Minnesota United currently holds the third-highest position in the Western Conference standings and is gearing up for a Saturday evening game against St. Louis City SC.
It's certainly plausible that Minnesota would be at the top of the conference, and possibly the entire MLS, if they could learn to maintain their leads.
Minnesota (with an 11-5-8 record and 41 points) is behind San Diego, the conference leader, by two points, and Vancouver Whitecaps, who are in second place, by one point. In five of their eight drawn games, including a 3-3 tie in Kansas City on March 15 after giving up a 3-0 lead in the second half, they conceded the equalizing goal. Four of these occurred near the end of the game.
That encompasses their most recent game, a 1-1 draw in Portland on July 19, where the Timbers scored the tying goal in the second minute of injury time in the second half.
Minnesota coach Eric Ramsay stated that his team has trailed less often than most teams this season. He believes this speaks well of the team in some ways, but also emphasizes the need for them to be more decisive and unrelenting in securing victories.
Minnesota is working on improving its closing skills in games, while St. Louis (4-13-6, 18 points) is reassessing its strategy after a disheartening 3-0 defeat against Dallas on July 19. Following a relatively uncommon victory against Portland on July 13, St. Louis was unable to achieve back-to-back wins for the first time since March.
St. Louis is strengthening its team by acquiring players from an unexpected source: their opponent from Saturday night. Defender Devin Padelford is joining St. Louis on loan from Minnesota for the rest of the season. Additionally, forward Sangbin Jeong is also transferring from the Loons to St. Louis, who will pay Minnesota $1.6 million for the move.
Padelford was in the starting lineup for 19 of Minnesota's games last season and has participated in a total of 36 games over the past two-plus years.
"His capacity to advance from the left flank, along with his natural defensive play, gives us added flexibility," stated St. Louis' sporting director, Lutz Pfannenstiel.
On May 17th, Minnesota shut out St. Louis with a 3-0 victory, giving them a 4-1-0 advantage in their overall head-to-head record.
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