayne is. We all know what Dayne means to the first team. For Alec to be able to come in tonight and keep his concentration and deliver a performance like that, it’s really pleasing for him. And I’m happy for him because he works hard every single day in training, never gets his head down, and he just gets on with it.”

Another standout  was centerback Kipp Keller. Lawrence spoke of Keller’s leadership: “He’s very vocal. He takes information on board. And I think for Kipp [Keller] tonight, the big thing was to be calm, to not try to over-do and not try to show too much. We know where he is. He knows where he is in his progression coming from his long injury. So I was really pleased for him, the way that he led the line.”

Kip Keller has previous played for Austin FC and FC Cincinnati. The defender spoke about his recovery and MLS journey, “Yeah, for sure, coming in, obviously, to a new team, trying to prove yourself. And yeah, I tore my hamstring, grade three. I’ve never had to be out that long. So it was definitely a battle early on. But thanks to the coaches and my friends on the team, teammates, family, it’s definitely been a longer ride for me.”

Keller also echoed some MNUFC principles that Lawrence had stressed. “I thought we were in a good, compact, low shape. We weren’t giving them much, and when they did break us, I thought we did pretty good defensively to whether it’s blocking a shot or get behind the ball. But yeah, I thought it was a technical team that can play through [the middle] and play out the back, but I thought as a collective, we did a pretty good job.”

On trying to break into the first team, the 24-year-old Keller seemed measured and hungry. “I’m going to learn from everyone, learn from Boxy [Michael Boxall] and learn from all the center backs. I look up to all of them, and I’ll support them. And I know they’ll support me just like they did when I was injured. So, I’ll just keep fighting and keep getting healthier and healthier. I’ll be ready when my name is called.”