Minnesota United will try to put on yet another exceptional defensive performance and advance to the Western Conference semifinals when they host Real Salt Lake in Game 2 of their Round 1 series on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Sixth-seeded Minnesota won on penalties following a 0-0 draw in regulation in Game 1 in Utah, in a match that included impressive performances from both goalkeepers.
But the Loons in particular have been difficult to score on for a while; Tuesday night’s clean sheet was the fifth Minnesota has kept in its last six fixtures in all competitions.
Dating back even further, Minnesota has conceded multiple goals only twice in 10 fixtures since signing defender Jefferson Diaz and immediately inserting him into the starting lineup.
With goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair behind him, and with the Loons possessing some of the best counterattacking weapons in MLS, coach Eric Ramsay signaled his team isn’t likely to adopt a more aggressive posture in Game 2 just because they are home.
“We’re always going to be defense first,” Ramsay said after Tuesday’s match. “I feel like that’s the basis of most good teams. … And I feel like it would be naive for us to go away from being a team that is incredibly difficult to beat.”
That’s also a style that has suited Minnesota more than third-seeded Salt Lake.
The Claret and Cobalt have won five regular-season matches in which they’ve conceded one goal, three in which they’ve let in two and two in which they’ve allowed three.
But even in what is technically a seven-match unbeaten run (Tuesday counts as a draw), an attack that was once one of the league’s elite has struggled.
Diego Luna remains the only RSL player to have scored in his side’s last four matches. Cristian Arango has scored only one of his team-leading 17 regular-season goals since June 1.
“It’s been a theme, I think, where we got a lot of players in the front line that want to get on the ball, but they don’t,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “We’re not doing it in dangerous areas or we’re not making plays from that. … If we want to score we need numbers in the box, we need to be more brave.”
–Field Level Media