ATLANTA – Atlanta United snowed all over Minnesota United's home opener at TCF Bank Stadium back on March 12, delivering a 6-1 drubbing. Now the Loons have a chance to return the favor in a match at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
They are facing a team that, in six matches at new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, is undefeated at 5-0-1, scoring 22 goals and allowing just three. Atlanta has also sold out 14 consecutive matches, averaging nearly 48,000 per match in the club's new home.
Loons forward Christian Ramirez said there's "definitely" extra motivation facing the fellow expansion team almost seven months after that bad loss.
"We know a lot of things have changed since then, and we're on the upward, getting better each time we're out here," Ramirez said. "Things have definitely changed, but it's never forgotten."
Of the 18-man squad for the Loons from that March game, five players are no longer with the team, four are new additions and only four are still regular starters.
The Loons were able to retain two of those starters — center back Francisco Calvo and midfielder Kevin Molino. Molino, who scored the Loons' lone goal against Atlanta on a penalty kick, will leave after the game for national team duty. Atlanta wasn't as lucky. It will be without forward Josef Martinez, the team's leading scorer with 18 goals, because of national team duty, and Miguel Almiron, who leads the team with 13 assists, because of injury.
Despite this advantage, Loons winger Sam Nicholson, who wasn't on the team for that first meeting, said he hasn't heard much increased talk in the locker room about sticking it to Atlanta.
"You've got to have that incentive to beat anyone in this league, so we have that most games," Nicholson said. "Whether it's going to be more because of Atlanta, I don't know. But I feel like we should have that for every game anyway. But I totally understand it could be."
