Loons Fly High! Minnesota United Eliminate Seattle In Playoff Thriller

Written by Patrick Echatah

Minnesota United FC advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals in an absolutely thrilling and dramatic fashion, defeating Seattle Sounders FC in a nail-biting, 10-round 7-6 penalty-kick shootout.

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The win followed a gutsy performance that saw Minnesota rally to force a 3-3 draw during regulation time in the decisive Game 3 of their Round One Best-of-3 Series.

Minnesota United’s outlook was bleak early on, falling behind by two goals within the first 10 minutes at Allianz Field. Their struggles deepened just before halftime when, after scoring once, they were reduced to ten men following Joseph Rosales’ red card.

However, the shorthanded Loons engineered a stunning comeback, taking a 3-2 lead. After a late equalizer from Jordan Morris, the match went to a shootout, where Minnesota United prevailed in an unforgettable 7-6 victory, clinched by a goal from goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

“For us to ultimately come out on top of the game like that is insane,” said Minnesota head coach Eric Ramsay after the match. “The players, first and foremost, showed just an unbelievable level of togetherness and spirit and will to stay in the game, to get ahead in the game and then to overcome what is a really tough blow to concede a goal like that at the end and then the repeated ups and downs and the penalty shootout.”

Added St. Clair: “I don’t think any one of us would have drew it up the way that it happened. But I think we responded well in the tough moments and found a way to get over the line… What I said before the game was find a way to get the result.

“At this point in the season, it’s the results that matter.”

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Minnesota United understood they needed a flawless strategy for the match. Seattle, led by Brian Schmetzer and riding the high of a 4-2 Game 2 win, was the team with the momentum, making it clear Minnesota United would need a top-tier performance to defeat one of the MLS’s most formidable squads. However, all their careful plans quickly fell apart.

“[Seattle] are a team that plays at a really high level. You’ve seen that in the Club World Cup with the way they competed with some of the best teams in the world,” said Ramsay. “I feel like they’re real chess games there, I think some of the highest-level tactical games you’ll see in MLS.

“And to an extent, tactics go out of the window, certainly in terms of how you plan when you’re down to 10 men. We had to show one side of our game really, really well, and I felt we showed that.”

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