Heartbreaking loss nothing new for Minnesota United

Following Minnesota United’s 2-1 extra-time loss to Austin FC, knocking the Loons out of the U.S. Open Cup in the semifinals, captain Michael Boxall didn’t need any prompting to put the game in context.

“I’ve been here far too long — seven, eight years — and we’ve been in that position what, three times?” he said. “It doesn’t come around too often, so it sucks.”

Die-hard Loons fans know exactly which were the three times he was referring to.

The 2019 U.S. Open Cup final. The 2020 Western Conference Final. And now, the 2025 U.S. Open Cup semifinals.

Three times since joining MLS, the Loons have been within two wins of claiming a major trophy. And three times, they’ve come up painfully, heartbreakingly short.

In the 2019 final, the Loons trailed 2-0 early, cut the deficit to 2-1 just after halftime, but couldn’t find the equalizer — even after Atlanta United had a player sent off with 15 minutes to go.

The 2020 conference finals were the biggest gut-punch of all, the real kicker-with-a-single-bar-facemask moment for MNUFC, when the Loons led 2-0 in Seattle with 15 minutes to go… only to lose 3-2, including allowing goals in the 89th and 93rd minutes.

They had to be wondering: why does Minnesota United have to be so, well, Minnesotan?

It was the manner of the two Austin goals that seemed particularly galling, for manager Eric Ramsay. Minnesota seemed to switch off in the dying moments of the first half, giving Austin winger Osman Bukari a chance to fly in behind the Loons defense and poke a shot through the legs of goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

And at the end of extra time, with the clock showing 119:50 and no stoppage time signaled, Minnesota’s defense again fell asleep, leading to a free cross into the area, then Fodrey poking home the rebound of a St. Clair save to clinch the victory for the visitors.

“I said that if we see this again, we might as well give up, because we’ve conceded goals in a way in which, as I say, you use the word unforgivable; they’re unforgivable because it’s controllable,” said Ramsay. “There’s so much about these games that you can’t control. There’s so much over the course of 120 minutes that you can’t control. But in those two moments, there’s a lot that we can.”

Bukari’s goal was especially frustrating for Minnesota, given that they felt that there was a pretty good argument that he shouldn’t have even been on the pitch at that point.

Referee Alexis da Silva, whose goal for the night seemed to be to avoid big decisions at all costs, instead showed Bukari a yellow.

“I’m not one to stand up here and often talk about refereeing,” said Ramsay, who wasn’t wrong; this might have been the first time in two years he’s said anything about a refereeing decision. “But I feel like, particularly with the Bukari one, the rationale for him not being sent off is he’s not kicked him hard enough, and as far as I’m concerned, that action nine times out of ten results in his sending off, and I think it was as clear as could possibly be.”

It wasn’t the only decision da Silva avoided.

The referee didn’t award Minnesota a penalty in the first half, after Kelvin Yeboah was kneed so hard in the back of the leg that he limped off with a hamstring injury. Austin keeper Brad Stuver appeared to handle the ball outside the penalty area in the second half, to steal away a chance from Bongokuhle Hlongwane, but escaped a call.

In the middle of the second half, da Silva even appeared to reach for the card in his pocket after Austin’s Dani Pereira upended Minnesota’s Joaquín Pereyra — then suddenly seemed to remember that he’d already booked Pereira, and therefore would have to send him off if he booked him again, and so pulled his hand back without another yellow.

Minnesota has no time to dwell on the loss. Even after 120 minutes of soccer Wednesday, they have to turn around Saturday and host Chicago.

With four games to go in the MLS season, the Loons are three points out of the Supporters’ Shield lead — and so the only bright spot after the loss is that there are still two trophies for the Loons to play for.

“We have to take that as a lesson, and we also have to take the pain that comes with losing a game in that way, and make sure that it means something on Saturday, and as we move forward,” said Ramsay.