Loons’ tough luck against Sounders continues as they fall 3-2 on late goal off post

When Minnesota United plays the Seattle Sounders, the only thing the Loons can count on is that something always will go wrong.

Red cards? Impossible comebacks? Long-range blasts? Minnesota never knows what it will be; the Loons only know that it will be something.

On Saturday evening at Allianz Field, it was Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák driving in a 20-yard shot off the post, after Minnesota had erased two previous Seattle leads. The goal, 15 minutes from the end of the game, gave Seattle an almost-impossible 14th win in 17 games, in all competitions, against Minnesota.

Compared with the Sounders’ dominance against the Loons, the New York Yankees have had merely a slight advantage over the years against the Twins.

Rusnak’s goal ruined an impressive debut for Loons striker Kelvin Yeboah, who made his first start as a designated player. Yeboah scored twice, once from the penalty spot, erasing Seattle leads both times.

It wasn’t enough to end Minnesota’s struggles against the Sounders, though.

“We can’t find ourselves having to score four goals to win games at home, and give up the goals that we give up there - and that’s an undisputable fact. And I know the players feel that way as well,” Loons coach Eric Ramsay said.

Jordan Morris put Seattle in front after just 11 minutes, his third goal in three games against Minnesota this season. New signing Jefferson Diaz attempted a long cross-field pass in his own half, but Robin Lod, the intended recipient, slipped and fell down. Two Seattle touches later, Morris was beating Minnesota’s offside trap, with Diaz failing to step up in time, and chipping the ball past Dayne St. Clair.

Yeboah got the Loons back in the game, though. As Yeboah attempted to bring down a bouncing ball in the Seattle penalty area, Sounders defender Yeimar’s attempted high kick made contact with nothing but Yeboah’s calf. Referee Guido Gonzales, asked to take a look by the video assistant referee, awarded Minnesota a penalty on review. Yeboah stepped up to open his scoring account for the Loons, freezing keeper Stefan Frei with a hesitation in his run-up and sending the penalty low to Frei’s left.

BOXSCORE: Seattle 3, Loons 2

MLS standings

The lead, though, lasted only four minutes. Sounders center back Jackson Ragen stayed near the Loons goal after a corner kick initially was cleared, and when Seattle swung the ball back in, Ragen was there to climb higher than Diaz and loop his header back over St. Clair, restoring Seattle’s advantage in the 28th minute.

“The concentration on set pieces is really what we take away this week, because other than that, there’s really not much they had in the game,” midfielder Wil Trapp said. “And we had emphasized, and worked on for the past 20 days, our defensive set pieces. So when we fall apart in those moments and they capitalize, it’s disappointing.”

Yeboah brought Minnesota back again in the 56th minute. Trapp squeezed a pass into a tiny window between Seattle’s center backs, and the striker held off both center backs and lofted a shot over Frei, once again tying the score.

In the end, though, it was Rusnák who made the difference — and added yet another chapter in Minnesota’s woes against Seattle.