Minnesota United won both sides of its same-time doubleheader Wednesday night.

Jordan Adebayo-Smith scored a hat trick in the second half as MNUFC2 beat Chicago House 3-0 in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday in Elmhurst, Ill.

Meanwhile in St. Paul, MNUFC beat St. Patrick’s Athletic 1-0 in an international friendly at Allianz Field. Kervin Arriaga scored on a back-heel assist from Bongi Hlongwane in the 57th minute.

MNUFC2, the Loons’ developmental second team, will advance to the second round of the national tournament on April 2-3. The draw for their next regional opponent will be determined Friday.

MNUFC2 did what three other MLS NEXT Pro league teams failed to do Tuesday: win. Portland Timbers 2, Austin FC II and Chattanooga FC were all upset on the opening night of the national tournament.

Adabayo-Smith scored in MNUFC2’s season opener Sunday and contributed a second assist in the MLS win over Orlando City on March 9.

“Jordan is an exciting talent,” said MNUFC2 coach Justin Ferguson. “That is what we want for him: the opportunity to score goals and ultimately get in positions where he can create chances and then finish them.”

Plenty of kids

Loons Chief soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad has brought a different approach to MNUFC2 this season: more academy kids in the mix and fewer player signings tailored specifically for the second team.

Four current academy kids were in the starting XI against Chicago House: Darius Randell, Justin Arias, Jonah Gasho, Tamer Ibsais. Four more academy prospects came off the bench: Julian Banks, Dom Mawing, Nathan Moua and Dom Vargas.

ETA for Reynoso?

Loons star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso, who is away from the team this week, has a scheduled appointment for his U.S. green card in Argentina, and pending the timing of that process, the aim is for him to return before the Philadelphia Union match on March 30.

With all immigration processes, the timing of the process falls outside the club’s and the player’s control.

MNUFC was working toward a green card with Reynoso in winter 2023, but that process was upended when Reynoso didn’t report to the team until May.

Reynoso’s pending green card will help the Loons open up one of eight international roster slots before what’s expected to be a busy summer transfer window. MNUFC has six international roster spots occupied by senior team players. Both rookies, Hugo Bacharach and Morris Duggan, would take up international spots if they are with the first team.

Briefly

Bacharach, the Loons’ first-round draft pick, was not involved in either team Wednesday. The Spaniard needs to obtain a work visa, the club said. … Six United players are away on international duty over the next week: Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod (Finland), Michael Boxall (New Zealand), Dayne St. Clair (Canada), Joseph Rosales (Honduras) and Alejandro Bran (Costa Rica). … Carlos Harvey, whom the Loons acquired from USL club Phoenix Rising for an approximate $200,000 transfer fee, made his first appearance for the club in the friendly.

Related Articles

Four intriguing Loons in line for more playing time in U.S. Open Cup or St. Patrick’s friendly

Eric Ramsay wins first game with Minnesota United, 2-0 over LAFC

Minnesota United vs. LAFC: Keys to the match, projected starting XI and a prediction

Some of the tough questions new Minnesota United coach Eric Ramsay faced in interviews

Minnesota United’s Eric Ramsay ‘ready to go’ in first head-coaching job

CLASS 3A

Totino Grace 57, Stewartville 48: Totino-Grace took another step toward its potential three-peat Wednesday, fending off the third-ranked team in the state in a high-powered quarterfinal matchup.

The Tigers were game for the challenge, building a five-point second-half lead. But the Eagles held Stewartville to just seven points over the game’s final 11 minutes. Isaiah Johnson and Chace Watley each had 13 points for the Eagles.

DeLaSalle 70, Orono 64: Jaeden Udean scored 23 points in just 20 minutes to lead the Islanders into the state semifinals. Fifth-seeded DeLaSalle will meet top-seeded Totino-Grace in the semifinals at noon Thursday.

Orono stayed close throughout the contest, getting as close as two in the closing minutes, but DeLaSalle put the game away at the free-throw line, where it went 16 for 17.

Alexandria Area 72, Minneapolis South 70: Gophers commit Grayson Grove scored 28 points as third-seeded Alexandria Area survived a stiff test from the Tigers.

Poet Davis had 23 points and six assists from Minneapolis South.

Davis hit a pair of free throws to bring Minneapolis South to within one with a minute to play. The Tigers had a chance to take the lead in the closing 10 seconds, but Grove blocked the potential go-ahead shot.

Minneapolis South was making its first state tournament appearance since 1992.

Alexandria Area will meet second-seeded Mankato East at 2 p.m. Thursday. Mankato East beat Chisago Lakes 80-41 in the quarterfinals.

Related Articles

Boys state basketball: Eagan stuns Park Center in Class 4A quarterfinals

State boys basketball: Miles Bollinger’s big shot, Raiders’ big stop lead Cretin-Derham Hall past Farmington in Class 4A quarterfinal

East Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Lakeville North’s Jack Robison

Check out the 2024 Minnesota high school boys basketball state tournament brackets

High school boys basketball: Cretin-Derham Hall beats Tartan, returns to state

Owen Bockenstedt and Liam Madigan were walking around Target Center ahead of their Class 4A quarterfinal Wednesday when they heard someone ask, “What is Eagan doing here?”

After Eagan pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent Class 4A quarterfinal history, that is a question no longer. The unseeded Wildcats’ 73-70 victory over second-seeded Park Center proved Eagan is right where it is supposed to be, going toe to toe with some of the state’s top programs.

Eagan (18-12) will meet third-seeded Minnetonka in the Class 4A semifinals at 8 p.m. Thursday at Williams Arena. Minnetonka topped Coon Rapids 83-36 in their quarerfinal.

“We belong here,” Bockenstedt said. “That’s what we’ve been saying. And everyone just came out and we really handled it like we can, and I think confidence is the biggest part of that.”

Alex Schroepfer led Eagan with 19 points, while Charlie Birk made five 3-pointers and scored 15 points as the Wildcats erased a 13-point first-half deficit to stun the Pirates and the rest of the state, but maybe not themselves.

Eagan coach Kevin McKenzie noted the top three seeds in Class 4A — Wayzata, Park Center and Minnetonka — were all “beasts.”

“I didn’t have a preference. We were going to be in trouble and it was going to be a battle no matter who it was against,” he said.

But the Wildcats took solace in Park Center’s section results: tight wins over Mounds View and Maple Grove, teams Eagan thinks it compares to in size and skill.

“So I was like, ‘Oh, we could do those things,’ ” McKenzie said. “So I knew we could win. But I knew it would be a tall task, quite honestly.”

And the task only got taller with the early deficit. But trailing 36-26 at halftime, McKenzie pointed out the team’s missed assignments and four missed free throws and noted Eagan could’ve easily been within a score. His players bought into the theory and sprang out of the gates to open the second.

Park Center’s lead was trimmed to three just minutes into the second stanza.

Eagan limited Park Center’s transition opportunities and forced the game into more of a half-court setting where it felt it might have an advantage. The Wildcats felt they could be a little more disciplined defensively and on the glass.

“We tried to take all of those strengths away and really just play our game on the offensive side, as well, running offense and just being aggressive,” Madigan said.

The Wildcats tied the game with seven minutes to play and took the lead for good on a Bockenstedt bucket with 5 minutes, 24 seconds to play.

Everything Eagan did in the second half was disciplined. Schroepfer put on a show at the free-throw line, going 12 for 15 over the final 18 minutes. Every time Eagan needed a good shot, it found one. Defensively, it packed the paint as best it could to survive a late-charging Cash Chavis onslaught. The Washington commit scored 26 of Park Center’s 34 second-half points. He marched into the paint on seemingly every single possession down the stretch. But Eagan turned him away enough times to hold its advantage, even in the face of immense pressure. Park Center (25-4) had the ball in the closing seconds down three with a chance to tie the game. But Eagan’s defense stood up, forcing a turnover before the Pirates could get a shot attempt.

“Especially once Park Center realizes it’s kind of (in) jeopardy, Cash Chavis, he’s amazing, but he really just tries to take over and I think we knew that coming into this,” Bockenstedt said. “So once they felt that pressure, we kind of knew, ‘Hey, it’s going to him.’”

Park Center is stacked with athletes who are capable of pressuring the ball. That’s been an Achilles’ heel for the Wildcats at points this season. They don’t have a point guard. They rely on forwards to do a lot of ball handling. But Eagan committed just 10 turnovers Wednesday.

“That’s what they handled best that I’ve seen all year,” McKenzie said.

No one expected Eagan to be in the position it is now, just two games away from a state title. That’s not only because prior to this week, the Wildcats hadn’t been to state since 2005, but because Eagan was just 14-12 at the end of the regular season. It finished sixth in the South Suburban Conference.

And yet, just four games later, they’re rewriting the narrative around the Wildcats basketball program.

“I think our win here really can inspire. … I think that’s just an inspiration to the little kids that Eagan is now here,” Madigan said. “We’ve been working hard in the weight room and the gym all summer for many, many years, and we can instill that confidence in the younger generation of Eagan basketball that Eagan is a team that will be able to get to state for many, many years to come.”

Related Articles

State boys basketball: Miles Bollinger’s big shot, Raiders’ big stop lead Cretin-Derham Hall past Farmington in Class 4A quarterfinal

East Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Lakeville North’s Jack Robison

Check out the 2024 Minnesota high school boys basketball state tournament brackets

High school boys basketball: Cretin-Derham Hall beats Tartan, returns to state

Wisconsin state boys basketball: Top-ranked Milwaukee St. Thomas More pulls away from Prescott in second half

A school bus carrying six Scandia Elementary School children tipped over onto its side Wednesday afternoon after the bus driver became distracted and ran into a berm, officials said.

Two children were evaluated for possible minor injuries as a result of the crash, which occurred around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 13000 block of 188th Street North in Scandia, said Laura Perkins, public information manager for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

No one had to be hospitalized, she said.

The driver, who is 61 and lives in Forest Lake, became distracted while she was departing from a drop-off and struck a berm, causing the bus to tip, Perkins said. She was cited for failure to drive with due care, she said.

Superintendent Steve Massey said all six students were evaluated by EMS at the scene and released to their parents. “We are grateful that injuries were minor, and we are grateful for the EMS response and the care that they provided to our students,” he said.

In an email to parents, Massey wrote: “Student safety is always a high priority, and we continually review our practices and procedures to help keep our students as safe as possible.”

The Minnesota State Patrol is assisting the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with a commercial vehicle inspection, Perkins said.

Related Articles

Smart thermostat alerts Lower St. Croix firefighter to his own house fire

Afton gold medalist Jessie Diggins makes Nordic skiing history once again

Scandia Heritage Alliance survey open until March 24

Stillwater: ‘House of Broken Angels’ by Luis Alberto Urrea is this year’s ‘Valley Reads’ pick

Inmate sentenced for assaulting Oak Park Heights prison sergeant