Welcome back to First Touches. San Jose comes to Allianz Field this weekend, and they feature a couple of very familiar faces. We also explore some unlikely results both the Loons and Quakes have achieved already this season.
MATCHUP QUICK FACTS
- Minnesota won their game against New York on Sunday with just 0.7 xG. This is the lowest xG they have ever recorded in a win (xG was first tracked in 2018 in MLS), breaking the record of 0.8 from a 2-0 win at LAFC in September 2019.
- Minnesota also allowed 2.3 xGa in Sunday’s game. Only two other times in their history have they allowed more xGa and won (2.8 against both FC Dallas in September 2020 and Sporting KC in September 2019).
- Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was named Week 3 MLS Player of the Week He is the only GK in MLS to save a penalty kick this season out of ten attempts.
- St. Clair’s eight saves on Sunday are more than thirteen MLS goalkeepers who have started all three of their team’s matches thus far in 2022.
- San Jose, who come to Allianz Field on Saturday, are currently tied with Montréal for the worst scoring defense in MLS with eight goals allowed.
- Both fixtures between San Jose and Minnesota in 2021 ended in draws. San Jose notched the first goal in both games in 2021, scoring within the first fifteen minutes in each affair.
- Both San Jose and Minnesota already have a common opponent in 2022 — both have played at Philadelphia, with San Jose losing 2-0 last weekend and Minnesota drawing 1-1 in their season opener.
- San Jose already completed one of the more remarkable comebacks of the season in their 3-3 draw with Columbus, rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the last ten minutes of the match while down a man.
- Their final two goals in that game were scored by Francisco Calvo and assisted by Ján Greguš. If those two names seem familiar to you, you may want to keep reading.
MINNESOTA CONNECTIONS
- The Quakes feature not just two former Loons but two former Minnesota captains. Francisco Calvo captained the Loons in 56 games between 2017 and 2019, and Ján Greguš did so in two matches in 2020.
- Calvo and Greguš are two of the ten players to play more than 5,000 career minutes for Minnesota in MLS. Five of the other eight are still currently employed by the club (Boxall, Gasper, Métanire, Dotson and Kallman).
- Greguš remains second in Minnesota history with 19 career assists for the club. Emanuel Reynoso is his closest active challenger with 17.
- Both JT Marcinkowski and Jackson Yueill played with Hassani Dotson for the U23 United States men’s national team as they attempted to qualify for the Olympics in 2021, with Yueill and Dotson starting two of the four games together in midfield.
- Yueill himself has a strong Minnesota connection. He was born and raised in Bloomington, and is a graduate of Bloomington Jefferson High School.
- Dotson also played with Jeremy Ebobisse for the U23 USMNT in a friendly against Brazil in 2019. The two started and played the first half together.
MATCH INFO
Minnesota United FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes
Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minnesota
03.19.2022 | MLS Week No. 4 | MLS Game No. 4
7:00 pm CT (Bally Sports North, The CW - Twin Cities, SKOR North)
