With the first round complete, Eric Ramsay aims to keep fitness up and get his club back on track

After eight seasons of dread and almost certain defeat, Minnesota United can finally say they’ve exorcised their demons in the Seattle Sounders. Back in June of this year, MNUFC finally snatched their long awaited first ever win in Seattle, WA. Then in mid-August, the Loons did scored their first every regular season sweep of Seattle following a 1–0 win at home in St. Paul. Following a rough stretch to end the regular season that saw Minnesota drop from second in the West down to fourth the playoffs we’re set and another battle with Seattle was on the cards.

“We should have beat them the first game here, we should have beaten them tonight,” Seattle’s manager Brian Schmetzer said to Seattle media post match. “We gave it away.”

The stats from Saturday night and the Loons club history support Schmetzer’s comment. Since joining MLS in 2017 Minnesota had scored exactly one goal after receiving a red card in nearly 10 years of play. On Saturday afternoon MNUFC scored two of those, both in the second half. Seattle also had an expected goals (xG) of nearly three while Minnesota barely got to one xG. Schmetzer’s Sounders also dominated shots, shots on target, big changes, passing, and possession.

“It doesn’t feel right. We went a man up, had control of the game and somehow found ourselves down 3-2 and fighting just to equalize. We are a really good team. When you go a man up with a lead, you can’t let them score two goals,” Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák said to Seattle’s media.

Minnesota did not defeat Seattle once in regulation and became the first team under the current playoff format to advance to the second round without winning a single match in regulation. Even with advancing to  Eric Ramsay stated he and his side would have preferred to at least win one match in regulation.

“One hundred percent. It’s easier to say having won the game that it was an enjoyable experience, but I can tell you that was not an enjoyable 20 minutes at the end of the game there,” Minnesota manager Eric Ramsay said following MNUFC’s shootout win. Ramsay continued, stating “Moving forward we have to make sure we are a really good version of ourselves and I think everyone in this room that has watched us over the course of this season has not recognizing the Minnesota that you have seen in the opening stages of the previous two games. That’s got to change quick.”

Minnesota already finds themselves behind the eight ball going into the Western Conference Semi-Finals against top seed San Diego FC. Without the change the Loons could find themselves in the same position as game two or worse, like Portland did on Sunday night in San Diego where the Timbers were thrashed 4–0. Going two weeks without a match, Minnesota looks to keep their match fitness and correct the issues seen in this series before heading to California. Last time in San Diego, the Loons took down SDFC 3–1 back in September.

The Loons will face San Diego FC on Monday, 24 November at 9pm CT in a one game showdown for a spot in the Western Conference finals. Minnesota last went to the WCF in 2020 where they fell to the Seattle Sounders, while the last time a San Diego outdoor men’s team saw that round was 1981 when the Sockers made the NASL Semi-Finals.