The Loons are within striking distance of the No. 1 seed in the West after downing San Jose 4-1 on Saturday in St. Paul.
The Loons now have 40 points, second most in the West and just two fewer than conference-leading San Diego.
Loons head coach Eric Ramsay feels the Loons’ current positioning in the table is just given the club’s performance.
“I think we’ve sustained form over a difficult period. I really wanted to make sure we kept our heads above water in June. … I wanted to make sure at the end of this five-game block, we are keeping pace at the top,” Ramsay told reporters. “I think as long as we’re in touching distance, we can finish this year really, really well. I think we’ve got a lot of margin to improve. I feel like we have the potential to do what we did last year, I feel the players have got a lot of belief. It’s a really exciting thing to be a part of, and I feel everyone connected to the group can sense the energy and the real belief that we can win every game and beat everyone in front of us.”
The party got started in the fourth minute Saturday, as Tani Oluwaseyi scored his eighth goal of the season via a corner kick redirect. Robin Lod put a header on target that was seemingly headed directly for the San Jose keeper, before Oluwaseyi’s foot changed the ball’s trajectory right in front of the net and put Minnesota United up 1-0.
That assist was Lod’s 34th with the Loons, giving him the most in franchise regular season history, one clear of Emanuel Reynoso.
The Loons went up 2-0 in the 42nd minute, when Oluwaseyi beat multiple defenders on a majestic run to the end line, then delivered a perfect cross to Kelvin Yeboah, who snuck a header inside the far post for his sixth goal of the campaign.
Minnesota United made it 3-0 in first half stoppage time when the club’s set piece mastery continued as Anthony Markanich scored on a right-footed blast resulting off a corner.
San Jose scored early in the second stanza to trip the Loons’ lead to 3-1, but Oluwaseyi officially put the game away in stoppage time with another dominant run that resulted in his second assist of the need, a feed to Joseph Rosales for an easy goal.
San Jose held possession for 65% of the contest, but Minnesota United had 12 shots to the Earthquakes’ 10 and put six shots on target, versus San Jose’s four.
Ramsay lamented the lack of a clean sheet and cited a few decision-making errors at various points in the contest that need to improve as the Loons continue their evolution, but couldn’t deny the general quality of play from his club.
“I think, in general, it was a high-level performance,” Ramsay said. “And I think the score reflected that. I think the number of chances we had reflected that. … In many ways, it is the hallmark of why we’re such a difficult team to play against.”
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