This weekend Minnesota United has a tough task on their hands as the club faces the Seattle Sounders. Minnesota has historically struggled in Seattle, with a notable expectation being last season where they swept the Sounders in the regular season. Coming out of this week that might be a bit tougher to do as the Loons face a few injuries heading into the Saturday evening matchup.
Northland Soccer Journal
Defender Cherrion Valerius joined the club and passed medicals this week and has been in training for a few days this week. Valerius is a much needed addition to the team, especially after loaning out Devin Padelford to New York Red Bulls. He will be traveling with the club this weekend, but it remains to be seen if he will be on the matchday roster in Seattle.
On the flip side of that, MNUFC are dealing with a new injury. Joaquín Pereyra missed training due to a quad strain sustained earlier in the week. It is expected that he will miss Saturday's match, giving the Loons a hole they will need to fill. Peter Stroud is also progressing well and Knowles stated he hopes Stroud is able to be integrated back into team training soon. Stroud was injured earlier in the season and re-aggravated the injury following an appearance after the World Cup break.
Cameron Knowles stated that he is hoping for a good performance out of his team in Seattle. The first year manager stressed this is getting close to do or die time to make the playoffs this season. With less and less matches to go the chances are getting smaller, but the club is not out of the hunt yet. A win in Seattle would be a huge step to moving into a playoff spot. Knowles also noted the team has played well on the road this season and wants to see that continue in one of the toughest places to play in the league.
You can watch (and listen) to Knowles full pre-match presser below, courtesy of our YouTube channel.
