MONTREAL IMPACT vs. MINNESOTA UNITED FC
Stade Saputo | Montreal, Quebec
07.06.2019 | MLS Week No. 18 | MLS Game No. 19
6:30 p.m. CT (FOX Sports North, FOX Sports GO, MNUFC Radio on SKOR North)

2019 Records:
MON: 9-8-3, 5-2-1 at home
MIN: 8-7-3, 3-6-0 on the road

Riding high after a major win at home that broke a six-game unbeaten streak for an ascendant San Jose Earthquakes squad, Minnesota United now heads east to face the Montreal Impact. Despite some early struggles, including a 7-1 loss away to Sporting Kansas City, Montreal has quietly slotted themselves into third place in the Eastern Conference under the leadership of Head Coach Remi Garde and on the strength of rugged backline. With its third game in seven days and a Quarterfinal game in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, MNUFC will have to tap its newfound depth to get a result against the Impact.

The game kick off at 6:30 p.m. on FOX Sports North with pregame coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. on FOX Sports North, streaming on FOX Sports GO and on MNUFC Radio on SKOR North.

The Loons came into Wednesday’s game against the Quakes fresh off one of the most dominant wins in the club’s MLS history, a 7-1 thrashing of FC Cincinnati. That win came on the heels of a pair of big wins against Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo. But of all those, the 3-1 win over San Jose was likely the best, a solid victory over a Conference foe fighting around the same spot in the standings.

“Hard fought,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath about the win. “I thought well deserved in the end, although we rode our luck at times, but overall I thought that our game plan, just about, overcame their game plan and it’s not easy. [Matias Almeyda] has done a really good job there so it was a big victory for us. The fact that they’ve just come off the back of a 3-0 win against the [LA] Galaxy tells you about the form they they’ve been in and I thought some of our movement in the first half and our ability to get a spare man on the ball was excellent.”

Although Minnesota opened the scoring early with a goal from midfielder Darwin Quintero in the fifth minute, San Jose drew level in stoppage time off a corner kick that ping-ponged around in front of goal before finding its way in. The Loons got the eventual gamewinner from an unlikely source — defender Michael Boxall — in the 52^nd minute. The centerback found himself with acres of space to run before doing his best to get the ball to someone who could, in his own words, “make good decisions up there.” Instead the ball ricocheted off a San Jose defender and back to the New Zealand international. He buried it, putting the home side on top in what was surely one of the feistiest games of the season.

“I enjoy [the chippiness] side of it – a few mind games going here and there and obviously, I like the physical side of the game,” said Boxall. “We were happy to get three points at their place and then obviously, they’ve been on a great run the last few months, and they’ve climbed the table and we know we have to win games at home. We know we had a point to prove and I think in the last few weeks we’ve really gelled together and come together quite well and managed to do it again last night.”

Although the future is never assured, the team’s recent wins have shown a heretofore unseen killer instinct and a bit more teeth from Minnesota. Not content to simply repel San Jose down the stretch, Minnesota sought out opportunities to put the game away late, and Mason Toye’s abrasive tackle won the ball to defender Ike Opara, who got the ball out wide to Kevin Molino in the 92^nd minute to ice the game at 3-1. The Loons will need continued contributions from players like Toye and Molino — who both came on as second-half subs — given that the team will likely have to rotate some starters out against an Impact squad that has shown an ability to sneak wins

“If you look at the points total, they’re up towards the top but some of their games, I think they’ve rode their luck a bit at times but I’ve got a lot of respect for Remi [Garde],” said Heath. “I think he’s done a really good job in the small period of time that he’s been there. They’ve sort of overhauled quietly, their roster, they’ve got a little bit of everything there now. A bit of athleticism that they’ve probably not had in the past and it’s going to be tough. It’s never easy going to Montreal but we had a good result there last year and I’m confident in whichever eleven we put out, because we will make changes, that we’re going to compete and make it a difficult game for them.”

With Minnesota’s attack back on track with 10 goals in the team’s last two MLS games after managing just two in the previous six, Boxall stresses that the defense — including recent rookie standouts Chase Gasper and Hassani Dotson in the left and right back roles — remains key for the team’s success going forward.

“The way we’ve defended as a unit has been pretty tremendous, I think, in the last few weeks,” he said. “Especially last night, with Ike, Ozzie [Alonso] and our two young fullbacks have done amazingly well and, really Vito [Mannone] made a couple big saves but most things were shots from the box which we expect our goalkeepers to save. If [the other team is] going to score, it needs to be a double-deflection handball, like last night, to beat us. It was, especially at the stroke of halftime, so frustrating to concede that. But we picked that up in the second half.”

In addition to recent success, though, Minnesota has begun to grow into its own identity. Heath has the personnel to man his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, as well as give him the flexibility to move to a 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2 depending on the matchup. Every team will go through ups and downs, but Heath feels like the Loons have solidified who they are, with room to improve.

“Well I think if you look at what we’ve done, we’ve gradually, incrementally, every win, got better, and that’s all you can ask for,” said Heath. “The five players that we brought in in the offseason have been huge for us. You look at the contribution of Ike and Ozzie the last couple of weeks, Romain [Metanire] is in the All-Star team, Jan Gregus has now started to show the form that we knew he had when he got here. We got a lot going for us, [but we’re] still not happy with what we’ve got. I’d like to bring two or three in this window if we can and if we do, we’ll move on a little bit further. We’ve got better, gradually, so I’m looking to keep moving an inch and inch forward.”

Minnesota United’s next game is a game against USL Championship side New Mexico United in the Quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, July 10 at 7:00 p.m. CT at Allianz Field. That game can be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can also come down to the Brew Hall at Allianz Field beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 7 for a full day of soccer final action, including a $5 beer special. There’ll be a soccer clinic for girls from the East African and Latinx communities on the Great Lawn from 8:00–9:30 a.m., then the World Cup Final kicks off at 10:00 a.m. between the USWNT and the Netherlands, followed by the Copa Americana Final at 3:00 p.m. between Brazil and Peru, and finally the Gold Cup Final at 8:00 p.m. between the USMNT and Mexico.

INJURY REPORT
Minnesota United FC

• QUESTIONABLE: F – Abu Danladi (right hip)

Montreal Impact

• OUT: F – Ignacio Piatti (right knee injury 5/24, out 8-12 weeks)
• OUT: M – Clement Bayiha (quad injury)

FIRST TOUCHES

• Jukka Raitala and Ethan Finlay played together on Crew SC for the first half of the 2017 season, before Finlay was traded to MNUFC.
• Raitala and Rasmus Schuller are both members of the Finland national team.
• Bacary Sagna and Vito Mannone were both under contract with Arsenal from 2007 through 2012.
• Michael Azira and Osvaldo Alonso were teammates on Seattle Sounders FC in 2014 and 2015.
• Saphir Taider leads Montreal with three game-winning goals.
• Samuel Piette and Bacary Sagna both have six yellow cards, tying them for the third-most in MLS.
• Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush has the third most shutouts and the third most losses in the league.
• Jan Gregus is sixth in the league with seven assists so far this season. He is also fourth in corner kicks with 71.
• Darwin Quintero is tied for the league lead with four penalty kick goals.
• The Loons have scored 17 goals in their last four competitive games. That was as many goals as they had scored in their past 14 league games.
• Six Minnesota players are currently on multi-game point streaks: Romain Metanire (1G/2A), Kevin Molino (3G), Ethan Finlay (1G/2A), Mason Toye (1G/2A), Ike Opara (2G/1A) and Quintero (1G/2A).
• Toye became the youngest MNUFC player to score a goal in MLS last Saturday against Cincinnati.
• Molino is currently averaging 1.32 goals per 90 minutes played and has a 37.5% scoring rate, placing him second and third in the league in those categories.
• Vito Mannone made a season-high seven saves in the 3-1 win against San Jose.
• Mannone’s 56 saves is tied for the fourth-most in MLS.
• Seven different players earned points on Minnesota’s three goals against San Jose.
• Michael Boxall scored his first goal of the year against San Jose.
• The goal was Boxall’s second-career game-winner as a member of MNUFC.
• Minnesota has won both of the last two meetings with Montreal.
• Montreal and Minnesota were league opponents when they were second-division teams, last meeting in the 2011 NASL season before both joined MLS. Minnesota beat out Montreal for the final spot in the playoffs and went on to win the Soccer Bowl championship.