Minnesota United picks up improbable victory over Seattle Sounders

Minnesota United’s losses to Atlético San Luis and Colorado last week were its first consecutive losses of the season.

Who’d have ever thought that the Seattle Sounders would be just the opponent for Minnesota to break the streak?

Joaquín Pereyra scored in the 73rd minute, bouncing in an attempted cross that wrong-footed the entire Seattle defense, and it was enough for Minnesota to claim a 1-0 victory at Allianz Field.

Coming into the night, Minnesota’s record against the Sounders was still the worst head-to-head record of any matchup in MLS history, with more than ten games played. But the Loons beat Seattle in Seattle earlier this season and completed an unlikely double on Saturday night.

“I don’t think we were the best team today based on our play,” said Pereyra, via a team-provided translation of a post-game interview. “But we defended very well and were able to get the three points, which is important for us.”

Minnesota’s victories against the Sounders are its only victories against a team in the top six of the Western Conference, and the Loons finally picked up a home victory against a potential West playoff team, their first of the year.

Everyone knows about Minnesota’s proficiency at set pieces, but that usually means that the Loons swing the ball into the opposition penalty area and win a header, or a second ball, before they score.

The Loons midfielder, taking the short corner, swung in an inviting left-footed cross from Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei’s left. The keeper reacted too late and missed the ball, and it simply bounced inside the far post, without a defensive clearance or offensive touch to be seen.

“I can’t say it was a shot, because the ball was moving very slowly, and I never looked at the goal, just the penalty area and my teammates,” said Pereyra. “Luckily, the ball went in, and well, a goal is a goal. So, it’s my goal.”

Lucky, perhaps. Not exactly how the Loons drew it up, certainly. But when a team makes set pieces such a big part of its identity, goals have a way of building on each other, and that was the case with the game-winner in this one.

The Sounders entered the night 14-2-2 all-time against Minnesota, so even a draw would have felt like an accomplishment for Loons fans who’ve seen just about everything over the years when it comes to dropping all three points against Seattle.

Instead, Minnesota pulled off a victory — a grind-it-out, hold-on-late win. It was an important milestone for a team that has made a habit of dropping points by allowing late goals. It also pushed the Loons into second place in the Western Conference, though third-place Vancouver has two games in hand and plays Sunday.

The win also ended Seattle’s ten-game unbeaten streak.

Despite Minnesota’s defense-first reputation, the victory stood as the Loons’ first clean sheet since May 28 against Vancouver. Given that, at that point of the season, Minnesota had nine shutouts in 18 games across all competitions, to go 14 games in a row without a shutout would have seemed virtually impossible.

Defender Michael Boxall was ready for another clean sheet. “Feels like a bit longer,” he told reporters in a locker room conference. “This is what we needed to do, and anything below that we would need to take a look at ourselves in the mirror and make sure that’s always there.”