Minnesota United went into Saturday night’s game at Sporting Kansas City knowing that a win could still take them into the playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Loons, the game was still taking place in Kansas.

MNUFC lost 3-1 Saturday, its ninth loss in nine regular-season tries against SKC on the road, and ended the year outside the postseason for the first time since 2018.

The Loons have endured plenty of upheaval this season. Their star player, Emanuel Reynoso, was suspended for most of the first half of the year, due to an unexcused absence from the team. In the stretch run, they went seven matches without a win, a stumble that led to the firing of longtime coach Adrian Heath.

In the end, it was all too much for Minnesota to overcome, and the Loons couldn’t claim a playoff spot on the season’s final day, as they did in 2021 and 2022.

Minnesota began the game in a different formation, playing three midfielders and three forwards, instead of their customary two and four. Interim manager Sean McAuley was clearly hoping to outnumber Kansas City in the midfield — but no formation could prevent simple defensive breakdowns.

Sporting KC’s first goal came in the 28th minute, courtesy of longtime Loon-killer Johnny Russell. The left-footed winger picked up the ball on the right edge of the Minnesota penalty area, cut past MNUFC midfielder Ján Gregus and drove a shot past Dayne St. Clair and inside the far post of the Minnesota net.

It was a goal that the forward must have scored dozens of times before in MLS. “We spoke about Johnny Russell, when he’s on that right-hand side he wants to cut in, so try and keep him outside and take him to his right foot,” McAuley said.

The second SKC goal came less than three minutes later, and it looked no better for the Minnesota defense. Dániel Sallói swung in a cross from the left side of the field, and Rémi Walter — running into wide-open space in the Loons’ penalty area — had a simple finish, all alone in front of the net. Gregus failed to track Walter’s run from the midfield, and left back Bakaye Dibassy was unable to react in time to alter the shot.

“I would have expected that runner to be tracked,” McAuley said.

Russell sealed the game in the 78th minute, with his second goal of the night. The winger blocked a Michael Boxall clearing attempt in the Loons’ penalty area, then poked the rebound under St. Clair. The winger has five goals and 10 assists in his career against Minnesota, seemingly all of them at Children’s Mercy Park.

Boxall stole a late consolation goal for Minnesota, heading home a Reynoso free kick to make the scoreline slightly more flattering for the Loons.

Heath came into the season as the only Western Conference coach who could boast four consecutive playoff appearances — but also having finished in the top 10 in the league just once, in 2019. In the end, he didn’t have a chance to claim a fifth consecutive berth. The lack of postseason soccer, plus the departure of Heath and technical director Mark Watson, will now give Minnesota something it hasn’t had since the club moved to MLS in 2017: a reset.

Whether a clean slate in the soccer department will help kickstart the franchise, which has punched above its weight but claimed no trophies in its first seven years of MLS existence, remains to be seen.

“It’s a really interesting time for the club, an inflection point for them,” said Wil Trapp, who captained the Loons on the night, but may have played his last game for the club. “Whatever comes next is the next iteration, and I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for the club to take the next step and see what we can do and what we can achieve.”

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Before the Wild’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night, coach Dean Evason mentioned that he and his staff weren’t crazy about the team’s starts in the season’s first four games.

They couldn’t have been happy with Saturday’s start, either.

After essentially chasing the puck for half an hour, the Wild woke up and started taking the initiative and erasing two-goal and one-goal deficits to force overtime. Still, it wasn’t enough.

Jack Roslovic skated between three Wild players to score the winner, with less than two minutes left in overtime to lift the Blue Jackets to a 5-4 victory and drop the Wild to 2-3-0 this season.

Marcus Johansson tied the game, 4-4, late in the third period, and Filip Gustavsson, under siege all night, extended the game into OT and finished with 49 saves.

Mats Zuccarello scored his first goal of the season — and had another erased by an offsides challenge — and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Daktoa Mermis also scored for the Wild, who improved to 3-2-0 this season.

Columbus rookie Adam Fantilli gave the Blue Jackets a 4-3 lead with a wrist shot from the circle with 5:59 remaining, but Johansson ended a long forecheck with a shot through traffic to tie the game at 17:01.

Brodin, camped in the slot on a forecheck, scored the go-ahead goal, bounding a puck off the right arm of Elvis Merzlikins after taking a soft pass from Joel Eriksson Ek 4 minutes and 42 seconds into the third period.

Boone Jenner tied the game 3-3 when he found a rebound in the slot and swiped it into an almost empty net at 7:36 of the third period, but Pat Maroon skated a puck into the crease and drew a tripping penalty and the Wild appeared to retake the lead on the ensuing power play.

Zuccarello slipped a wrist shot through traffic that beat Merzlikins high far corner, but Columbus challenged offsides and won. The NHL determined Johansson had preceded the puck into the zone on his entry. It was the third time a Wild goal has been challenged this season, and the second time one was taken away.

For the most part, Columbus dictated play for all of the first period and the early part of the second. The Wild mounted few chances and struggled to get its cycle going, instead chasing the Blue Jackets early.

With the Wild scrambling in their own zone, the Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead when Justin Danforth gathered his own rebound and poked it into the corner past Filip Gustavsson at 14:06 of the first period.

Columbus broke up a lackluster start to the second period when Kent Johnson took a pass from Cole Sillinger above the right circle and snapped off a shot that found the far side of the net at 6:10 for a 2-0 lead.

That seemed to wake up the somnambulating Wild.

A minute later, the Wild were cycling in the Columbus zone when Mermis sent a wrist shot through traffic and it beat a screened Elvis Merzlikins to cut the Blue Jackets’ lead to 2-1 at 7:21.

Less than a minute later, Wild center Ryan Hartman won a battle on the boards and fired a quick pass to Zuccarello in the high slot. The winger fired a slap shot that found the far side of the net to tie the game 2-2 at 8:15. It was his first goal of the season after piling up six assists in four games.