Takeaways: Loons fall in U.S. Open Cup semifinals

Minnesota United had a chance to play for the club’s first major trophy at home but couldn’t get past Austin FC on Wednesday night in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, losing 2-1 after CJ Fodrey scored in the 120th minute to give Austin a heart-stopping extra-time victory.

The Loons would have hosted the tournament final with a victory, but Fodrey scored with what was almost the very last kick of the match, breaking the hearts of the fans who had turned out to Allianz Field.

Osman Bukari scored late in the first half for Austin, but Joaquín Pereyra evened it up midway through the second half with a gorgeous free kick, pushing the match into extra time.

It looked for all the world like the game was heading for penalty kicks, but Fodrey latched on to a late cross in the center of the Minnesota penalty area and hooked home the game-winner.

“I can talk about it as objectively as possible, but I think ultimately, it’s the worst way we could have possibly lost the game,” Loons coach Eric Ramsay said. “I think the nature of losing the game in that way, the nature of some of the stuff that goes with it, is obviously very, very difficult to swallow.”

The Loons entered the game with only one striker on their 18-man roster, as backup Mamadou Dieng can’t play in the Cup for Minnesota because he already played for second-division Hartford Athletic in the competition this season. So, when Kelvin Yeboah went down injured, not even a half-hour into the game, Minnesota was without a center-forward to replace him.

As they have for years, the Loons filled in by moving Robin Lod around the field, in this case putting the veteran midfielder up front at striker — then later moving him back to central midfield and replacing him with right wingback Bongokuhle Hlongwane.

By the end of the game, Minnesota’s front line was Hlongwane, newly signed Dominik Fitz and just-turned-18-year-old Darius Randell — perhaps not the lineup the Loons would have planned as they pushed for a game-winning goal.

The 30-minute extra-time period was slow and cagey, as both teams appeared to be playing for penalty kicks — though Hlongwane had a one-on-one chance in the 117th minute that Austin keeper Brad Stuver turned aside. And then, at the last moment, Fodrey stole the victory — and the final — from Minnesota.

“To host the final at Allianz would have been pretty ... special,” defender Michael Boxall said.

Minnesota United is famed for its set-piece goals, but usually they come from putting a ball into the penalty area and scrambling home a goal — not a world-class moment of magic from a single player.

Pereyra lined up a free kick, 25 yards from goal, with four Austin defenders in a wall that was meant to protect the near post. Instead, Pereyra bent his free kick outside the wall, then curled it back inside the near post, an inch-perfect left-footed effort that left Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver without a hope of getting close to a save.