Soccer Recap 2: MNUFC, MLS, and the USWNT
Minnesota Soccer Spot
Monday, March 4th
MNUFC Vs Columbus Recap, Orlando this weekend, a look around MLS, and the USWNT in Gold Cup
*Disclaimer: My takes are not thoughtful, and they are NOT based in knowledge.*
The Kids Will Take The Point!
What a day to end week two, huh? Minnesota United's children steal a point away from the defending champions at the death. "The kids are alright", as they say. Minnesota's second-half game plan was to throw a bunch of twelve-year-olds who have hardly played together into the attack and see what happens. It got the result. Thanks to Tani Oluwaseyi, the Loons remain undefeated going into week three.
During the week, fans learned that both Franco Fragapane and Robin Lod were injured, screwing everyone's starting lineup predictions for this past match. Going into this week, I assumed Minnesota would throw out the same starting lineup from opening day. Due to these injuries, we were delighted with first starts for Alejandro Bran and Minnesota Native Caden Clark. Bran takes the place of Robin Lod while Clark slides into Fragapane's position.
Columbus did not line up with what I had initially predicted. At all. Matan returned to the starting eleven, replacing Russell-Rowe from the previous week, and Moreira slid in for Zawadski in Columbus' back three. The class of Cucho and Rossi continued to make appearances while long-timer Darlington Nagbe and young USMNT midfielder Aidan Morris (who spent most of the match rolling around on the ground) returned to Columbus' midfield.
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| Minnesota's Starting Lineup, Courtesy of MNUFC's Instagram |
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| Columbus lineups courtesy of Columbus' Instagram (Also, please for the love of God, put the lineups in lineup form) |
Similarly to last week, the Loons came out of the gate with intense pressure on the backline of the Columbus Crew. The first half was pretty even across the board. Dayne St. Clair came up big with two kick saves from both stars for the Columbus Crew. Patrick Schulte was forced into a save from the strike of Finnish striker Teemu Pukki. Defenders for Columbus were caught doing too much at times, and both Rosales and Taylor were caught flatfooted, leading to chances for Columbus.
The second half was the half of the kids. The first twenty minutes of the second half saw immense pressure from Columbus' attack. This pressure eventually led to the breakthrough goal for Cucho Hernandez and the Columbus Crew. Dotson loses his mark, leaving Cucho wide open. History repeats itself: You give Cucho an inch? He will make you pay. From there, the Loons grew a bit more into the second half. An impressive kick save from Schulte denied the youngster Loïc Ekoue Mesnavi a first goal in Major League Soccer. It wasn't until the ninety-fifth minute when Tani Oluwaseyi's equalizer found the back of the net. (What a finish by the way). Absolute scenes at Allianz Field. Incredible.
It was also great to see Christian Ramirez back in Minnesota, making his Allianz Field debut. Once a Loon, always a Loon.
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| Fans seeing all of the second half subs |
Standout Players:
Our man of the match! Sang Bin Jeong proved to be a pain in Columbus' side, providing speed Columbus' wingbacks couldn't keep up with. In my opinion, it was the best performance I've seen from the youngster. The one feedback I would have for his performance is to be more selfish, which is crazy to say. There were a couple of times when I thought "Take that shot yourself." Despite that, I do like that he was trying to find Pukki making those central runs. It will be interesting to see this partnership develop and how things change once Bongi is fully fit.
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| From MNUFC's Instagram |
My second standout player would be Alejandro Bran. In his first start for the club, he has proven to be a force in the midfield. He was able to showcase his foot skills, something he was unable to do the previous week, as well as his strength in 1V1 battles. He's made a case for the starting position.
I'd also like to give a shoutout to Wil Trapp. The veteran has faced a significant amount of criticism during his time in Minnesota. While, in my opinion, he is not a permanent starter with all of our midfielders healthy, he has held his own in the midfield. He's here, he's there, he's every f'ing where!
Orlando Next:
The Loons will be traveling down to Orlando Florida to take on the Eastern Conference power of Orlando City. Following a complete blowout against Inter Miami, the Loons will look to take advantage of the momentum, and hopefully not have any of Florida's politics rub off on them.
Here's how I predict each team will lineup:
In all honesty, I know very little about Orlando City. I will not pretend to be an expert. The Loons will look to keep Duncan Mcguire in check, while the Lions will look to right the wrongs of last week. I am going to take a wild guess and assume Bongi will be fit for this weekend's match. I have him starting at right wing, replacing Caden Clark. With that replacement, I would move SBJ to the left side. Honestly, it could go either way. Regardless of whether or not he starts, I would expect him to at least make an appearance off the bench. I would keep everything else the same: I believe Alejandro Bran has claimed that midfield starting spot over Kervin Arriaga for the time being.
A Look Around MLS:
MLS is so unseriousness. As my favorite social media reporter Eli Lesser stated in a recent video (Shoutout to Eli) "Let's embrace it." We had everything this week: Stoppage time drama, horrendous officiating, and even snow angel goal celebrations? It may not seem like it, but I do have a life outside of soccer, so let's break down what I was able to catch and the important highlights.
LAFC VS RSL:
I still cannot believe this happened. Listen, I'm from Minnesota. I work at Allianz Field. I was there during THAT World Cup Qualifier. But snowclassico? This is the most MLS thing I've ever seen, and this is why we shouldn't be on the same schedule as Europe. It's amazing.
LAFC got cooked in Salt Lake City, Utah, falling 3-0 to the team from Mormonland. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the whole game as I was switching back and forth between this game and Orlando Vs Miami. Two highlights from this one: The snow angel celebration from Chicho Arango scoring against his former club, and the weirdest VAR situation I've seen in a while. A player getting a straight red, then overturned to a double yellow? Classic MLS.
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| His inner-child has been healed |
Inter Miami VS Orlando City:
So, Orlando got cooked, which is good for Minnesota. We'll have the momentum going in. But from an Orlando perspective, this match was pretty painful to watch from the bits and pieces I've seen. A 5-0 loss is pretty crazy, especially considering Suarez has been borderline limping on the field during his time in Miami. I understand Suarez feeling like he was robbed of a hat trick. The offside was VERY close. But no clear and obvious error, so the offside stands. Other than the Suarez and Messi braces, the highlights of this match are unnecessary to relive. I'll let the Orlando City fans have a moment of peace.
Philly Union VS SKC:
What a crazy sequence of events this game had! I'm so grateful I chose this game to watch among all the other East VS West games this weekend. Philly and MNUFC must be on similar wavelengths. Great minds think alike, as they say. We both love dramatic stoppage-time goals. This goal was a lot more controversial than Minnesota's: A throw-in called in favor of Philly that OBVIOUSLY should've been in favor of Sporting Kansas City leads to a corner which leads to the goal. Sporting Kansas City fans will be upset, for sure. Peter Vermes was ready to throw hands following the final whistle. But at the end of the day, Tim Melia made a goalkeeping error, punching the ball to one of the last people you want on the receiving end of a perfectly weighted ball. All in all, a tie is a decent result for the Union. This will feel like a win for them.
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| Peter Vermes coming on the field after the final whistle |
GOALS AND HIGHLIGHTS: My standouts from this week
Joseph Painstil opens his scoring account for the LA Galaxy. Welcome to MLS!
Lewis Morgan scores his first goal for Red Bull since October of 2022. After suffering a variety of injuries, one of which included a hip surgery, it is great to see him scoring as though he never left.
Guess who's back? Back again? MLS star striker Josef Martínez scores his first goal for his new club CF Montreal. The former Atlanta United star has found his spark with his newest club!
This save is genuinely insane. Had to throw it on here.
USMNT Defender Miles Robinson scored his first goal for his new club FC Cincinnati, securing all three road points for the defending Supporters' Shield winters against the Chicago Fire.
Here are the MLS standings following week 2:
Does Carli Lloyd Have A Point?
Before I go on my tangent, I would like to say that no, Carli Lloyd does not have a point. Now, onto MY point.
For those of you who don't have Paramount+ (You're living the dream. The streams have been atrocious), the United States Women's National Team is currently competing in the W Gold Cup tournament with teams such as Canada, Mexico, Brazil, etc. The women started the tournament with two dominant performances in their first group matches against the Dominican Republic and Argentina, scoring nine goals in total and maintaining a two-game shutout streak. The third group stage match proved to be a challenge: The four-time World Cup champions fell to the Mexican women by a score of 2-0 in favor of their southern rival (The commentators REALLY tried pushing this narrative that this rivalry is as deep as the men's. I only dispute this because, in my mind, a rivalry would be between two even teams who have a closer to even record against one another. But that's just my opinion). This loss, like other losses/poor results in the World Cup and other friendlies, gets the US Women's fans talking on Twitter (IT IS STILL TWITTER TO ME! I REFUSE TO CONFORM): What happened to the team that once was? Is it the players? Coaching? And, the most annoying question I've seen at times is "Does Carli Lloyd have a point?"
For those of you who either don't watch much soccer or live under a rock, the World Cup brought out a lot of, in my opinion, dense commentary. Much of Carli Lloyd's commentary revolved around this idea that the players aren't working as hard as they once were, and it's become more than just the game (Aka, she doesn't like that Megan Rapinoe has discussed social issues). Alexi Llalas, who wouldn't even make the USMNT B-Team if he were young and still playing, reared his ugly head a few times to comment on how the women are "divisive." (Let me remind you that the men were kneeling during the BLM protests as well. Just saying). It even got to the point where Lloyd and her work husband were bashing the women for SMILING. This is literally the only time in history when women weren't being told to smile more, so maybe they're just massive feminists and we're the ones on the wrong side of history.
Mom and Dad
But since Carli Lloyd wants to keep it about soccer, let's discuss soccer. So, what has happened?
The US Women's National Team has had a historically dominating presence in the world of Women's Soccer. For many years, they were ranked number one. With four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals, they have seemed unstoppable. Let's not kid ourselves. The US women aren't just naturally better athletes than the rest of the world. They don't work harder than women athletes in other countries. It is not black and white. It is much more complex than that. They are incredible athletes, and nothing I am about to say takes away from that or their accomplishments. But the reality is that the USWNT has had much more privilege than the rest of the world when it comes to the sport. The introduction of Title IX was born around the same time women's soccer was up and coming in the United States. Part of Title IX states that for every male sport, the women must either have the same sport offered to them or a different sport that is not offered to male athletes. This in itself granted women much more opportunity in sports in general, but soccer especially given that women's soccer and Title IX have basically grown up together. Other countries the women have faced over the years do not have their version of Title IX. That's why you see a much larger gap between the men and women of countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, etc. Not to mention that countries like Brazil banned women from playing soccer for nearly forty years in the past. Not only this, but other countries' women's soccer programs do not have the funding and youth development the United States has in part because they don't have a Title IX type of legislation, but also because some of these countries just don't have as much money. I'm sure there's more to this, and someone with more soccer knowledge can provide a more in-depth explanation for this gap. But things are different now: The rest of the world is catching up. Other teams are getting more funding, better coaching, more youth development, etc. So when I hear Carli Lloyd minimize this complex issue to it just being about working hard, it's a bit tone-deaf. It's almost an equivalent of "If you just work hard, you can do anything you want!" It doesn't acknowledge the pre-existing barriers different groups, in this case, women's national teams, have to face, and quite frankly, it's an extremely privileged take.
Let's take a look at Lloyd's stats: In her USWNT career, she made 316 appearances, scoring 134 goals and providing 64 assists. These are extremely impressive, there is no denying that. But the reality is that from here on out, USWNT players will not be able to achieve these stats. The competition is getting better. There are more women playing soccer now than there were at the height of Lloyd's career. The better the opponent, the fewer goals you're bound to score against them. Not to mention that these other countries KNOW how to play against the USWNT. Carli Lloyd will not have better stats because she worked harder, is a better athlete, or didn't kneel: She will have better stats because her competition was not as skillful, and the height of her career was during a time when the rest of the world did not have the same resources she did.
The USWNT will face Canada in the semis this Wednesday!
That's all for this week! See you next post!
For those of you who don't have Paramount+ (You're living the dream. The streams have been atrocious), the United States Women's National Team is currently competing in the W Gold Cup tournament with teams such as Canada, Mexico, Brazil, etc. The women started the tournament with two dominant performances in their first group matches against the Dominican Republic and Argentina, scoring nine goals in total and maintaining a two-game shutout streak. The third group stage match proved to be a challenge: The four-time World Cup champions fell to the Mexican women by a score of 2-0 in favor of their southern rival (The commentators REALLY tried pushing this narrative that this rivalry is as deep as the men's. I only dispute this because, in my mind, a rivalry would be between two even teams who have a closer to even record against one another. But that's just my opinion). This loss, like other losses/poor results in the World Cup and other friendlies, gets the US Women's fans talking on Twitter (IT IS STILL TWITTER TO ME! I REFUSE TO CONFORM): What happened to the team that once was? Is it the players? Coaching? And, the most annoying question I've seen at times is "Does Carli Lloyd have a point?"
For those of you who either don't watch much soccer or live under a rock, the World Cup brought out a lot of, in my opinion, dense commentary. Much of Carli Lloyd's commentary revolved around this idea that the players aren't working as hard as they once were, and it's become more than just the game (Aka, she doesn't like that Megan Rapinoe has discussed social issues). Alexi Llalas, who wouldn't even make the USMNT B-Team if he were young and still playing, reared his ugly head a few times to comment on how the women are "divisive." (Let me remind you that the men were kneeling during the BLM protests as well. Just saying). It even got to the point where Lloyd and her work husband were bashing the women for SMILING. This is literally the only time in history when women weren't being told to smile more, so maybe they're just massive feminists and we're the ones on the wrong side of history.
 |
| Mom and Dad |
But since Carli Lloyd wants to keep it about soccer, let's discuss soccer. So, what has happened?
The US Women's National Team has had a historically dominating presence in the world of Women's Soccer. For many years, they were ranked number one. With four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals, they have seemed unstoppable. Let's not kid ourselves. The US women aren't just naturally better athletes than the rest of the world. They don't work harder than women athletes in other countries. It is not black and white. It is much more complex than that. They are incredible athletes, and nothing I am about to say takes away from that or their accomplishments. But the reality is that the USWNT has had much more privilege than the rest of the world when it comes to the sport. The introduction of Title IX was born around the same time women's soccer was up and coming in the United States. Part of Title IX states that for every male sport, the women must either have the same sport offered to them or a different sport that is not offered to male athletes. This in itself granted women much more opportunity in sports in general, but soccer especially given that women's soccer and Title IX have basically grown up together. Other countries the women have faced over the years do not have their version of Title IX. That's why you see a much larger gap between the men and women of countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, etc. Not to mention that countries like Brazil banned women from playing soccer for nearly forty years in the past. Not only this, but other countries' women's soccer programs do not have the funding and youth development the United States has in part because they don't have a Title IX type of legislation, but also because some of these countries just don't have as much money. I'm sure there's more to this, and someone with more soccer knowledge can provide a more in-depth explanation for this gap. But things are different now: The rest of the world is catching up. Other teams are getting more funding, better coaching, more youth development, etc. So when I hear Carli Lloyd minimize this complex issue to it just being about working hard, it's a bit tone-deaf. It's almost an equivalent of "If you just work hard, you can do anything you want!" It doesn't acknowledge the pre-existing barriers different groups, in this case, women's national teams, have to face, and quite frankly, it's an extremely privileged take.
Let's take a look at Lloyd's stats: In her USWNT career, she made 316 appearances, scoring 134 goals and providing 64 assists. These are extremely impressive, there is no denying that. But the reality is that from here on out, USWNT players will not be able to achieve these stats. The competition is getting better. There are more women playing soccer now than there were at the height of Lloyd's career. The better the opponent, the fewer goals you're bound to score against them. Not to mention that these other countries KNOW how to play against the USWNT. Carli Lloyd will not have better stats because she worked harder, is a better athlete, or didn't kneel: She will have better stats because her competition was not as skillful, and the height of her career was during a time when the rest of the world did not have the same resources she did.
The USWNT will face Canada in the semis this Wednesday!
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