For a third consecutive game, Minnesota United was shorthanded because of international call-ups, injuries and what manager Eric Ramsay called “a perfect storm” of other issues.

Among the things the Loons also are missing in that three-game stretch are points.

FC Dallas striker Petar Musa had a hat trick, helping the home team to a 5-3 win against MNUFC on Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas. It was Minnesota’s second straight loss and the second time in 12 days that the Loons dropped points against Dallas, statistically one of the most punchless teams in the league before this offensive explosion.

Ramsay called the goals “uncharacteristic moments of poor defending” for a team that had generally been good on defense since the new manager’s arrival.

“I think that’s arguably the most disappointing thing, because I think our baseline is a very strong defensive team that typically doesn’t make repeated mistakes as we’ve done tonight,” Ramsay said.

Minnesota managed to fight back to tie the game after Musa’s first and second goals but ultimately was undone by its defensive fragility, which helped the Croatian striker get his first MLS hat trick after coming into the game without a goal in his past five starts.

On Musa’s first goal, United fullback Caden Clark didn’t step up with the rest of the back line to trap Musa offside, allowing the striker — onside only by inches — to get on the end of an over-the-top ball from Paul Arriola and roll it past Loons keeper Clint Irwin from an acute angle.

Bongokuhle Hlongwane headed home a corner kick in the 32nd minute to tie the game at 1-1, but six minutes later an attempted cross went through the feet of center back Victor Eriksson, and Musa was able to poke the deflection past Irwin for his second of the half.

Hassani Dotson tied the game again in the 57th minute with a memorable, physics-defying shot that went off the gloves of Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes, off the left-hand post, gently across the face of goal, off the right-hand post, and into the net.

Musa completed his hat trick in the 62nd minute after Dallas knocked down another over-the-top pass from Arriola, and Musa ran onto the loose ball and scored again.

Jesús Ferreira scored Dallas’ fourth goal in the the 75th minute — once again, after a Loons attempt to trap a Dallas forward offside failed, leaving Ferreira to waltz in alone and beat Irwin. Logan Farrington made the scoreline even more embarrassing for Minnesota, adding a fifth in the 90th minute.

Minnesota didn’t struggle for chances. The Loons had 19 shots on goal, many of them from very promising places, but most ended up either straight at Paes or over the crossbar.

“I’m not too disappointed with how we used the ball and how purposeful we were around the edge of their box and what that led to,” Ramsay said. “It’s the other side of the game, unfortunately, where we’ve been found wanting today.”

Wil Trapp, returning to the starting lineup after a family issue kept him out of MNUFC’s 2-0 loss to Seattle on Saturday, scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

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On a night the Lynx had one of their poorer offensive outputs this season, the defense remained stout.

Dorka Juhász scored 10 points off the bench, had a season-high 11 rebounds and was a team-best plus-19 as Minnesota beat Atlanta 68-55 Wednesday night at Target Center.

The Lynx (12-3) have won five in a row and eight of nine.

Bridget Carleton, who missed Monday’s win with an elbow injury, finished with 14 points. Her third 3-pointer with 1:41 left gave Minnesota a 12-point lead. She added another less than a minute later for good measure.

Napheesa Collier scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Kayla McBride had eight points, and Courtney Williams had seven points and a team-high six assists.

Entering the night shooting a league-high 46.3% from the field and WNBA-best 40.5% from outside the arc, the Lynx ended at 35.5% and 31.8% respectively.

Led by Juhász, the Minnesota bench outscored Atlanta 19-6.

Atlanta (6-7) not only lost for the third time in four games, but the Dream’s top scorer, Rhyne Howard, needed help to the locker room with a lower left leg injury in the third quarter.

The Dream shot just 28.8% and missed 19 of 23 3-point attempts.

Minnesota outscored Atlanta 36-22 in the paint.

 

Keyed by a 13-0 run between the first and second quarters, Minnesota led 35-30 at the break.

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It was the seventh inning of a tied game on Sunday when Twins manager Rocco Baldelli turned the ball over to Josh Staumont. The Athletics had just rallied for two runs off Louie Varland and had runners on the corners. The Twins needed to stop the bleeding.

Staumont got his man.

And then he returned for the eighth inning, getting three batters to strike out swinging — all on the slider. Entering Wednesday, Staumont had thrown 15 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run since returning to the majors on May 8.

“When you’re coming off an injury and you’re still recovering, he was kind of at that in-between stage in spring training where he was still fighting to prove that he was ready to go when he was still working his way back in some ways,” Baldelli said. “He has made great strides.”

The veteran had thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last summer and began the season on the injured list with a calf strain before the Twins optioned him to Triple-A to let him work his way back.

But of late, he has been regaining his stuff, and he’s starting to work his way into a bigger role in the Twins’ bullpen.

“I’m starting at the bottom. They have to relearn me. They have to know me. I was fortunate enough to be with the Royals for parts of 10 years. They knew me, right?” Staumont said. “It was one of those things that coming here and being able to get your feet wet, understand that, learn the team, be part of the team, you just want it to grow. … It’s nice to start off on a good foot.”

It’s been a long process getting to this point. His four-seam fastball velocity (94.5 miles per hour) is still well below his average in previous seasons, but he did hit 98.9 mph with a pitch earlier this month as his velocity climbs. The higher numbers, he said, were “nice and encouraging.”

He has also massively increased his slider usage — entering Wednesday, he had thrown it 66.8 percent of the time, up from 22.5 percent a season before. Staumont called it a “usable,” and “consistent” pitch.

“His slider has become a good, reliable pitch for him both in the zone and for strikeouts. He’s having days where his velo is up and he’s throwing the ball the way he wants,” Baldelli said. “Hitters have always had a tough time squaring him up. He comes from a bit of a funny angle. He has very good stuff, and he’s a tough at-bat. He’s throwing the ball really well right now.”

And, he hopes, as he gets further and further from surgery, he’ll only get better.

Next year, he said, “is going to be a lot nicer,” but for now, the Twins are plenty happy with what they’ve been seeing lately.

“Every single time you go out there and you have something like the surgery that sets you back to the point where you don’t know if you can pick your arm up above your head again, everything is just a small win,” Staumont said.

Briefly

Simeon Woods Richardson will take the ball on Thursday opposed by former Twin Zack Littell, who is 2-5 with a 4.24 earned-run average for Tampa Bay this season. Littell was a reliever with the Twins from 2018-20. … Top prospect Brooks Lee hit three doubles on Wednesday, helping the Triple-A Saints to their eighth straight win.

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A 20-year-old has been missing from St. Paul since the weekend, and his family and police are asking people to be on the lookout for him.

St. Paul police issued an alert earlier this week, saying Sebastian “Sebas” Santibanez is an endangered missing person. He was last seen walking away from his residence in the Midway area about 5 a.m. Sunday, according to a bulletin from police. A flyer his mother posted said he’s been missing since Saturday.

Sebastian Santibanez (Courtesy of the St. Paul Police Department)

“We need people’s eyes and ears to assist us with trying to find Sebastian and making sure he’s safe,” said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman, on Wednesday.

Santibanez’s mother, Martha Burton, has asked people to put up flyers about her son — they have an account established, so people can pick up flyers and tape at no cost from FedEx Office at Grand and Snelling avenues.

A map at bit.ly/3VQfE4n is being used to track sightings of Santibanez, places where flyers need to be posted and spots where flyers are already posted. People can comment on a post on Burton’s Facebook page to add a location to the map.

Santibanez is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall, 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing all black clothes, white tennis shoes and carrying a black backpack. He has small tattoos on his hands.

Anyone with information is asked to call St. Paul police at 651-291-1111.

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