Coaches often say it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season.
So what’s their stance on four?
Minnesota United FC will try to accomplish that feat Monday night in Seattle and complete a sweep of their first-round, best-of-3 Western Conference playoff series.
The fourth-seeded Loons beat the No. 5 Sounders 3-2 in penalty kicks following a scoreless draw last Monday in St. Paul, Minn.
Minnesota’s Dayne St. Clair, one of three finalists for MLS’ Goalkeeper of the Year honor, stopped Seattle’s Alex Roldan in the shootout. Then Roldan’s brother, Cristian, hit the crossbar and Danny Leyva put one off the left post as the Sounders misfired on their last three attempts.
“Lots of the game we want to take forward, a lot represents how the first two games against them went,” sMinnesota coach Eric Ramsay said. “For us to be 3-for-3 over the course of the season means that we’re doing something right against them. It’s certainly not a case of having to rip it up and start again.”
The Loons, who were 1-14-2 against Seattle prior to this season, have thwarted the Sounders, who generally play with one striker, with a five-man back line.
The Sounders brought Danny Musovski, who has a team-leading 16 goals in all competitions this season, off the bench in the second half to join Jordan Morris up front and the duo created a couple of good scoring chances last Monday.
“Did we create enough with one forward? Yes,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. “When Danny came on, certainly the game was opened up a little bit and Jordan was effective on the right-hand side. It’s something we’re going to consider.”
The Loons seemed to sit back in the last half-hour of last week’s match and almost play for the shootout, something they could do again with a loss merely forcing a deciding Game 3 in the Twin Cities.
“I think in general we would feel as comfortable as you can be in a penalty shootout, if it was to go that way again,” Ramsay said. “And I’m sure for them that wouldn’t be a situation they’d want to find themselves in, particularly with what is on the line for them now having to win that second game.”
–Field Level Media
