“Wonderwall” by Oasis, sung by Minnesota United FC (MNUFC) players and fans alike after a home win, had some additional meaning last Saturday, Nov. 2, as the Loons defeated Real Salt Lake (RSL) on penalties to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals in the Major League Soccer (MLS) playoffs.
MNUFC advances after winning the first two matches of the first-round best-of-three series, in which games tied after 90 minutes go straight to penalties. The first match, hosted in Salt Lake on Oct. 29, was an entertaining, highly competitive 0-0 draw. Both goalkeepers were the standout performers, with MNUFC’s Dayne St. Clair making an excellent save in the first half, while RSL’s Zac MacMath made an improbable double save in the second half to ensure the match went to penalties. After six rounds of penalties, the Loons won 5-4 after both Justen Glad and Braian Ojeda failed to hit the target with their penalties.
In St. Paul, RSL thought they scored the opener in the 47th minute before the video assistant referee (VAR) disallowed the goal for offside. Six minutes later, MNUFC’s Joseph Rosales opened the scoring in the 53rd minute with a lovely finish in the bottom right corner. RSL came storming back, as Emeka Eneli equalized in the 75th minute. In the second penalty shootout in a week, St. Clair provided the heroics, saving two of Salt Lake’s four penalties as MNUFC won 3-1 in the shootout.
The Loons will face the Los Angeles Galaxy in the next round. The series will see one match played in Los Angeles and the other in St. Paul, with the aggregate score over both matches determining who advances. The first match will be hosted in Los Angeles sometime between Nov. 22-24.
