Loons' Hassani Dotson, girlfriend Petra Vuckovic, celebrate first child

Young and versatile Minnesota United midfielder Hassani Dotson set his alarm clock Pacific time to ensure he'd see from afar his teammates' first preseason friendly from Florida two weeks ago.

It never awakened him, not nearly.

At 5 that morning, Dotson's girlfriend and expectant mother Petra Vuckovic's water broke. Off they headed to a Corvallis, Oregon, hospital for the birth of their first child, a daughter named Gia Valentina Vuckovic Stephenson. "We rushed to the hospital and she came out ready to play the game," he said.

His teammates played on to an uneventful, scoreless draw. Dotson's and Vuckovic's day was anything but.

"It was a very amazing experience," said Dotson, a father at age 24. "I can't really put it into words. I'm standing there waiting for her to come out, and everything happened so fast. I tried to take every second and have my brain realize what's going on. It was just amazing."

Dotson left mother and daughter in Oregon and trained with his team Monday for the first time this preseason. The two will remain in Corvallis until all three are reunited in Minnesota this summer while a wedding is meticulously planned.

A second-round MLS SuperDraft pick in 2019, Dotson started 26 of the 29 games in which he appeared in positions all over the field.

But now Loons coach Adrian Heath envisions Dotson settling at a central midfield position missing captain Ozzie Alonso and Designated Player Jan Gregus. He'll play instead alongside defensive midfielder Wil Trapp and Honduras national team member Kervin Arriaga, whom Heath hopes will sign and join the team for a preseason training trip to Portland, Ore.

"You know my feelings about Hassani," Heath said. "I think he's an international footballer there. He's got an opportunity: Before he had Jan Gregus to contend with, he had Ozzie. Now he has an opportunity to take that position his own. I'd like him to be the central midfielder player we think he's going to be."

Lod and Boxall back

Veteran starters Michael Boxall and Robin Lod joined training on Monday for the first time this preseason after both were away on international duty.

Meanwhile, star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso returned home to Argentina from Florida because of a family matter. He is expected back Wednesday, before the Loons leave for a three-team, round-robin competition.

Boxall trained in the Middle East for his New Zealand national team that had a friendly against Kazakhstan in Dubai canceled just hours before kickoff because of COVID last week. Lod had Finland military duty over the off-season and then was given some family time in Florida before he reported.

"Good to get the lads back," Heath said. "A few nice tales from Robin this morning about camping in the freezing snow in the forest for five days."

Bongo's still coming

Recently signed South African striker Bongokuhle Hlongwane is "just waiting" for his passport to arrive, Heath said. Heath said he's hopeful Hlongwane, Arriaga and nearly signed striker Luis Amarilla will join for the Portland trip.

Sunday's 2 p.m. Central time game against Portland and Saturday's 4:30 p.m. game against Norway's Viking FK will be streamed live on the MNUFC web site. Next Wednesday's game against Real Salt Lake currently is not scheduled to be streamed.

So cold

Dotson watched from afar the U.S. National team's 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Honduras in subzero temperatures at Allianz Field.

"It was very cold, as you could tell," Dotson said. "My hands and feet get frozen in 40-degree weather. Playing in front of Minnesota fans would have been a great experience, on a big stage. We need to qualify for the World Cup, cold or not cold."

Dotson has played for the U.S. Under-23 national team and said he still aspires to play for the senior team.

The last word

Boxall on that U.S.-Honduras game: "Obviously it's a bit bizarre to be playing a game in Minnesota at this time of year. I'm hoping it's at least a bit warmer for home opener [March 5 against Nashville]. It's great to see how much support they got."