Match Preview: MNUFC v St. Louis City, Open Cup Edition

After thrashing St. Louis City 3-0 last Saturday the Loons are back at it one more time with the boys from the Gateway to the West. Minnesota United has been on a stellar run this season, having only lost thrice across all competitions. St. Louis on the other hand has struggled in 2025, winning only thrice across all competitions. City’s last win came in the US Open Cup’s Round of 32, where they defeated Union Omaha (USL1) 2-0 at home in Missouri. Their last MLS win though came back on the 15th of March, when they defeated Seattle Sounders 1-0 in their 2025 home opener at Energizer Park, having gone winless in the over two months since that match.

Eric Ramsey and his side are not looking at this match lightly though, with the MNUFC manager saying post match on Saturday, “There’ll be some pressure around that game on Wednesday, and we talked on Friday about this being the beginning of a three-game week, as opposed to the end of the week that we’ve had some difficulty in Houston, and the players will approach it in that way.” Ramsey also stated to the media that “Iit’s for us to capitalize on that,” in relation to St. Louis flying back and forth to Minnesota over the course of just a few days.

News & Notes

While the first team took down St. Louis City, it wasn’t the same for MNUFC2. The Twosies fell for the second time this season last Sunday, falling to City 2 by a scoreline of 3-2 at NSC Stadium in Blaine on Sunday.

Eric Ramsey’s take on the FA Cup and the US Open Cup: “I obviously grew up in a country where these cup competitions are huge, and obviously, the FA Cup final is taking place today, and it’s been an opportunity for a team that maybe wasn’t fancied prior to the game to win a trophy for the first time. That’s what cup competitions provide, and we want to make sure that we give ourselves the best chance of progressing.”

This is the final official game of Joseph Rosales suspension given to him by Major League Soccer. Though his reinstatement does ultimately depend on MLS approval as “is contingent upon his participation in a restorative practices program.”

The Loons have only made it past the Round of 16 of the USOC once in club history. That was in 2019 when they would go on to lose the US Open Cup final in Atlanta, GA to Atlanta United. The other three times they made the round they fell to Houston Dynamo (4-0 in 2023 & 1-0 in 2018) and Union Omaha (2-1 in 2022) respectively.

St. Louis City has never reached this round of the tournament before, though the city’s previous club had done so. Saint Louis FC (USL Championship) made the Quarter-Finals in 2019, falling to eventual champions Atlanta United 2-0.

Availability (as of 17-May)

MIN | Out: Hassani Dotson (knee), Kipp Keller (leg), Joseph Rosales (suspended) ; Questionable: None

STL | Out: Jannes Horn (knee), Eduard Löwen (not out due to injury), Alfredo Morales (groin), Joakim Nilsson (knee), Tomas Totland (hamstring), Joey Zalinsky (ankle) ; Questionable: None

Staff Predictions

Michael Lake: 2–1 Loons

Seth Steffenhagen: 2–2, Loons advance on PK’s “because PK the mascot wants in on the action”

Tim McLaughlin: 0–0 Loon, St. Louis advances 4-2 on penalties

Ashle Paige: 1–0 Loons in extra time

Bridget McDowell: 2-0 Loons

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