Is the Supporters’ Shield still a realistic goal with 7 matches to go?

Last week I said that Minnesota United would not be able to contend for the MLS Cup in 2020. And while I still think that is the case this season, even more so after a nil-nil draw against Nashville, that still leaves one more piece of hardware. That being the Major League Soccer Supporters’ Shield. So is it possible for MNUFC to win the Supporters’ Shield this season? Mathematically yes it is, the Loons are 11 points behind the (as of this writing) leaders, Toronto FC. Both teams have an (honestly insane) seven matches left to go for a total of 21 points on the table. So mathematically, yes of course they can.

But is it actually realistic? Sadly it is in no way, shape, or form a realistic goal at this point in 2020. First is actually the math, being 11 points back with 21 points to play for means that MNUFC will need to do everything they can to win out. At a minimum four wins would be required and that’s if literally everyone above them loses. I won’t go into the extreme details since there is a good chunk of games left, but needless to say it would be really hard to do.

At the end of the day my personal lack of faith actually comes from the lack of scoring we have seen from Minnesota United as of late. Since scoring seven goals in two games back near the start of September the Loons have only scored five goals in their last six games. That includes three games since the addition of Kei Kamara to the roster, who has only scored once in his time in Minnesota.

This is honestly one thing the Loons really need to fix if they want to be competitive. And maybe I’m just being a bit impatient wanting to see improvement from the goal scoring area. But at the end of the day you can’t win if you can’t score, and you can’t win the Supporters’ Shield when you draw three of your last five.