Minnesota United FC ended its inaugural Major League Soccer season with a 3-2 loss at San Jose Sunday. While no one expected a playoff run for the Loons right away, they did manage to make sure the Earthquakes qualified for a spot with a stoppage time goal.
For a squad that had been hastily put together, the Loons did quite well considering. They ended up ninth in the Western Conference of MLS with 10 wins, 18 losses and six ties, totaling 36 points. Their defense got better after a lousy start, but they still set a league record for the most goals allowed in a season with 70.
Along with some of the holdovers from United's North American Soccer League days, the team signed a few MLS-quality players for coach Adrian Heath to work with. The results were hit and miss, from leading scorer Christian Ramirez and Francisco Calvo to expensive washout Vadim Demidov, who lasted all of three matches as United's captain.
The Loons made the transition from the National Sports Center in Blaine to the University of Minnesota's football stadium, which were filled with lower bowl sellouts and enthusiastic support. The challenge will be how to maintain that before United moves into its new digs in St. Paul for the 2019 season.
Before the next season starts, Minnesota United FC will focus on getting better players on its roster that can score goals and not give up so many. It would also help if they won a few more matches, and not be satisfied with ties. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are successful soccer franchises. So the banner-waving patrons should be patient.
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