After a long run without a league win at home, Minnesota United finally got there. And in the process the Loons also smashed St. Louis City's long running unbeaten streak. After two early goals from City, MNUFC recovered well and took control of the match from nearly that point on. Three goals in the second half pushed the Loons over the edge and into the territory of three points.
With their third match in seven days both sides made significant changes to their starting eleven on Saturday afternoon. Cameron Knowles made four changes to his eleven with Michael Boxall, Owen Gene, Tomás Chancalay, and Marcus Caldeira available from the bench. St. Louis made even more changes, with six players swapped from Wednesday's match against Vancouver.
Lineups #MINvSTL #MNUFC makes 4 changes from Wednesday with Duggan and Diaz holding down the defense, Boxall and Gene dropping to the bench. #AllforCITY makes 6 changes, including Miguel Perez in for Durkin who is in concussion protocol.
— Northland Soccer Journal (@northlandsoccer.com) 2026-10-17T20:23:55.234Z
The visitors in gold wasted no time getting on the board with Rafael Navarro scoring the first goal in just the fourth minute of play. After a series of small defensive misses the ball found it's way into the box at the feet of Simon Becher. Becher took and initial shot that was saved by Drake Callender and bounced away from the Minnesota keeper. Rafael Navarro picked up the loose ball and immediately put home a shot into the far upper corner.
Just over five minutes later the visitors struck again, this time former Loon Sang-Bin Jeong snagging the goal for St. Louis. Rafael Navarro avoided a tackle near the sideline and brought the ball into the box. Navarro slipped a quick back pass to Sang-Bin Jeong, who finished with a shot from the top of the six.
After a pair of early goals from St. Louis the Loons somewhat turned things around for the remainder of the second half. Minnesota outshot STL City 9-8 with each team having three shots on target. MNUFC also managed a higher xG in the first half with no goals than St. Louis did with two, showing some promise as the half wound to a close.
That promise turned into action right out of the gates of the second half. Four minutes into the half AZ Jackson put the Loons first goal in to bring the difference to one goal. Kelvin Yeboah started the play with a cross from the right side into the box that Jackson put into goal on his first touch.
Minnesota continued to control the second half of football and was able to put a total of nearly 20 shots in the first half. It took longer than wanted for the Loons but 20 minutes after their first goal the hosts struck again to put the match to a level 2–2. This time it was Mauricio González with the cross into the box and Kelvin Yeboah with the finish.
From there the Loons attack didn't stop and neither did St. Louis. Seven minutes after the Minnesota goal, MNUFC goalkeeper made an amazing double save to keep the match level. A kick save on the wide side of the goal followed up by a second diving save that pushed the ball out of touch. After another near twenty minutes though the Loons garnered a third goal.
Marcus Caldeira received a pass in open field and charged down the pitch on his own. Once the St. Louis defenders caught up with him he cut past two of them on his way to scoring from near the top of the box.
With a win under their belts, now the Loons have a full week of training before jumping back into MLS play. Next weekend MNUFC heads down to Texas for a rematch with Houston Dynamo. Minnesota United drew their last match with the Dynamo at Allianz Field just a few weeks ago. A win for MNUFC could push them above the playoff line, depending on how results this week and next play out.
