Minnesota United’s developmental team, with a handful of MLS players, were upset at home by the Michigan Stars 2-0 in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday.
MNUFC2 was bounced from the national tournament by a club in the low-level National Independent Soccer Association at a cold Allianz Field. NISA is considered a third-tier league in U.S. soccer.
Michigan Stars scored a pair of goals in added extra time, including off a corner kick when Sacko Konate headed it past MLS backup goalkeeper Clint Irwin in the 100th minute. Michigan scored an insurance goal in the 107th minute.
“Set pieces: We knew before going into the game that they were going to be well organized and experienced,” MNUFC2 head coach Jeremy Hall said. “Obviously they have some veterans on their team and we knew on set pieces that was going to be the difference.”
Michigan’s experience included former MLS player Justin Meram. A younger MNUFC2 team, which competed in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup instead of MNUFC, beat Chicago House 3-0 in the first round on March 20. The Loons finished Tuesday’s match with a handful of academy players on the field.
Besides Irwin, MNUFC2 also had MLS players Carlos Harvey, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Derek Dodson and Moses Nyeman on the pitch. First-round draft pick Hugo Bacharach made his first appearance for the Loons.
“I’m actually very, very happy to have played my first game with Minnesota, it’s something that I was really looking forward (to),” Bacharach said. “I was really sad with the result.”
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