Minnesota United usually travels to away games the day prior to the match, but this week, the Loons flew in early for Wednesday’s game at Real Salt Lake. Minnesota arrived in Utah on Monday morning, in the hopes of acclimatizing to the thin mountain air. In the end, what was missing from the game was not oxygen but goals, as the Loons drew 0-0 with RSL.
The Loons’ travel schedule was an attempt to avoid repeating the team’s early-season trip to Colorado, when the Loons could barely get on the ball for most of the game. The result in the end, though, was the same from both visits to the mountains: One point in the standings, a decent result against one of the better teams in the Western Conference. The game, though, could hardly have been more different.
The Loons somehow scored three first-half goals in that game at Colorado, but had to hold on for dear life to clinch a 3-3 draw; Minnesota completed just 120 passes in that entire game, one of the lowest totals in MLS in years. It took the Loons just 37 minutes to beat that pass total in this one, and it wasn’t nearly the total chaos that defined the earlier game. The result also meant that Minnesota would have to wait for late results Wednesday night to find out whether they would clinch a return to the playoffs – though given the league standings, the Loons are now all but into the postseason.
Minnesota’s opening-period performance was characterized by misplaced passes and giveaways in the Loons’ defensive half.