MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
TCF Bank Stadium | Minneapolis, Minnesota
08.05.17 | MLS Week #22 | MLS Game #23
7:00 p.m. CT (My29, MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN)

2017 Records:
MIN: 6-12-4; 6-5-2 at home
SEA: 8-7-7; 2-6-4 on the road

It’s been more than a month since MNUFC has hit the road to face an opponent, but every homestand must come to an end. So it will with a tough matchup against the MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, August 5, presented by Allina Health. The match is set to kick off at 7:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on My29 and MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN with pre-match coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.

In terms of results during the Loons’ lengthy July homestand, Head Coach Adrian Heath has not been satisfied with only collecting four points total in a scoreless draw against Houston Dynamo and a much-needed 4-0 drubbing of D.C. United last week. But even in a 3-0 loss to New York Red Bulls, Heath felt the match was closer than the scoreline perhaps indicated.

“The good thing for me [against D.C.] was that we actually scored when we had good momentum in the game and we haven’t done that,” he said. “I look back at the Red Bulls game — and were the Red Bulls the better team? Yeah, they were — but we had really good opportunities — opportune moments and we didn’t take them. Goals change games. And I felt this weekend, we actually got goals at the really important times. You know, you look at the second half and D.C. started really well. [Sean] Franklin misses the header, and we have another chance. Goals change games. One of the oldest sayings in football. At the weekend, I was pleased for the players. They got some reward for our hard work.”

A taste of success can breed confidence as it did earlier in the season when a 4-2 win over Real Salt Lake begat a hard-fought loss against FC Dallas, a well-earned draw against Houston Dynamo and a 1-0 win against the Colorado Rapids. But Heath also knows that D.C. United left several good scoring opportunities on the pitch and that the Loons will have to step up this weekend.

“I guarantee, we will have to play better than we did Saturday to get a result against Seattle,” he said. “You know, you look at their front four of [Nicolás] Lodeiro, [Clint] Dempsey, [Victor] Mansaray, Will Bruin. They’ve got real attacking threats. And they're strong with experience everywhere else. So it’s going to be a big game for us.”

Captain and defender Francisco Calvo returned from his stint with the Costa Rica men’s national team in the Gold Cup against D.C. and feels he has a handle on what the team needs to show to have success against a solid team like Seattle.

“I think that determination when we were in front of the goalkeeper,” he said. “Because I saw Miguel [Ibarra] scoring a good goal. He was determined to score. As well, Christian [Ramirez] and Abu [Danladi]. So, I think that determination is going to be a big key for us on Saturday. I don’t think that they’re better than us. Kansas City came here, and we beat them. Orlando City, we beat them. We played better than Galaxy. So just because we are new, we cannot just be like oh, we’re the new team. No, no, no. We don't have to put respect against them. We need to go out, enjoy, and play good.”

The Loons will have to find a way to enjoy themselves without the goalscoring prowess of their leading scorer Christian Ramirez, who tweaked his hamstring last week against D.C. It will be a tough pill to swallow for Ramirez — whose family is in town — but the club is choosing to be cautious given that they won’t have to play again until they travel to Seattle for a match on August 20. The extended rest could guarantee that Ramirez doesn’t aggravate the injury any further. It could mean an opportunity for Abu Danladi to move into a more forward position or for recent signing Brandon Allen to get some run.

“I know what it’s like for families to not see him play, but we have to look at big picture,” said Heath. “The big picture for us is that if Christian is not ready this week, then we have a two week gap, he can almost certainly be ready for Seattle away. If he was to really pull his hamstring, it could be the end of his season. So we have to err on the side of caution.”

After a week off following the match, MNUFC will travel to the Pacific Northwest to once again face the Sounders, this time on their own territory at CenturyLink Field. That match will be a late one locally with the teams kicking off at 9:00 p.m. CT. Pre-match coverage begins on MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN at 8:30 p.m. and the match itself will be broadcast there and on Fox Sports 1.

INJURY REPORT

Minnesota United
OUT:
M – Bernardo Anor (L Lower Leg)
D – Marc Burch (B Athletic Pubalgia)
M/D – Thomas DeVillardi (L Achilles)
D – Justin Davis (R Foot)
D – Joe Greenspan (Head)
F – Christian Ramirez (R Hamstring)
M – Rasmus Schuller (L Thigh)

Seattle Sounders
OUT:
M – Osvaldo Alonso (left MCL sprain 7/4, out 4-6 weeks)

DISCIPLINARY REPORT
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FIRST TOUCHES

• MNUFC Assistant Coach Mark Watson played for the Seattle Sounders during their USL days, donning the green in 1997.
• Clint Dempsey and Miguel Ibarra played together on the U.S. national team in 2014 and 2015.
• Will Bruin and Jermaine Taylor spent five seasons together on the Houston Dynamo from 2011 to 2015. Bruin then played with Collen Warner on the Dynamo in 2016.
• Joevin Jones and Kevin Molino are both from Carenage, Trinidad and Tobago, and are members of the Trinidad and Tobago national team.
• This is the first game in which video review will be in place for MLS matches. The main purpose of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is to avoid clear mistakes and make sure serious incidents aren’t missed by the head referee on the pitch. The VAR can only review four areas of a match: goals, penalty kicks, direct red cards and mistaken identity.
• Seattle last played a Minnesota team in a competitive match in 2008, when the Sounders competed against the Thunder in the USL first division. The teams had been league opponents since 1997.
• Seattle won its first MLS Cup title in 2016, defeating Toronto FC in a penalty kick shootout.
• Brent Kallman returns to the squad after serving a one-match suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
• Seattle Head Coach Brian Schmetzer has been involved with the team for nearly 40 years. He began his playing career with the club in 1980 during the NASL era, playing for the Sounders through 1983. He then returned to the club in 1994 when the team reformed as a member of the APSL. Schmetzer was named head coach of his hometown club from 2002 through 2008, winning a pair of A-League titles, before moving to an assistant coach role when the team joined MLS. He was put back in charge of the squad last year and led it to its first MLS title.
• With two assists last match, Kevin Molino put up the first multi-point performance for an MNUFC player since May.
• Bobby Shuttleworth recorded his fifth clean sheet and sixth win of the season last week against D.C. United.
• MNUFC’s 4-0 win over D.C. was the largest margin of victory in club history.
• Seattle is unbeaten in its past six matches.
• Sounders forward Clint Dempsey recently scored his 57th goal for the U.S. national team, drawing him level with Landon Donovan as the all-time leading scorer for his country.