- WHATEVER, BRAAAD: The last time out against Austin, MNUFC rolled in a 4-2-3-1 that was missing Bakaye Dibassy from the backline and featured a four-man front of Hassani Dotson, Emanuel Reynoso and Ethan Finlay through the midfield and Ramón Ábila up top. While the teams ended up even on total shots at 13, Austin put two more on frame than the Loons and ended with 1.9 xG to Minnesota’s 0.9, making the 1-0 final score a fair summary of the game. Overall on the season, though, Austin — like many expansion teams before them — have struggled with converting chances; their six goals on the year lags 3.91 goals behind their expected goals of 10.28. Perhaps more worryingly for Head Coach Josh Wolff, they’ve been giving up quality looks more than any other team in the league with an expected goals allowed of 17.19, which is almost two goals worse than bottom-dwelling Cincinnati’s 15.38. It’s no exaggeration to say that it has been goalkeeper Brad Stuver’s heroics that have kept them in games so far. He leads the league in saves with 47 and has saved 0.44 more goals per 96 than expected — a mark that currently puts him above elite keepers including Andre Blake and Matt Turner. If the Loons hope to score, they’re going to have to do more than ping shots and hope Stuver makes a mistake because it doesn’t happen often.
- THE GRIND NEVER SLEEPS: It’s been nine weeks since the start of the season, which includes both an international break and a bye week for MNUFC. In that time, the Loons have played eight games, or 0.89 games a week. In the next nine weeks, beginning with this one, they will play 12 games, or 1.33 games per week. If that doesn’t look like a lot on paper, be assured: it is. The start of the season was marked by lingering injuries to Niko Hansen and Bakaye Dibassy, notably, and also getting players like Ramón Ábila, Adrien Hunou and Franco Fragapane up to match fitness — whether that meant reps for the first two or rest for the last one. Entering Week 9 with a more or less clean bill of health for the squad is huge as the pace of games ramps up. The depth will be tested, and with that 0-4 start to the year, the Loons have ensured they will have to play at or near the top of their game if they want to climb back up to something resembling the preseason expectations for where this team would finish the year.
- HOME IS WHENEVER I’M WITH YOU: If anyone was around for the inaugural home opener against NYCFC at Allianz Field in 2019, you might remember it for the hum in the atmosphere, for the excitement, for the blunt feeling of 20,000+ in a building built for the game being played, for Ozzie Alonso’s goal that christened the stadium. But you probably don’t remember particularly attractive or refined soccer. The 3-3 draw was all over the place as players did their best to focus on the task at hand but inevitably got swept up in the energy of the moment. It’s entirely possible a similar scene plays out on Wednesday as a nearly full stadium returns for the first time since that inaugural season. The 4,100 fans who came to the home opener against Real Salt Lake made quite a racket, but it simply can’t compare to five times that many people, including a completely full Wonderwall. It’s also Minnesota United’s Pride Game, a tradition with roots that stretch back into the team’s days in the NASL when they became the first professional sports team to sign Athlete Ally’s pledge as a group in 2014. Emotions throughout the stadium will be high, as they should be, for what in many ways will be the de facto home opener.
