All steam and whistles not long ago, Minnesota United has lost its three games since MLS resumed its regular season and surrendered eight goals doing so.
Time's ticking toward Sunday's home game against Real Salt Lake.
Time enough from what Loons coach Adrian Heath calls a "little bad patch" to motivate a change in course?
"We have to because that's our job," Heath said in a postgame video call. "Obviously at this minute it doesn't look like we are preparing properly enough. So we'll have to do something different, and we'll see what we can do."
He shuffled his lineup during Saturday's 3-1 loss at Dallas and before Wednesday's 3-0 loss at Houston, during which newly signed attacking midfielder Emanuel Reynoso made his MLS debut.
Heath considered Reynoso's play as a second-half sub "excellent." Midfielder Marlon Hairston called Reynoso "a different class" even after such a small sample size.
Heath replaced his attacking front four at halftime Saturday. He did much the same to start Wednesday' game while 34-year-old captain Ozzie Alonso stayed home to rest during a stretch in which the Loons play six games in 24 days in MLS's "Phase 1" restart.
Backup goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh started all three games after Tyler Miller had season-ending knee surgery.