Minnesota United extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches Saturday, but a second straight scoreless draw doesn’t add much momentum.

The Loons’ 0-0 result with shorthanded FC Dallas at Allianz Field followed a goalless game in Toronto last weekend. Minnesota has managed four wins and four ties in the run.

Still, MNUFC (4-1-4, 16 points) has equaled its club record-best unbeaten run from September-November 2020.

Here are three takeaways:

Attack gone cold

After scoring multiple goals in four straight matches, the Loons have gone two straight games without scoring.

Strikers Tani Oluwaseyi (five goals) and Kelvin Yeboah (four goals) were among the hottest tandem in the league but have cooled off significantly.

In the 73rd minute, Carlos Harvey sent in a great cross to the back post. Oluwaseyi came sliding in at the back post, but his shot was off frame. That served as the Loons best chance of the evening.

Caught a break

FC Dallas’ two most-dangerous attackers didn’t start Saturday: striker Petar Musa was out with an ankle injury and central attacking midfielder Luciano Acosta was on the bench based on coach Eric Quill’s decision. Acosta subbed in during the 63rd minute and his header was denied by Dayne St. Clair in the 78th minute.

The pair of Designated Players have each scored three goals this season, with Musa adding three assists. Not taking better advantage of their lesser, nonexistent roles will sting for MNUFC.

Dallas (3-3-3, 12 points) also had two other key players out in Marco Farfan and Sebastian Lletget; both have leg injuries.

Three makes a trend

The Loons used the same starting XI for the third straight game Saturday: Oluwaseyi, Yeboah; Joaquin Pereyra, Robin Lod, Wil Trapp; Joseph Rosales, Nicholas Romero, Michael Boxall, Jefferson Diaz, Bongi Hlongwane; St. Clair.

Consistency is good, but it’s also indicative of a lack of competition for spots, especially in midfield and at forward.

Injuries to Hassani Dotson and Owen Gene cut down on options in midfield, and a lack of form for Sang Bin Jeong help make the forward choices easy.

In a scoreless game, midfielder Sam Shashoua was the only attacking option brought in for the Loons in the 65th minute.

Three tidbits

Louisville City head coach Danny Cruz — whose USL Championship team will play MNUFC in U.S. Open Cup on May 7 — was initially included in United’s coaching search that produced Eric Ramsay. … Among the four Loons on loan, Alejandro Bran has played much more for Costa Rican club Alajuelense than any of the three others: (Matus Kmet with Gornik Zabrze in Poland), Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Detroit City) and Roman Torres (Birmingham City). Kmet hasn’t played since March. … MNUFC has been promoting its assistant coaches much more than in seasons past, with a video feature on Cameron Knowles this week and postgame breakdowns with Dennis Lawrence on a weekly basis.

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Minnesota United extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches Saturday, but a second straight scoreless draw doesn’t add much momentum.

The Loons’ 0-0 result with shorthanded FC Dallas at Allianz Field followed a goalless game in Toronto last weekend. Minnesota has managed four wins and four ties in the run.

Still, MNUFC (4-1-4, 16 points) has equaled its club record-best unbeaten run from September-November 2020.

Here are three takeaways:

Attack gone cold

After scoring multiple goals in four straight matches, the Loons have gone two straight games without scoring.

Strikers Tani Oluwaseyi (five goals) and Kelvin Yeboah (four goals) were among the hottest tandem in the league but have cooled off significantly.

In the 73rd minute, Carlos Harvey sent in a great cross to the back post. Oluwaseyi came sliding in at the back post, but his shot was off frame. That served as the Loons best chance of the evening.

Caught a break

FC Dallas’ two most-dangerous attackers didn’t start Saturday: striker Petar Musa was out with an ankle injury and central attacking midfielder Luciano Acosta was on the bench based on coach Eric Quill’s decision. Acosta subbed in during the 63rd minute and his header was denied by Dayne St. Clair in the 78th minute.

The pair of Designated Players have each scored three goals this season, with Musa adding three assists. Not taking better advantage of their lesser, nonexistent roles will sting for MNUFC.

Dallas (3-3-3, 12 points) also had two other key players out in Marco Farfan and Sebastian Lletget; both have leg injuries.

Three makes a trend

The Loons used the same starting XI for the third straight game Saturday: Oluwaseyi, Yeboah; Joaquin Pereyra, Robin Lod, Wil Trapp; Joseph Rosales, Nicholas Romero, Michael Boxall, Jefferson Diaz, Bongi Hlongwane; St. Clair.

Consistency is good, but it’s also indicative of a lack of competition for spots, especially in midfield and at forward.

Injuries to Hassani Dotson and Owen Gene cut down on options in midfield, and a lack of form for Sang Bin Jeong help make the forward choices easy.

In a scoreless game, midfielder Sam Shashoua was the only attacking option brought in for the Loons in the 65th minute.

Three tidbits

Louisville City head coach Danny Cruz — whose USL Championship team will play MNUFC in U.S. Open Cup on May 7 — was initially included in United’s coaching search that produced Eric Ramsay. … Among the four Loons on loan, Alejandro Bran has played much more for Costa Rican club Alajuelense than any of the three others: (Matus Kmet with Gornik Zabrze in Poland), Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Detroit City) and Roman Torres (Birmingham City). Kmet hasn’t played since March. … MNUFC has been promoting its assistant coaches much more than in seasons past, with a video feature on Cameron Knowles this week and postgame breakdowns with Dennis Lawrence on a weekly basis.

Related Articles

Minnesota United vs. FC Dallas: Keys to match, storylines and a prediction

Loons to play Louisville City in U.S. Open Cup

Loons settle for scoreless draw at Toronto FC

Minnesota United at Toronto FC: Keys to match, projected XI, a prediction

Patience in Joaquin Pereyra is paying off for Minnesota United

Minnesota United extended its unbeaten streak to eight matches Saturday, but a second straight scoreless draw doesn’t add much momentum.

The Loons’ 0-0 result with shorthanded FC Dallas at Allianz Field followed a goalless game in Toronto last weekend. Minnesota has managed four wins and four ties in the run.

Still, MNUFC (4-1-4, 16 points) has equaled its club record-best unbeaten run from September-November 2020.

Here are three takeaways:

Attack gone cold

After scoring multiple goals in four straight matches, the Loons have gone two straight games without scoring.

Strikers Tani Oluwaseyi (five goals) and Kelvin Yeboah (four goals) were among the hottest tandem in the league but have cooled off significantly.

In the 73rd minute, Carlos Harvey sent in a great cross to the back post. Oluwaseyi came sliding in at the back post, but his shot was off frame. That served as the Loons best chance of the evening.

Caught a break

FC Dallas’ two most-dangerous attackers didn’t start Saturday: striker Petar Musa was out with an ankle injury and central attacking midfielder Luciano Acosta was on the bench based on coach Eric Quill’s decision. Acosta subbed in during the 63rd minute and his header was denied by Dayne St. Clair in the 78th minute.

The pair of Designated Players have each scored three goals this season, with Musa adding three assists. Not taking better advantage of their lesser, nonexistent roles will sting for MNUFC.

Dallas (3-3-3, 12 points) also had two other key players out in Marco Farfan and Sebastian Lletget; both have leg injuries.

Three makes a trend

The Loons used the same starting XI for the third straight game Saturday: Oluwaseyi, Yeboah; Joaquin Pereyra, Robin Lod, Wil Trapp; Joseph Rosales, Nicholas Romero, Michael Boxall, Jefferson Diaz, Bongi Hlongwane; St. Clair.

Consistency is good, but it’s also indicative of a lack of competition for spots, especially in midfield and at forward.

Injuries to Hassani Dotson and Owen Gene cut down on options in midfield, and a lack of form for Sang Bin Jeong help make the forward choices easy.

In a scoreless game, midfielder Sam Shashoua was the only attacking option brought in for the Loons in the 65th minute.

Three tidbits

Louisville City head coach Danny Cruz — whose USL Championship team will play MNUFC in U.S. Open Cup on May 7 — was initially included in United’s coaching search that produced Eric Ramsay. … Among the four Loons on loan, Alejandro Bran has played much more for Costa Rican club Alajuelense than any of the three others: (Matus Kmet with Gornik Zabrze in Poland), Jordan Adebayo-Smith (Detroit City) and Roman Torres (Birmingham City). Kmet hasn’t played since March. … MNUFC has been promoting its assistant coaches much more than in seasons past, with a video feature on Cameron Knowles this week and postgame breakdowns with Dennis Lawrence on a weekly basis.

Related Articles

Minnesota United vs. FC Dallas: Keys to match, storylines and a prediction

Loons to play Louisville City in U.S. Open Cup

Loons settle for scoreless draw at Toronto FC

Minnesota United at Toronto FC: Keys to match, projected XI, a prediction

Patience in Joaquin Pereyra is paying off for Minnesota United

LAS VEGAS – Even for a grizzled veteran like Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian, who has been in the NHL for 17 seasons and has a Stanley Cup title on his resume, standing in front of a backdrop that features the Stanley Cup logo as he talked to reporters in a Nevada suburb had a different feel.

“This is why we play hockey,” Bogosian said of the playoffs. “This is how people remember you.”

If things go well on Sunday night, or even if they do not, people will surely remember the new guy wearing number 8 on the Wild blue line. On Saturday afternoon at the Vegas Golden Knights’ practice rink, rookie Zeev Buium was paired with Bogosian and again got significant time on the Minnesota power play drills.

When the players left the ice, Wild coach John Hynes confirmed that Buium, 19, will make his NHL debut on Sunday evening in Game 1 of the series.

“It possibly could be a little bit of a different dynamic on the D-pair,” Hynes said. “We like what we’ve seen.”

After winning a NCAA title as a freshman at Denver, and nearly winning the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player last season, Buium is set to bring his puck-moving offensive defenseman game to the Minnesota blue line.

“Very, very excited. Just really thankful for the opportunity,” Buium said following Saturday’s practice. “I mean, these guys have been building toward this the entire season, so I just want to go out there and do whatever I can to help.”

The debut brings back lots of memories for Wild blueliner Brock Faber, who was in similar skates two years ago, jumping right from the Gophers to the Wild. Faber plays more of a defensive game, and got a few regular season games under his belt before facing Dallas in the playoffs, but recalled the encouragement he got from veterans then.

When you’re in his spot, you come in and it almost feels like you’re gripping the stick. You don’t want to make a mistake. Especially me, when I was playing those minutes, when I was out there it was like, ‘please don’t mess up, please don’t mess up, I don’t want to ruin it for these guys,’” Faber said. “For him, mistakes are going to happen.

“I made mistakes and whether he gets back to the bench, everyone turns the puck over every so often. It happens,” Faber said. “Maybe you get beat out of the corner, it happens. You miss a pass, it happens. That’s something that my D partner, when I was playing, whoever it was, they were always like, ‘dude, just keep going. You’re good, you’re good, we’re having fun.’ Support each other, so just let him play with confidence.”

Having paired with him for a few days, Bogosian says that the skill Buium shows off on the ice instills confidence that he could be a key cog in Minnesota’s hopes of a first-round upset.

“I just think you see a skill set right away. The way he handles the puck, the way he skates, the way he thinks the game. I think he has an offensive mind,” Bogosian said. “You can kind of see that when he has the puck on his stick, he’s kind of scanning areas where he’s looking for plays to develop and that’s been something I’ve seen right away. It’s really cool to have that part of our group now.”

Buium was drafted in Las Vegas last summer, and is originally from San Diego, which is a little over 300 miles from the site of his first NHL game. Zeev said he expects his parents, one of his brothers (the other is playing pro hockey in Michigan), his girlfriend, some childhood friends and perhaps more familiar faces in the crowd.

University of Denver’s Zeev Buium poses for a portrait at Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

“I think I’ll be more nervous leading up to the game, rather than when I’m in it,” Buium said. “Leading up to it, you tend to get in your head or whatnot. But I think for me, just again, just going through my regular routine and doing what I do, and understand that I’m here for a reason. I think once I get out there and get skating around, the nerves will kind of calm down and just be excited.”