DEBUT OF A DESIGNATED PLAYER
Forward Ángelo Rodriguez was given the start in his first appearance for the club and teased the sold-out crowd with a glimpse of the ability that convinced Minnesota to make him its second Designated Player.
Despite coming to the team just a few weeks ago, Rodriguez was chomping at the bit to get onto the field. His season with Deportes Tolima in Colombia only ended in early June and he quickly showed the coaching staff he was fit and ready to go.
“I felt really good and felt I had a pretty good game,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez’s teammates lauded his physicality and his hustle and determination in pursuit of loose balls. Though he went scoreless in his debut, he did exhibit his capability as a target man in the box on a pair of near-miss headers in the 31st and 43rd minutes.
Rodriguez is still working to develop an understanding with his new teammates. Flashes of it were evident on Saturday against Seattle and as Rodriguez and the Loons continue to get to know one another, all parties involved are confident there are plenty of goals to come.
“I thought I was going to score,” Rodriguez said. “That is what I came here to do, to score goals. That is what I prepare for every day. Unfortunately it did not happen there. I wanted to score and I wanted the team to win, but that is soccer. That is how it goes.”
WEATHERING THE STORM
Minnesota’s result against Seattle was heartbreaking for everyone involved, but no doubt especially so for an MNUFC defense that put in a more than admirable effort for 90-plus minutes while under near-constant duress.
The Sounders created 23 shots in the contest, but the relentless Loons’ defenders did well to limit the potency of those efforts and — despite Seattle’s heavy pressure — only required goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth for three saves until midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro’s 91st minute penalty when it all unraveled.
“We did a pretty good job,” defender Brent Kallman said. “We were absorbing pressure and they weren’t too dangerous. It sucks, but it is a good reminder that it is a 90- to 95-minute game and if you lose concentration, it can kill you.”
Had Minnesota held on for three points, we would likely be championing the backline for a heroic effort. But soccer can be cruel like that.
The Sounders’ attack kept MNUFC pinned back for the majority of the contest. With wingbacks Miguel Ibarra and Alexi Gomez stuck in the defensive end, Minnesota’s 3-5-2 often-looked more like a 5-3-2. That left midfielders Ibson, Collen Warner and Rasmus Schuller — who gave way to Collin Martin at halftime — more spread out in the midfield. As a result, the Loons struggled to move the ball out of the back and led to too many turnovers and chances the other way.
“We were weathering the storm and doing a good job with it, but when you take so many balls in the box eventually things can happen,” Kallman said. “We were doing a good job, but when you are absorbing pressure like that, things can happen. That is why you don’t want to allow so much stuff to come in.”
