The MLS (Pre)Season is Finally Happening!

Minnesota United FC opened preseason play this afternoon with a friendly in the Arizona desert against the New England Revolution. The match wasn’t the prettiest but could have been a lot worse as well. A 1-1 draw is nothing to scoff at in the first outing as a club.

Offense

The offense looked good today taking on the Revolution. They moved the ball around well, and the Loons had some crisp passing to keep possession. Even though the Loons only scored one, it was a very good goal on a low header into the back of the net by preseason invitee, Starikov.

Defense

While the offense looked impressive... the defense looked the exact opposite. Bad positioning and overall sloppy play by the back line made it look even worse. A textbook cross-header would be the only goal allowed. Of course you can’t stop them all, but better defense would have helped.

Goalkeeping

John Alvbåge got the nod as the keeper in today's match and would look impressive in approximately 30 minutes played. The most impressive moment was his PK save after a trip in the box. At about the 30 minute mark, MNUFC sent mass subs and Patrick McLain, the Eau Claire, WI native picked up from Orlando City, would finish the rest of the match. McClain allowed the goal off the header that put the game at a draw.

In the end, this wasn’t an outstanding performance by Minnesota United, but it wasn’t a complete loss. The backline needs a lot of work at this point, but we are only just under a week into the preseason.

The Loons will be back in action on February 3rd against the Croatian Club, Nogometni Klub Istra 1961 at 1:00 PM in Arizona. We will update you on where to watch when we know!

Were you able to watch? Add your thoughts below!