It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Some may even say it was the age of wisdom; others may call it the age of foolishness. If any of Charles Dickens’ opening lines truly fit this season, though, it would have to be this one: it was the spring of hope.

On and off the pitch, 2024 was a year of tremendous growth and change at Minnesota United. A GIANT Loon landed next to the stadium (shoutout to Andy Scott for designing such an awesome sculpture), we made our return to the playoffs, and new faces became familiar. From February to November, we were on the clock, fighting through just shy of a year’s worth of wear, tear, and unique surprises. The MLS season is always a long and challenging undertaking across the league, and it never fails to separate the wheat from the chaff.

With all of this year’s soccer behind us and the trophies all locked away in their respective cabinets, it’s time to look back at MNUFC’s 2024 season and ask ourselves: Were we the wheat, or were we the chaff? Based on the three categories I put together below, I think I’ve got an answer to that question: read on to see if I can convince you that we were most definitely the former.

The Freshest of Starts

One of my favorite song lyrics of all time continues to be my go-to introductory line: let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. If you haven’t seen the Sound of Music, I implore you, check it out—not right now, though. Right now, we’re talking Loons, so let’s lay the groundwork and rehash a few of the fresh starts we witnessed this season.

On November 8, 2023, Minnesota United officially announced the hiring of Khaled El-Ahmad as the club’s new Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director. Then, on February 26, 2024, Eric Ramsay became just the second head coach in the club’s MLS history. Several additions and changes to the coaching staff followed, essentially reshaping the entire sporting department of the club in the span of just a few months. Needless to say, it was a unique way to kick off the season.

Despite the shakeup, the Loons remained near the top of the standings well into the year. The interim leadership of Cameron Knowles gave the Loons a solid foundation, meaning that by the time Coach Ramsay took over, he had a well-prepared squad to work with. He got to work right away, introducing new tactical adjustments that shone through in both style of play and formation. In many ways, the on-field product that we saw this year was totally new to the pitch at Allianz Field, and it was a glorious revolution to watch.

On top of technical staff changes, we saw roster movement as well this season. Several players came in before the first game, including Carlos Harvey, who grew into an important role with the team by season’s end. Tani Oluwaseyi returned from an outstanding loan spell to showcase some of that attacking magic in Black and Blue, and several summer signings made their mark in less than half a season with the team.

From personnel to tactics, Minnesota United completely changed in 2024. Familiar faces remain, but in Coach Ramsay’s preferred 5-2-3 formation, they’ve found new roles that, as the season wound down, seemed to be getting the best out of them. I’ll talk specifics later on, but theme number one can be summed up with this: the Loons hit restart in 2024, and not only did they scarcely miss a beat, they improved on last season. Not a bad way to start a new project, eh?

A Tale of Three Seasons

In several of his end-of-year reflections, Coach Ramsay pointed out that this season had three distinct periods, almost like three mini seasons crammed into one. For anyone that watched the Loons throughout the year, you know exactly what he means by this. A hot start turned into a not-so-hot midseason period, only for a return to form to lead the charge down the final stretch. I needed to do a little bit of math to satisfy my quarterly research needs, and a little proof to back up a statement never hurts. Without further ado, let’s break these trimesters down.

With seven wins, three draws, and just two losses in the opening 12 games of the year, the first mini season put the Loons near the very top of the Western Conference leaderboard. Their 24 points from 12 matches—a clip of 2.00 points per game—was only slightly behind the pace of eventual Supporters’ Shield winners Inter Miami, and, were it not for this summer’s international tournaments, the trend looked likely to continue.

Now, we don’t make excuses here at MNUFC. That said, when you’re missing eight players for an extended period, several of whom are regular starters, it’s pretty difficult to stay consistent. When international tournaments thinned the roster, the club struggled noticeably. The second mini season saw the Loons earn a single win, three draws, and eight losses in their next 12 games, dropping them below the playoff line and leaving work to do. A startling rate of 0.5 points per game in this span was never going to be good enough to extend the season, but luckily, reinforcements came just in time.

During the third mini season, the full squad was finally available once more, and then some. Though this last chunk was two games shorter than the first two, it was statistically the best. The addition of Kelvin Yeboah, Jefferson Diaz, and Joaquin Pereyra in the summer transfer window seemed to inject needed energy into the team, transforming the mentality at the perfect time and helping the squad rediscover those killer instincts. Seven wins, one draw, and just two losses saw the Black and Blue close the year out in style, averaging 2.20 points per game and propelling them to a spot in the playoffs.

We all know how the postseason went: a solid showing against RSL saw the Loons’ scintillating form earn them a spot in the Western Conference Semifinals, which they lost emphatically after a three-week layoff. But the lasting impression wasn’t of failure; no, this season exceeded expectations and laid the groundwork for special times to come. After a year to identify what issues need to be figured out, I’m excited to see how the club comes back even stronger in year two.

Two Top Threes

I’m keeping with the theme of threes for this one—at least partially. I picked three standout players, followed by three standout moments from 2024 that made the Loons fan in all of us grow ten sizes. It was hard to narrow these lists down, but I’m pretty happy with the results. Check out my picks to see if you agree:

Robin Lod

22 goal involvements (7 goals, 15 assists) in 2,637 minutes played. Oh, and it was his first season back after serious time off due to injury. Robin Lod may have been snubbed for MLS Comeback Player of the Year, but with or without the league’s recognition, our 2024 MVP should be commended for his incredible season. He rewrote the MNUFC record books this year, becoming the club’s all-time leading goalscorer (32), the all-time leader in regular-season goal contributions, and tied the all-time record for assists in a single season. His All-Star nod was well-deserved, and Lod’s career season deserves plaudits once more. Well done, Robin; here’s to more of the same in the season to come!

Joseph Rosales

In a league that isn’t used to dealing with outstanding fullbacks, Joseph Rosales emerged in 2024 as one of the league’s absolute best. Since moving into a left wingback position, Rosales tallied 11 assists and was often the best player on the pitch for the Loons. His ability to drive forward and serve a pinpoint ball into the box gave his team a dynamic edge to their attack, while his willingness to get back and defend kept them solid in the back. If I had to give him a superlative, it would be breakout player of the year. We all knew Rosales was good, but that’s the kind of season that puts the whole league on notice.

Kelvin Yeboah

Talk about starting with a bang. In just 978 minutes, Kelvin Yeboah managed nine goals and two assists. That’s a goal contribution just about every 88 minutes. Are you kidding me? That’s among the best per 90 rates in the entire league. Yeboah’s impact went beyond the scoresheet, though, as his work rate, professionalism, and hunger to succeed helped to push his team to their best spell of the season. With more time to get used to his new team, there’s no telling just how important his influence on the Black and Blue might be in the years to come.

Magical Moments

My words can’t possibly describe these moments as well as a video, so I’ll spare you my breakdown. If a picture is worth a thousand words, I guess a video is worth the sum total of frames multiplied by a thousand, right? There’s some math for you:

Outside expectations were low at the beginning of the season, and we surpassed them. The doubters doubted, and we rose above the noise. With the year now fully behind us, the lasting feeling is one of optimism and anticipation. With eyes fixed firmly forward, there’s only one question left to answer: what’s next? Here’s to an epoch of belief; we’ll leave the incredulity to Mr. Dickens.