It’s not entirely clear who the soccer version of Hank Williams Jr. would be, but in a different world, that person might be asking Minnesota United fans a question: are you ready for some fútbol?
The Loons will take on the Seattle Sounders in the first round of the MLS playoffs, and Games 1 and 2 are both set for Monday nights. Minnesota will play host to the Sounders at Allianz Field at 8 p.m. Oct. 27, with Game 2 set for 9:55 p.m. Nov. 3 at Lumen Field in Seattle.
If Game 3 is necessary, it will be played Nov. 8, a Saturday, at Allianz Field. Both Games 1 and 2 will be broadcast on FS1 and FOX Deportes, as well as on Apple TV, and will be on the radio on 1500 AM.
It’s a best-of-three series, not a total-goals series. If games are tied at the end of 90 minutes of play, they will go straight to penalty kicks — just like last year, when the Loons won two first-round shootouts against Real Salt Lake to advance.
The late game times will be rough for fans in the Central Time Zone, a Western Conference problem that has bedeviled Timberwolves and Wild fans during the NBA and NHL playoffs as well. Game 1 will be the second game of a doubleheader, though Game 2 is the only playoff game scheduled for Nov. 3.
“[The Sounders] have players of real quality returning at the right time, which I think is a really crucial thing for them,” Loons coach Eric Ramsay said Saturday following a 2-1 loss at LA Galaxy to end the regular season. “But we’ve had two very good games against them this year. We have beaten them twice. But in both of those games, the games have been very even, and they are a really good team.”
The Loons claimed a pair of one-goal victories against the Sounders this year, including the team’s first-ever win at Seattle, a 3-2 victory in June.
To beat the Sounders twice in a year seemed like a huge step forward for Minnesota United, which came into the season with one win and 14 losses in 17 games against Seattle since joining MLS.
