Time to be honest: I’m getting kind of sick of these guys. To be clear, the folks at Real Salt Lake seem like a wonderful bunch of people; I’ve got nothing bad to say about a single one of them. But when the game kicks off on Saturday, it will be the start of MNUFC’s FOURTH matchup with RSL in 2024, and that’s simply too many. We didn’t even play Sporting Kansas City that many times this year, and I swear we line up against them every other week. Geez.
Ahead of Saturday’s HUGE Game 2 showdown, I thought it would be good to take a look back at each of the three previous occasions that MNUFC has gone toe-to-toe with Mastroeni and company to see if we can surmise the best way to earn an outright win on the way to the Conference Semifinals.
Familiar Foes
Across 270 minutes—and some stoppage time for change—it’s been a frustrating year for these squads to face one another. The aggregate score after three separate matches? 1-1. What’s even crazier is that both of those goals came in the first 90 minute installment back in April, a 1-1 draw at Allianz Field that saw Tani Oluwaseyi steal a point in the 87th minute.
The Loons started slow in that first matchup, needing the inspired play of Robin Lod to get them out of the funk that they found themselves in for the first half hour of the match. A dominant hour of soccer likely left the home side frustrated to get just one point from the match, but against opposition that was flying as high as RSL, it was a result to be proud of.
That was a very different Loons team to the one that lined up earlier this month, though, and with a new-look roster in the second matchup of the season, Eric Ramsay and company were hoping to have gained an edge on their stubborn rivals. A few extra days of training at elevation may have helped the Loons acclimate a bit, but an uninspiring 0-0 draw continued the trend set in April.
The hosts started the match better than the Loons once again, stifling any and all ideas that the Black and Blue were able to piece together in the early stages. A smattering of chances for both sides never really threatened to break the deadlock, and another 90 minutes went by without either team nicking a full three points off the other in what ended up being a surprisingly fiery affair. Though he didn’t score in this one, Oluwaseyi once again found success against the tired legs of RSL when he came on at half. Remember that; it might be important later.
Finally, we’ve come to Game 1. The Loons took the win on penalties, but only after another tightly contested 0-0 draw in the mountains. Some fantastic goalkeeping in the second half kept this one level, and it was once again difficult for both sides to create many clear chances. Another fast start from RSL confirmed that this was more than a coincidence in the first two games, another key ingredient in the game plan for this weekend.
Here’s the Plan
We’ve looked back long enough; let’s turn our attention forward. Obviously, another draw and subsequent shootout victory would be enough to send the Loons through, but playing for a draw and betting on penalties is a fool’s game. I don’t think either team is going into Game 2 hoping for another shootout, and I don’t think we’re going to see a fourth consecutive stalemate between these two. At least, I certainly hope not.
In my humble opinion, the Decision Day win over St. Louis put on display the best soccer that the Loons have played all year. Their off-the-ball movement was absolutely devastating for the opposition, connecting the field and opening space in ways that few teams could hope to deal with. While most of the goals came late, this almost felt like it was by design: tire them out, then switch to the counterattacking masterclass of Tani Oluwaseyi, Sang Bin Jeong, and Franco Fragapane. All three profiles brought something different to the game, and it was a calculated change that seemed next to impossible to prepare for.
If this weekend’s match is anything like previous editions, the Loons are going to need to weather an early storm. If they can recreate the movement that made them so effective against St. Louis, they should be able to play simple and incisive football to keep the ball and wear out the visitors. Let RSL press, play calmly around them, and then hit them with the counter-attacking cocktail of dreams in the second half.
It’s going to take a lot of discipline, but if MNUFC can use the Claret and Cobalt’s fast start against them, we could see a high-scoring second half to propel the Loons to the next round. I don’t want to watch this match a fifth time in 2024; let’s wrap it up this weekend, please and thank you.
