It has been a rough start to 2026 for Minnesota United's offence. The Loons through eight league matches have only scored ten goals, an average of 1.25 goals per match. At this point last season MNUFC had scored eleven goals, drawn one league match and one Open Cup match nil-nil, just as they have in 2026. The key difference between the seasons is last year the Loons scoring dropped off from March to April and this season it is picking up.
Although the Loons could have a lot more goals as the finishing and shot selection has been a focus on improving early this year. Out of eight shots in the first half only two went on target. Two others were blocked and four, half the total shots, were off target. Even though Minnesota left with a low expected goals (xG) of 0.56, it very much appeared one or two goals could have been scored.
“You look back and you see things that you review in hindsight that you'd want back," said MNUFC manager Cameron Knowles. "But the important thing is we took enough chances to win the game and we denied them enough chances to keep a clean sheet and to win the game."
Early on Minnesota had shown the ability to cut through Portland's defence to get open. It paid off with Tomás Chancalay scoring, who talked about his goal. “To be honest, I’m very happy and delighted to have scored my first goal here—on our home field, in front of our fans. It felt wonderful.”
In the second half Kelvin Yeboah found himself unmarked inside the box and Chancalay sent a ball to him that Yeboah blasted in to get a second goal for Minnesota. “I felt so good with the assist too," said Chancalay. "I feel good with the squad and really happy to score my first goal here at the [home] stadium with the fans and my first assist in front of the fans.”
Minnesota United ended the match with a statistically much better half, bordering on domination. And that was all with MNUFC holding only 40% possession that half. In that second half Minnesota took nine shots, putting five on target, and having only one go off target. That gave the Loons a 1.61 xG for the second half compared to Portland's 0.2 xG in that same half.
Chancalay ended the night with two goal contributions and Yeboah scored another goal. After a rough start Minnesota United's offence has shown they are improving with three straight MLS wins, all of which were multi-goal games for the Loons.
“We've talked and we've spoken to you guys [the media] over a number of weeks about this. These guys trying to find each other and trying to create for each other and having that selflessness in front of goal," said Cameron Knowles. "The more that we continue to see it, the better it is for the team. Tomás [Chancalay] has been fantastic.”
