Loic Mesanvi was mobbed at Allianz Field on March 2; it was one of the cutest things.
After the Minnesota United winger from Lakeville made his MLS home debut in the 1-1 draw with Columbus Crew, Mesanvi’s mother, father and younger brother wrapped him in huge heartfelt hugs. And one embrace wasn’t enough as it turned into multiple group hugs.
“It felt great,” Mesanvi said. “They have been wanting to come to my game for a while. I mean, I was thinking it would be the second-team game, but they came to a first-team one, which was big — and I got to play, too!”
It was big moment for the Mesanvis, who emigrated from the small African country of Togo to Minnesota in approximately 2018. His family members had not yet seen Loic play in a Loons jersey.
Mesanvi, 20, took advantage of two short-term loans to MNUFC from MNUFC2, the club’s second-level developmental team, to play in the opening two MLS matches of the 2024 season.
Mesanvi will now continue to develop with MNUFC2 this season; their MLS Next Pro league season opener is 3 p.m. Sunday versus Los Angeles FC 2 in Fullerton, Calif.
Jeremy Hall will be the head coach for MNUFC2 this season, Loons Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad told the Pioneer Press this week. But El-Ahmad wants to provide more opportunities for other up-and-coming coaches: Fanendo Adi, Alex Morawiecki and Justin Ferguson, who had been leading MNUFC2 in preseason.
Hall was an assistant under MNUFC2 coach Cameron Knowles last season and helped Knowles out when Knowles was interim head coach of MNUFC in the first three MLS games.
Knowles, now a first-team assistant under head coach Eric Ramsay, said this week that he still remembers Mesanvi’s debut for MNUFC2 in 2022. Mesanvi scored a goal in his debut match versus Portland Timbers 2.
“To see the growth that he has had in that time, to come into the first team — fantastic,” Knowles said. “I think he showed really well in those opportunities and showed his work rate, he showed how tenacious he is, he showed he can be an attacking threat. Obviously, his pace as well.”
But with restrictive league rules, Mesanvi cannot be called up to an MLS game for the rest of the season. He will have to continue to hone his game with MNUFC2.
“Just to keep my head up and just keep working and try to get that spot again,” Mesanvi said of his mindset. “It was a great chance, and I’m really grateful and thankful for it. But it’s not over, the season has just started, so I got to keep working and get back out there again.”
The Loons’ second team will represent the club in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup against Chicago House at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Mesanvi will likely be in the mix for that tournament match.
In his MLS debut, Mesanvi came off the bench for 14 minutes in the Loons’ season opener at Austin FC on Feb. 24. He got a 30-minute shift against the Crew. He had a shot on target and wasn’t shy about letting the officials know Columbus players were, he believed, going down too easy with contact.
“I was really nervous because it was my first time, obviously,” Mesanvi said. “But (vs. Columbus) I knew that I was home. Everybody was on our side. Every time we were going in their attacking third, I could hear the fans cheering and stuff. It was really good. In Austin, it all went mute.”
Mesanvi left Togo when he was 13 years old to join an academy in Ghana.
“I improved a lot,” he said. “It was the first time actually being away from my parents. It was tough on me because I was young and missed my family and stuff, but it was good for me in terms of development.”
Mesanvi said his father won the visa lottery in order to move the family from Togo to Minnesota. They settled in Lakeville, where Mesanvi starred at Lakeville South and was named the Pioneer Press East Metro boys soccer player of the year in 2021. He scored 24 goals and added seven assists.
Mesanvi then played for Minneapolis City SC in the USL League 2 and National Premier Soccer League. He recorded 15 goals and four assists.
Mesanvi said MNUFC saw him play in a U.S. Open Cup game in early 2022. He decided to shelf going to college and joined MNUFC’s Under-19 team that summer. He then signed with MNUFC2 in November 2022 and contributed one goal and three assists in 19 appearances in MLS Next Pro in 2023.
But he did not anticipate getting a taste of MLS this spring.
“I was not thinking that at all,” Mesanvi said. “In the offseason, actually, it was in my goal just to get fit, train with the second team and prove my spot with the second team.”
Knowles hopes Mesanvi understands this point is just the beginning.
“It’s early,” Knowles said. “You have to continue to develop, and hopefully that taste of being in those first-team games at Allianz (Field) gives him that energy to keep going and strive for more.”
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