Sang Bin Jeong registered one of the fastest speeds in MLS this season, with the South Korean clocked at 22.6 mph. Only four others had a higher number going into Saturday’s match.
The Minnesota United attacker showed off that burst by running in behind the Colorado Rapids’ defense to score two goals and a 3-1 halftime lead, but the Loons lost the pace and settled for a 3-3 draw at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
MNUFC (7-3-3, 25 points) allowed three goals in a match for the first time this season. All three goals came after Loons lost aerial duels.
MNUFC’s 3-1 halftime lead was on the back of Jeong’s two goals and Tani Oluwaseyi’s one.
Robin Lod produced a picturesque turn and perfectly weighted through ball to set up Jeong’s finish in the eighth minute. After Kevin Cabral tied the game in the 18th minute, Oluwaseyi was credited with a rebound goal in the 24th minute. It needed a VAR check after Oluwaseyi was initially ruled offside.
Oluwaseyi then fed Jeong with another nice through ball behind the Rapids defense. He finished it in the 33rd minute.
The Loons rode their luck at times in the first half, but the worst moment was on a Dayne St. Clair goal kick. Colorado won the first header and the second to send a sprinting Cabral past Michael Boxall and he chipped the ball over St. Clair.
The way MNUFC gave up that goal was nearly a carbon copy of how they conceded in the 2-1 win over Atlanta on May 4.
United gave up its second goal off a corner kick in the 62nd minute. Kervin Arriaga didn’t contest Djordje Mihalovic for a flick-on header and Rafael Navarro tapped it in at the back post.
St. Clair saved a Navarro penalty kick in the 69th minute, but then St. Clair spilled a save on Cabral’s header for the equalizing goal in the 71st minute. Cabral was able to get higher to win the ball between Boxall and Arriaga.
Loons went with a 5-3-2 formation, with Carlos Harvey keeping his midfield spot in starting XI and played next to Lod and Wil Trapp. With center back Micky Tapias suspended for a red card, MNUFC kept a three-center back look with Devin Padelford, Boxall and Arriaga.
Briefly
Lod has 11 total assists this season, only four behind Darwin Quintero’s single-season club record of 15 set in 2018. Lod has roughly 60% of the season to top Quintero’s mark. …Rapids coach Chris Armas and Loons coach Eric Ramsay overlapped on staff at Manchester United. “He was in the trenches with us,” Armas said of Ramsay this week. “We were all together in a really interesting time. … I’m really happy that I met a guy like him. He’s a tremendous human being. You meet some good ones along the way. He is really wired on a good way. He is a good coach. He’s got lots of ideas about the game.” The two coaches shared a big hug after the match. … Loons loaned Derek Dodson out to Birmingham Legion in the USL Championship with the right to recall at any time. Dodson, who played for Charleston Battery in USL Championship last season, has not played for MNUFC this year. His move frees up a supplemental roster spot. … Hassani Dotson returned after a four-game absence and replaced Harvey at halftime. … Joseph Rosales posted the sixth fastest speed this season at 22.5 mph.
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