When Sean McAuley took over for fired manager Adrian Heath on Oct. 6, the Loons’ new interim head coach’s first address to the players included a call back to 2015.

While Minnesota United was still playing in the lower-level North American Soccer League and dreaming of becoming an MLS expansion franchise, McAuley was an assistant coach with the Portland Timbers.

He saw a lot of similarities to then and now, and he wanted to use it as motivation for his new charges.

Eight years ago, the Timbers needed three straight wins, including one on Decision Day, to make the MLS Cup Playoffs. With a playoff berth, Portland produced five more results en route to lifting MLS Cup with a win over the Columbus Crew.

“Before you know it, you are on a roll and you never know where it can lead to,” McAuley recapped his message in a later interview with reporters.

MNUFC won its first game under McAuley, 5-2 over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Oct. 7. Now the Loons must beat Sporting Kansas City on Saturday and have at least one of three teams — Portland, Dallas and/or San Jose — to draw or lose in order for Minnesota to make the nine-team Western Conference field.

Current Loons Under-19 academy coach Fanendo Adi led the Timbers with 16 goals in 2015. Earlier this week, he pointed to a big moment, not unlike Heath’s exit, which helped galvanize the Timbers.

After a lopsided loss midseason, Timbers coach Caleb Porter and star midfielder Diego Valeri had a few-hour conservation on the field after a practice.

“They were just going after each other because Valeri wanted something to happen this way and Caleb was, ‘No, you have to do it this way,’ ” Adi recalled to the Pioneer Press. “During that playoff period, if you ask them what exactly happened, it’s very similar, it’s always one little spot that changes the whole dynamic of the approach toward the playoffs. Especially in MLS, teams pick up momentum and things can happen.”

Since McAuley has taken over, the Loons have increased the amount of video sessions in the week leading up to a match, and in the tactical details. During McAuley’s first session, he told the players about the need for more in-game possession.

McAuley also tinkered with the formation, including using one defensive midfielder instead of two, and trying to create more space around star playmaker Emanuel Reynoso, not just feeding him the ball and hoping he can dribble past opponents.

“We’ve got good pieces here and making sure in different situations we are aware of other decisions we could make on the field,” captain Michael Boxall said Friday. “I think there were sometimes where we just got kind of stuck doing the same thing over and over — to not the best avail.”

The Loons have lost all seven regular-season road matches in Kansas since joining MLS in 2017. Those defeats are by a combined score line of 22-2, including a 3-0 defeat in May.

MNUFC, however, did pull off a 3-0 road win over K.C. in the Western Conference semifinal in 2020. That’s what goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair wants to focus on.

“Just switching the narrative to the last time we were there in a must-win game, the playoff game, we performed well,” St. Clair said. “For us, it’s important to keep that narrative that we’ve gone there and we’ve gotten a result when it mattered most.”

McAuley said the Loons’ position — win or miss the playoffs — makes things easier for them. They don’t have to be mindful of how Portland, Dallas and San Jose are faring while they are playing their own match. Sporting is in the same spot as MNUFC, which will likely make things more chaotic come late Saturday night.

MNUFC will be ready to lay it all on the line. Boxall, Teemu Pukki, Bongi Hlongwane and Kervin Arriaga have returned from their respective international duties without issues and trained with the team both Thursday and Friday.

A season-high traveling contingent of at least 120 fans will be in Kansas to cheer them on.

“It’s tough when you travel halfway around the world to play these games,” said Boxall, who was in London playing for New Zealand earlier this week week. “If we don’t get the job done (Saturday), I’m going to have a lot of time to rest, so I’ll be fine. Got to leave everything out there.”

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Decision Day for the New England Revolution will be waged on two fronts with home field in round one of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference still undecided.

The Revolution (14-9-10) are in a must-win situation when they host the third-place Philadelphia Union (15-8-10) on Saturday night (6) at Gillette Stadium. A victory would also lock up a berth in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup tournament.

The Revolution are in fifth place with 52 points, two behind the Columbus Crew and three behind the Union. Columbus (15-9-9) closes out the season at home against eighth-place Montreal (12-16-5), which is on the playoff bubble and has an incentive to win.

A New England win combined with a Columbus loss would leave the Revolution in fourth place with home field in the best of three Round One series.

If the Revolution beat Philadelphia by three goals, they would win the tiebreaker with the Union. If the Crew draw with Montreal, they would win the first tiebreaker (goal differential) with the Revolution.

The Revolution put themselves in this quandary by going 1-4-3 since Labor Day weekend under interim head coaches Richie Williams and Clint Peay. The Revolution have lost three straight one-goal games since beating Charlotte FC 2-1 on Sept. 30.

“Obviously, it is an important match for us as it relates to how we finish in the standings,” said Peay. “We want to make sure we can get the three points and secure the best position possible for the playoffs.

“If things really go our way, we can end up in third and get home field advantage. That is our objective and our focus going into the match.”

Philadelphia has as much riding on the outcome as the Revolution. Laying a three-goal beatdown on the Union will be a daunting endeavor even in the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium, where the Revolution are 11-1-4 this season. Complicating the matter is the weather. The game will be played in a raging coastal storm that should affect conditions on the pitch and attendance.

The Union and the Revolution have both scored 56 goals in 33 games, but Philly has allowed six fewer with a goal differential of plus 17. Union goalkeeper Andre Blake, who played collegiately at UConn, has logged 2,283 minutes with 12 wins, 70 saves, eight clean sheets and a 1.02 goals against average.

“I think first and foremost it has to be defensively,” said Peay. “We have to be sound defensively and we have to show that we can limit opportunities in transition, limit opportunities in transition and keep a clean sheet.

“You have to give yourself a chance to be able to win a game by not conceding a lousy goal. When putting a full game together on both sides of the ball we are hard to play against and we pose challenges for the opponent.”

The Revolution’s scoring over the last five games has been generated primarily by midfielder and team MVP Carles Gil and newcomer Tomas Chancalay, who has supplanted Giacomo Vrioni and Bobby Wood as the best striker option.

Gil is tied for third in MLS with 14 assists and he leads the club 11 goals. Since making his MLS debut on Aug. 26, Chancalay has scored 10 goals on 36 shots, with four tallies in the last five games.

“He has been a big spark for us with his aggressive play,” said Peay. “He can play with the ball and without the ball and obviously our biggest goal scorer in the last few games for us.”

Peay said untested keeper Jacob Jackson will start in net against the Union over veteran Earl Edwards Jr. Jackson made his MLS debut in a 3-2 loss at Nashville on Oct. 14 when

he held up under NSC’s relentless attack.

“We will continue with Jacob Jackson on the weekend,” said Peay. “I think he has done well for us and I think Jacob has earned the right to be back on the field.”

 

FOXBORO — Former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia and ex-linebacker Mike Vrabel will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in a ceremony closed to the public Saturday.

The event originally was supposed to take place outside of Gillette Stadium but due to weather has been moved inside the Cross Insurance Pavilion & Business Center and limited to alumni and invited guests.

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Belichick discussed Scarnecchia, who coached with the Patriots for 34 years and won five Super Bowls, and Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls in New England and is now head coach of the Titans, in Friday’s news conference.

On Scarnecchia: “Dante and I go back to when I was here in ’96, with Bill [Parcells]. On the defensive staff, it was Romeo [Crennel], myself, Al [Groh], and Dante. As a defensive staff, that was probably the best staff I’ve ever been on. … When I came back, Dante was the line coach here under Pete [Carroll]. I kept him as the line coach, obviously he’s a great line coach. So, coached special teams, coached defense, coached offense, coached offensive line, very talented coach, sees the full game, sees everything about the game – very good teacher, tough, former Marine. But, he can give tough love, but in a good way, just a great guy to be around.”

On Vrabel: “Obviously he was a great match for Willie [McGinest]. Willie was a good complement to him. Having been through the [Carl] Banks – [Lawrence] Taylor situation at the Giants. That’s a good complement to have two good outside linebackers vs. one. Mike was a very cerebral player, smart player, played inside linebacker for us when we needed him – which wasn’t often, but he could do it. He was the kind of guy that at practice would take reps at every position, free safety, strong safety, occasionally defensive line. If there was a certain player we were trying to replicate, he would jump in there and do that. It was competitive, especially with him and [Tom] Brady, quite entertaining at times, to be honest with you. Mike had a great personality, great love for the game, passionate, high energy, very strong. Mike’s really strong, physically strong player, handled the tackles, obviously could handle tight ends, good power rusher and had enough moves to go with it. His strength was his length and his power and his intelligence. He was a good tackler. … No surprise that he went into coaching, no surprise he’s been successful. Good, smart football player and coach, good fundamentals.”