With four well earned points between their last two matches Minnesota United looks to be back on track in the first half of the season. But as is the theme during these first eight matches, they will all be extremely tough. Tonight's edition of MLS After Dark continues that trend as the Loons stay out with for a match with San Diego FC. SDFC beat the Loons 4–2 in their first meeting last year and also dispatched MNUFC by a score of 1–0 in the playoffs.
“When you lose against a team, especially San Diego in the playoffs, you really want to go there and get even more than any other game," Kelvin Yeboah said on Friday. "You want to go there and get those three points. We know how difficult it is to play in that stadium. We’re really excited, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Difficult put not impossible to win at as the Loons themselves proved last year with a 3–1 win, that had every goal occur in the last 16 minutes. Kelvin Yeboah is looking good to start the season with three goals in six matches. MNUFC has only scored six goals across six matches, but that trend could start to change as shown by last weeks performance against the LA Galaxy. While defensively the Loons have given up twelve goals, six came just against Vancouver, averaging 1.2 goals against per match in the other five matches this season.
Moving to a fluctuating three to five at the back formation has helped Knowles side on both sides of play and is more comfortable for the team, as previously said by Wil Trapp. The midfield is showing competitiveness in training and a cohesiveness in the central midfielders. Nectarios Triantis and Owen Gene were put together for the first time last weekend and had a great outing, with Gene having a fantastic performance.
“They are a very good team, and obviously they ended our season last year. We also had the benefit of a really good regular-season game there earlier in the year," said manager Cameron Knowles. "It’s a fantastic place to play and a tremendous crowd. What they were able to do in their first year is remarkable, so it’ll be a tough test for us. But I think it’s a place we can go, put our best foot forward, and try to get a result.”
San Diego FC are a good and dangerous team, even with the recent run of poor form, being 1-2-2 in their last five matches, across all competitions. San Diego has the 7th ranked offence in league and 10th best defence, scoring over 2 goals per match avaerge and allowing less than 1.5 goals on average. On the attack SDFC has spread the ball around with six different goal scorers, three of which have scored multiple goals. Danish striker Marcus Ingvartsen leads the stats with four and the offence at centre-forward. Winger and fellow Dane Anders Dreyer along with Finnish attacking mid Onni Valakari complete the attacking trio and have three goals each so far.
Back in late-February to early-March San Diego's defence held three consecutive clean sheets, but have not held one since. SDFC has given up five goals in their previous two matches and some of this can be attributed to the plethora of injuries they have suffered. For a Minnesota team on the rise with improving offensive output, this is a great early test.
News & Notes
- Michael Boxall and Peter Stroud remain out, and have continued working off to the side during training
- San Diego is missing seven players due to injury and one player due to suspension
- How to Watch/Listen: No national tv for this one, it's exclusive to Apple TV. If you prefer to listen you can catch that on 1500 ESPN. Kickoff will happen at appx. 9:39pm CT.
- Want to watch the Loons in SoCal (again) with fellow supporters tonight? Dark Clouds and Red Loons at Black Hart of St. Paul. Dark Clouds also have a Minneapolis watch party at Beckett's in Uptown.
- Loons will have a quick turnaround, getting only two days rest before playing Sacramento Republic (USLC) in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
Availability
SD | Out: Alejandro Alvarado Jr. (lower body), Manu Duah (suspended), Wilson Eisner (lower body), Amahl Pellegrino (lower body), Ian Pilcher (lower body), Andres Reyes (lower body), Kieran Sargeant (lower body), Pablo Sisniega (lower body) ; Questionable: None
MIN | Out: Michael Boxall (adductor), Peter Stroud (quad), Julian Gressel (broken toe), Dominik Fitz (illness); Questionable: None
Staff Predictions
- Michael Lake: 2–1 MIN
- Seth Steffenhagen: 3–1 Loons!
- Ashle Paige: 1–1 draw
- Bridget McDowell: 3–2 Loons, Markanich banger
- Tim McLaughlin: 2–0 SD brain emoji
- Knives Paige: 2–0 SD
Guest Prediction
We don’t make predictions, we ask for them too! (2-2)
— The Loony Bin (@loonybinpodcast.bsky.social) 2026-04-11T12:53:57.844Z
