Minnesota United striker Kelvin Yeboah didn’t have to stew on a no-call for long on Saturday night.

After referee Sergii Demainchuk and VAR decided contact the Loons forward appeared to receive in the box from Luca Petrasso was not worthy of a penalty kick, Yeboah was able to tap-in his first goal of the season three minutes later, in the 69th.

That’s all the Loons would need in a 1-0 win over Montreal in the home opener at Allianz Field.

MNUFC (1-1-0) had 14 total shots to only three for Montreal (0-2-0).

Here are three takeaways:

Warming house

MNUFC snapped a six-match winless lull (0-2-4) in home openers since 2018. The Loons have started all nine seasons away from the Twin Cities and are now 2-3-4 in all season debut home games since joining MLS in 2017.

Clark quiet

Wayzata native Caden Clark had a quiet homecoming in his first game in Minnesota; he was traded away from the Loons for $50,000 in GAM last summer.

Clark started as an attacker on Saturday, not the wingback role he primarily played for the Loons in his 23 total games for Minnesota last season. He did move back to a more defensive space as the Saturday progressed.

After going to Canada last August, Clark notched four goals and two assists in 669 minutes to end 2024. He also received a call-up to the U.S. men’s national team and scored one goal in an exhibition during its January camp.

Straightforward sharing

After years of inaccurate and tardy lineup graphics posted by the club on social media, the Loons have been sharing the players who will actually take the field in certain spots so far this season. And MNUFC did it Saturday in the standard period of time, one hour before kickoff.

It’s refreshing.

On Saturday, Anthony Markanich started in place of Joseph Rosales (quad) at left wingback, while central midfielder Robin Lod made his first start of the season as Wil Trapp was taken out of the starting XI.

Three tidbits

New defensive midfielder Owen Gene made his MLS debut on Saturday, subbing in during the 88th minute. … Two more of the club’s 2025 draft picks, Roman Torres and Logan Dorsey, are still expected to sign contracts with MNUFC2. Torres, a midfielder out of Creighton taken 25th overall, is expected to, in turn, go out on loan within the USL Championship. Kieren Chandler has already been announced as an MNUFC2 player for 2025.  … New MNUFC2 goalkeeper Wessel Speel of the Netherlands has been jugging his debut season as a pro and final exams for his masters degree in business from Duke University.

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Apple Valley junior Cassandra Gonzales utilized a second-period pin to complete a 25-0 campaign and win the 142-pound state title Saturday, the third of her career.

Another plain, old, dominant season, right?

Not exactly. This title means more.

Because there was a point in the middle of the campaign if Gonzales wasn’t sure she would step foot on the mat again. She took a month away from the sport as she struggled mentally.

“I felt like I was kind of pushing myself out of wrestling,” Gonzales said. “I even had thoughts like, ‘I just need to be done. I can’t do it anymore.’

“It was me versus me the whole time.”

Sure, she was undefeated. But Gonzales noted how difficult it can be to uphold that standard. She could step on the mat and take a bad shot, which could lead to a result people would “talk about for days.” She was mentally drained.

But she did return to action after the break, thanks to the support of her family. She noted both God and her late grandfather were looking down on her, and she felt the love and comfort from all in her life.

After her victory Saturday, she went over and embraced her older brothers, among others. Those are the people for whom she pushed through.

“I was just like, ‘I just need to go in there and finish, win or lose,’” Gonzales said. “I knew that I had people standing behind me. No matter what would’ve happened, I know they all still would’ve loved me. That really got me through it.”

Eggum on top

The last name “Eggum” certainly means something in Minnesota wrestling. A freshman at Stillwater, Grayson is the son of Gophers head coach Brandon Eggum.

That brings some inherent pressure.

“A little bit, but my dad helps me not worry about that,” Grayson said. “He always gives me good advice to not make me nervous.”

It clearly worked. Grayson won his first state title Saturday, claiming the Class 3A, 139-pound crown with a 4-1 win over top-seeded Cavin Carlson.

Eggum noted he believes he will win whenever he wrestles his best. But this season wasn’t focused on wins or titles.

“I was just focusing on perfecting the stuff I needed to work on and getting better at that,” he said. “I feel like once I do that, winning gets a lot easier.”

That “stuff” this season included pushing the pace, improved footwork and the ability to grind through matches. It was all put to good use to close the state final, as Eggum had to fight off a hard-charging Carlson.

“The last 30 seconds was one of the hardest matches of my life,” Eggum said.

Vengeance is sweeet

Eagan senior Dylan St. Germain fell in last year’s state title match to Prior Lake’s Liam Collins. On Saturday, St. Germain knew his path to the title would involve beating Collins in the semis, then besting St. Michael-Albertville’s Eli Schultz, who beat Collins already this season, in the title bout.

Yikes. Especially considering St. Germain was battling an illness that left him voiceless, and was far from inspiring in a narrow quarterfinal victory in the Class 3A, 114-pound bracket. Confidence, he noted, “wasn’t the highest.” But he did beat both Liams on Saturday to finally climb the final rung and become a state champion.

“I already knew that it was going to be a tough tournament going in,” St. Germain said. “But even with being sick and going through it today, I was able to pull through and get it done, and I’m just really excited.”

Eagan won two boys titles Saturday, the second coming from Cole Will, who pulled out a narrow victory at 285 pounds.

Strength wins

Centennial junior Nora Akpan completed a 30-0 season to win the 130-pound girls title in dominant fashion Saturday.

She’s the first wrestling member of her family, noting she was drawn to the sport’s physicality and community. Her biggest strength? Well, her strength – the result of persistency and plenty of bodyweight work.

“I keep telling myself that I’m the best, (that) I’m confident I’m the best, and repeating it to myself,” Akpan said.

Hard to argue otherwise.

Ride it out

Typically an on-his-feet wrestler, Simley eighth grader Adrian Mincey rode out the final 40 seconds of his match to win a 5-4 decision to claim the 107-pound Class 2A crown, and then proceeded to do a backflip. Also winning a title for Simley was sophomore Jake Kos, who dominated en route to the 133-pound championship.

Love for the game

Simley sophomore Charli Raymond capped a 37-0 season to win her third straight state title, this one coming in the girls 124-pound division. It keeps alive her dream of six state titles. But that’s not the only thing that gets her back in the wrestling room every day.

“I love wrestling. I love the sport and everything,” she said. “That really helps, just loving the sport. Not taking it as if it’s a job every day and having to go. I love it. That just makes me work hard.”

Other local winners

Stillwater’s Audrey Rogotzke completed an undefeated campaign to win another state title, this one at 148 pounds.

Mounds View senior Brett Swenson won his second-straight title, pulling out a tight win in the Class 3A, 127-pound division.

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It took nearly 25 minutes of play on Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena for the Gophers women’s hockey team to fully comprehend it was facing a desperate team in the Minnesota State Mavericks.

The Gophers needed the next 35 minutes to overcome the damage that had been done, battling back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game 4-all at the end of regulation, only to lose 5-4 in double overtime.

Minnesota State’s Madison Mashuga scored with 4.7 seconds remaining in the second overtime to keep the Mavericks’ season alive and force a deciding Game 3 in the WCHA quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Ridder.

The winner of Sunday’s game moves on to the WCHA Final Faceoff, which begins Friday in Duluth. Also at stake for the fourth-ranked Gophers (26-10-1) is their seeding in the NCAA tournament.

Gophers coach Brad Frost said he was at a loss as to why his team came out so flat to start the game.

“We just let the game come to us instead of us dictating play,” he said. “And all of a sudden you get in a hole. We were too loose (with the puck). Chances that we gave up (Friday), we gave up again today, and they’re a good offensive team.”

Frost said he is not contemplating any changes for Sunday’s game.

“We have to think about how we played in the third and into the OTs,” he said. “And think about what makes us successful and what makes us hard to play against; and that’s playing the right way.”

It’s a point Frost has had to reiterate to his team throughout the season.

Most recently, it had to be hammered home during a four-game losing streak. The Gophers rebounded with a win to split a series in St. Cloud before ending the regular season with a sweep of Minnesota Duluth.

“What’s frustrating is, whether it’s St. Cloud or the two against Duluth, we’re playing as well as we could play,” Frost said. “Then, all of a sudden we start giving up rushes and chances against.”

The Gophers were outplayed in the first period and trailed 1-0 after the first 20 minutes. MacKenzie Bourgerie scored for the Mavericks at 8:48. The loose play in Minnesota’s own end was a repeat of what hampered the team on Friday night despite a 6-1 win.

A power-play goal by Claire Vekich gave the Mavericks a 2-0 lead at 1:22 of the second. When Sydney Langseth got two whacks at a rebound to get the puck past Gophers goaltender Hannah Clark at 4:19, the Gophers found themselves in a deep hole.

They responded with a goal of their own less than a minute later, with Abbey Murphy taking a stretch pass from Ella Huber and scoring on a breakaway at 5:02. When Huber scored on a wrist shot from the slot at 9:09, the Gophers suddenly were back in the game.

Minnesota State regained its two-goal lead 15 seconds into the third. Murphy’s second goal of the game cut the Gophers’ deficit to 4-3 at 2:05. Gophers defender Krista Parkkonen tied the game with her first goal of the season at 4:21.

Both teams had good chances to win the game in the first overtime. The Gophers got an early power play before having to kill off two Minnesota State power plays.

The Gophers registered 70 shots on goal in the game, with the Mavericks finishing with 41.

“The frustrating thing is we keep coming back but can’t close it out,” Frost said. “We certainly had plenty of chances in the third and in overtime. But anything can happen once you get to OT.”

Now, anything can happen in the deciding Game 3, with both teams feeling a sense of urgency.

“We need to regroup,” Frost said. “Flush this one, but learn from it at the same time.”

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Minnesotans made nearly 9 million visits to the food shelves in 2024, a steady increase in visitation rates since pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report’s findings.

The Food Group, a nonprofit working toward food justice and equity, released the report Wednesday, Feb. 26, in partnership with the Department of Children, Youth and Families. Highlights show grocery prices increased by 28% over four years.

The same groceries that cost $100 in 2019, according to the report, cost $128 in 2024.

Meanwhile, monthly assistance provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program tracked downward. Last year, SNAP recipients had an average of $100 less each month to spend on food in comparison to early 2023, according to the report.

“While food shelf visits continue to rise statewide, the good news is they aren’t rising as quickly as 2022 and 2023,” said Sophia Lenarz-Coy, executive director of the Food Group. “I applaud Minnesota food shelves for strategically expanding their programming to meet rising need. Tighter safety nets like the state child income tax credit and universal free school meals also make a meaningful difference for families experiencing hunger.”

The report highlighted how many food shelves adapted mobile or other delivery models to help distribute food to make it more accessible to the community.

In Mankato, ECHO Food Shelf saw an uptick in the number of families it serves. ECHO went from assisting 45 families per day during the pandemic to about 130 families per day currently.

Manager Deisy de Leon Esqueda said that to meet clients’ needs more quickly, the food shelf continued using curbside pick-up services, which were initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic. That allowed ECHO to serve more people than their physical space accommodates, reducing wait times for clients to receive food.

“For us to be able to keep serving our community, we just realized that the system that we had used during COVID would just stay in place until our numbers drop,” Esqueda said.

The report shows food shelf visits increased by an average of 18.4% between 2023 and 2024 in Minnesota’s 87 counties last year.

Jill Westfall, the Food Group’s statewide food access manager, said the food shelf use increased across all demographics.

“From 2023 to 2024, you can see the number of kids and adults is rising a little faster than the total number of seniors,” she said. “But we are seeing increases in all three age categories.”

Higher grocery prices were a big factor driving the increase in food shelf use in 2024, according to Westfall.

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