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MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota Earns 1-0 Clean-Sheet Win Against Club Necaxa

July 31, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota United were able to capture a 1-0 victory against Club Necaxa at home on Tuesday night in the Loons' second and final Group Stage game of Leagues Cup. While playing a man down for 70 minutes, MNUFC were able to hold strong under Necaxa's constant pressure, earning them the win on the backs of goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair's MNUFC and Leagues Cup single-game record 16 saves.

10' - In the first few minutes, Minnesota midfielder Loïc Mesanvi drew a foul inside the Necaxa box. Following a VAR review, MNUFC was awarded a penalty kick. MLS All-Star Robin Lod stepped up and was able to convert the penalty, putting Minnesota in the lead.

20' - Minnesota defender Hugo Bacharach was given a straight red card after going in for a tackle from behind in Minnesota's defensive third.

41' - Necaxa put Minnesota under pressure after they regained possession in the middle third, allowing midfielder Brayan Garnica to fire off a long-range shot that was saved by Dayne St. Clair.

45' - Honduras international Joseph Rosales was able to cut the ball back to fire off a right-footed shot from outside the 18-yard box but was saved by Luis Unsain.

46' - Yet again, St. Clair made an important save after Agustin Palavecino was able to take a shot right outside the 18-yard box that was tipped over the crossbar and out by the Canadian keeper.

50' - Necaxa found an early second-half opportunity after Kevin Ante Rosero was able to get a cross off, finding Emilio Martínez on the six-yard line for a header to goal that found the back of the net, but was ruled offside.

63' - Saint Clair kept Minnesota in the lead after two consecutive back-to-back saves. His first save came from a close-range header from Rosero, followed by a long-range shot by José Paradela that St. Clair was able to save and gain possession.

67' - Four minutes after Saint Clair's crucial saves, yet again he's put under pressure by Necaxa after Agustín Oliveros had a header to goal from the center of the six-yard box that St. Clair stopped. Within the same minute, Necaxa had yet another shot on goal that saw St. Clair make a diving save to keep the score 1-0 in favor of the Loons.

84' - Minnesota found a strong chance at goal in after Lod passed it off to Franco Fragapane on top of the 18-yard box, who then laid it off to Teemu Pukki on the left side for a shot on goal that was deflected back out for another shot that missed wide of the far side.

GOAL SUMMARY

1-0 - Robin Lod (penalty) - 10'

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

NCX - Diber Cambindo (caution) - 17'

MIN - Hugo Bacharach (ejection) - 20'

NCX - Arce Fernando (caution) - 51'

MIN - Joseph Rosales (caution) - 66'

MIN - Dayne St. Clair (caution) - 77'

NOTABLE STATS

16 - Dayne St. Clair made 16 saves, the most saves in a single game in Minnesota's MLS club history dating back to Vito Mannone's 11 saves versus Portland Timbers on September 22, 2019. St. Clair's 16 saves are also a new Leagues Cup single-game record.

3 - The Loons now have a three-game unbeaten streak against LIGA MX clubs in the new Leagues Cup tournament format that began in 2023: A 4-0 win over Club Puebla, a 2-2 draw and advance over CD Toluca, and tonight's 1-0 win over Club Necaxa.

1 - Morris Duggan earned his first MNUFC start, playing 90 minutes against Necaxa.

ATTENDANCE: 18,128

LINEUPS:

Minnesota United XI: GK Dayne St. Clair ©; D Devin Padelford, Morris Duggan, Miguel Tapias,Hugo Bacharach, Loïc Mesanvi; M Joseph Rosales, Carlos Harvey, Robin Lod, Bongokuhle Hlongwane; F Tani Oluwaseyi

Bench: GK Alec Smir; D Zarek Valentin, DJ Taylor; M Franco Fragapane, Alejandro Bran, Caden Clark, Moses Nyeman; F Samuel Shashou, Teemu Pukki, Jordan Adebayo-Smith

Club Necaxa XI: GK Luis Unsain; D Manuel Mayorga, Alán Montes, Agustín Oliveros, Emilio Martínez; M Fernando Arce ©, Agustin Palavecino, Ricardo Monreal, José Paradela, Brayan Garnica; F Diber Cambindo

Bench: GK Raúl Gudiño, Emiliano Pérez; D Jesús Alberto Alcántar, Raúl Sandova, Román Torres, Juan Estrada; M Alejandro Andrade, Rogelio Cortéz, Diego Gómez, Santiago Márquez; F Kevin Rosero, Bryan Casas

UP NEXT:

To Be Determined

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

HEAD COACH ERIC RAMSAY

On this being the best goalkeeping performance...

"Certainly up there. I know for sure you can tell with Dayne [St. Clair] at half time. I didn't want to jinx it by thinking it too much in the second half but the way he spoke at half time, the level of conviction you felt like something like that was coming and we really needed it. I said after the Seattle game that he's a good leader. He's very vocal, very engaged, really proactive. And that's before you get to what he gives you on the pitch. I think in every sense, tonight he led the team."

On the leadership from Dayne...

"I won't go into the specifics but it gives the team a lot of energy and conviction in the way he speaks, which is a really big thing. It's something our groups really needed and obviously we lacked, for various reasons, we lacked a lot, a lot of that during the difficult run we had Dayne [St. Clair] not being there, of course is a big factor there and we've really felt that since he's been back he's crucial to the way the dressing room feels. And also crucial to, I suppose how we feel as a team when we're parked in front of our goal. Particularly at that end, as the game went on, you just got the sense it was going to go our way and we were, we were due one of those probably. So yeah, we were pleased."

On the team's defensive performance...

"I don't think you can, I could stand here and say it was a flawless defensive performance because of course we gave up a load of chances, hence why Dayne [St. Clair] had to make a load of saves. But, again, the context here is really important and I'm always keen to put that on the table because it's everything and, and given what we went throughout the Seattle [game]and having to turn around relatively quickly to play this game in the what, even on the touch line, like it's really sticky, muggy heat, difficult to play in with 10 men for so long that's a really difficult set of circumstances. And the players handled that really well and to a man performed pretty heroically in a way that we of course needed to win the game, but we have needed in other games this year. I'm really hopeful that that is a big step forward for us as we move to the business end of the year and something that we've been crying out for really. So I've talked mostly over the course of these two games about taking steps forward, really progressing in terms of performance and that was something we needed to sort really good."

On thoughts about getting that red and potentially receiving a second one...

"You did feel at that point that something was coming in again for how it was in those first 20- 25 minutes. It is difficult to argue with Hugo's [Bacharach] red card for sure, but I would say that is amidst a game that felt like it was on the edge for the, for the large majority of it. So I'm not surprised. There's been a couple of instances there."

On using some of the younger players during the League's Cup tournament ...

"Well it has and it hasn't because we have had the opportunity to see Loïc [Mesanvi] play and he's had some really good moments and certainly shown himself to be a credible squad member. And we've had the opportunity to see Hugo [Bacharach] obviously for not quite as long as we would've liked to today, but Morris [Duggan] as well. I mean if you were to say three months ago that we would line up with a, or find a period of the game where you've got a across, across the back five in one period or another, Carlos [Harvey], Morris, Hugo, Loïc, Dev [Devin Padelford] at the beginning of the season, you'd find it hard pushed to think of the circumstances where that transpires and that has happened and those guys have done well and I want it at the end of this period in the Leagues cup for however long it lasts or lasted to feel like we've progressed in terms of our depth. And in Hugo, Morris, Loïc though you can say that in Carlos, over the course of his time with us in the last couple of months, we've now got a very versatile, very credible MLS player that really gives us a lot. And they're particularly Hugo, Morris, and Loïc though, they're the sorts of guys that you want to build a bit of a culture around because they're, they're very coachable, really good guys, bring a lot of energy, very serious, want to get better and they're the sorts of players that you want to work with."

On take away from the first game against a LIGA MX team...

"I've got to say I wouldn't speak out of term, but I felt like it was, let's use the right word here, but it was not easy to watch. I don't think that first half in, in terms of how the referee was treated, how some of the instances saw a lot of players around our players on the floor getting treatment from our athletic trainers following the goal around the penalty. It's very difficult to watch that, particularly if it's a competition that really wants to take itself seriously and move forward, it's certainly not what you want to see and not something that we're used to seeing in any way."

On the challenge at the end of the game defensively...

"I mean we really, ironically, really wanted to, and the message was from us as a coaching staff and from the players to have our spell on the ball as we did immediately after the red card. We settled into an okay rhythm on the ball. We certainly had our share, we're aware of the fact that attacking too quickly in this heat playing forward into turning too quickly was going to mean the team was very disconnected. And we settled in okay, but I'll say once you are in front of your goal and you're defending and you haven't got as big an outlet on the front line as you would have with Tani [Oluwaseyi] and Teemu [Pukki], it is about attacking a touch more slowly. But I will also say that the players are probably are at their limit physically and when they get the ball, it's very difficult then to show real composure and really handle the ball in a way that allows you to connect enough passes. So I could stand on the side for the entirety of the second half and shatter the players to show more composure and take more passes, but there is a limit to what they're able to do at that point. So we took our medicine, stayed on the top of the box and yeah, showed a real desire to keep the ball out of the net, which was big."

On the team's confidence in defending set pieces...

"It's a big focus of ours at the moment and it has been a big focus ironically for the entirety of the year. It's not something that we haven't talked about having focused on. I think what's cost us in the last couple of months in that sense is the irregularity of the lineup and the number of times we're changing the back players and that certainly doesn't help. We've used three goalkeepers over the course of this period. It's not conducive to defending set play as well. But since we find ourselves in this rut, we've really focused on it, we've done as much work, I would say, as we possibly could. Yet tonight we still are vulnerable in a set place. Tonight's probably more a volume thing in the fact that you're down to 10 men. But it's something that we've really got to work at and it will be a big focus over this period now between the lease cup and the MLS for sure."

On the fourth and fifth substitutions being done in the 91st minute...

"It was just based on the fact that we only had one opportunity to change left. We knew there were a couple of players that had said it half time that they felt as though there was cramp coming based on the heat, based on the number of minutes. So we wanted to be really, it's a difficult situation to be in that you can feel that you want, you want to make some changes because you feel like you're under the, under the pump with, with 20 minutes to go, but you make a change too early and someone gets injured suddenly you're down to nine players. So we can look back and say we timed it okay because we ended up winning the game. But it was certainly a big topic of conversation for us on the bench and you never got the sense of what you were doing was the right thing, but fortunately it panned out as it did."

On Tani Oluwaseyi's hamstring injury...

"Yeah, it's a really sour point from that game for sure because obviously he's come back looking like a real player, Tani [Oluwaseyi], from his time with Canada and you just feel he's a player, his form is only going one way. Hopefully he's standing in the game, his career is only going one way but he unfortunately has a history of those types of injuries and it looks like there's perhaps another one has occurred. We're really hopeful it's not as bad as it appeared but we're conscious of the player's history and of course it will leave a big hole for us."

On any saves by Dayne St. Clair stood out...

"I think the big scooping saves to his right hand side a couple of times looked almost identical to me. I haven't seen them back but they're top up saves and I think I walked off the pitch being told that he set a record I think, in this competition and maybe equal the MLS record for saves which isn't something as a team that we probably want to shout about but it is the mark of the player and importance that he has in our group for sure."

On bringing in the new goalkeeper coach...

"I think he's obviously someone that we were keen to bring in. He works with Cristiano [Costa] who did a really good job for us and I'm sure the goalkeeper group, as a consequence of those two guys being around it will really improve. So yeah, good start I would say."

On what can Franco Fragapane can bring to the club...

"I wouldn't want to talk about the contract status because to an extent that's a conversation that involves far more people than me and [Franco] Fragapane. But from the perspective of what he brings to the group in a situation like the one that we were in, we wanted someone that was going to go onto the pitch and be able to handle the ball well show a, level of maturity, composure, and experience that that would really add to us being able to handle a very difficult situation. And he did that for sure. So I would say that captures what we see in him and he's obviously a player that on his day can really contribute to a group here. So someone that we really like to work with and someone that albeit doesn't start as many games as he would like for sure, is someone that we call on really often. So I think that in itself shows the value that he has to us."

On Joseph Rosales' best position...

"It is difficult with Joe [ Joseph Rosales]. He's in one sense it's easy in that he's got a lot of qualities. He's very versatile. I've always seen that in him. So it's a nice headache to have. We've got reasonable depth and options on that side, so as the games demand, you can use Joe where you see fit. He's obviously played it right wing back a little bit in the last in in recent times and done find someone who can really handle the ball, someone you can rely on to get the ball back inside the pitch from those wide areas, which is something that we often lack and against someone a very athletic with real potential, really high ceiling. He's someone that we really try and push because we feel like he's got all the raw ingredients to go on and play at a really good level as, his career moves forward. And he's got a really high ceiling in the game and we want to make sure that he sees in us and the way we work with him, the opportunity to get better. And, we like him for that reason. He's versatile, he's got a lot of qualities. He's a player that you can rely on in lots of different situations. So again, a good example of that today. "

MIDFIELDER ROBIN LOD

On Dayne St. Clair's performance...

"To say that was one of the best individual performances I've seen at Allianz Field so that was incredible for him and he took the team on his back."

On the mindset to defend for 70 minutes down a man...

"I mean, it's tough to be honest, it's not easy and as I said, Dayne [St. Clair] played really well to keep us believing every minute. It's tough but we did it so that was good."

On Necaxa distracting him before the penalty kick...

"Yeah, I mean the PK's [penalty kicks] are always kind of like mind games and the goalkeeper [Luis Unsain] tried to say something but I didn't bother too much."

On the challenge of having to defend so regularly...

"I mean surely you feel like you have to cover the field a little bit more than with one man up so it's a tough situation mentally to keep yourself focused and try to do your best even though the opponent has one man up. As Dayne [St. Clair] said, we defended really well and he made incredible saves."

On if this has been one of the most exciting games at Allianz Field...

"I kind of feel that it was kind of quiet in the beginning but then you could tell the fans came alive in the end. I mean, as a buildup in the end, it's one of the highest."

On facing Necaxa for the first time...

"It's always different to play an opponent from a different league. In the beginning, you had the penalty then you had the red card, so obviously it builds some tension but it was cool."

GOALKEEPER DAYNE ST. CLAIR

On his best goalkeeping performance...

"Probably, before that it was probably the [New York] Red Bulls game when my back was up against the wall that day but to be able to give ourselves a chance to move on [in Leagues Cup], it was nice today. I lost track of saves but [Public Relations Senior Director Eric] Durkee said it was 16 so definitely an accomplishment but more importantly, three points, a clean sheet, and a chance to move on."

On having a favorite save during the game...

"Probably one of the headers on the corner, kind of right where I tapped it by the post. By the time I get there, I see that I can't really knock it straight so I have to bring it up and bring it back into play a little bit. So that's probably my favorite but any save that you make that doesn't allow the ball across the line is a good one for me."

On his feelings after making consecutive saves...

"It's just not getting too high because in those moments, you know especially with 10 men that there's going to be another chance so I just kept telling myself, be ready for the next one. Of course take the confidence into the next save but in those moments not to get too high because then you start second guessing or getting too high versus sticking to the basics."

On a Necaxa striker congratulating him...

"Yeah, I mean he was speaking in Spanish so I didn't understand too much but also on the corners a little bit was just to kind of distract me so that if they got to some headers. So I just tried to say thank you but also stay focused on the next ball."

On the mindset while defending 20 corners...

"Especially at halftime when you go down to 10 men, I said, we're obviously down a man so there's potentially three guys in the box but if it's in your zone, go and try to win the ball. I think just having the mentality to not let your man get by you and then if it's in your zone to go attack it."

On how it changes for him being down a man...

"It actually kind of helps me sometimes because everyone knows it's going to be kind of a defensive performance, especially when you go up one nil. So it's about protecting the lead in that moment versus having to chase the game. It's nice that you know all 10 guys are really going to help defend. Sometimes it's a little beneficial in terms of the mindset but of course you want to have all 11 guys out there."

On facing Necaxa for the first time...

"Anyone who watches this region in Concacaf you kind of expect some of these moments to get a little bit chippy, especially when you said we go up one-zero, there's a red card so they feel like they've been slighted. We feel like we've been slighted. So that's just some of how the Concacaf games go and being a part of it, kind of try to prepare the guys because we knew what it was going to be something like that."

MIDFIELDER JOSEPH ROSALES

On what was his experience...

"Well, first and foremost I thank God, for coming out with a victory. We truly suffered a lot but this is how it goes, so we will keep moving forward."

On Dayne St. Clair's amazing performance...

"He showed off, and thanks to him and all of the other teammates, we were able to obtain these results. Inside the goal, he showed off and that is why we won."

On his participation throughout the game and the great act, he put on defensively...

"I honestly feel very happy because at every game I try to give my best, and I think I have been able to do things well, which is why the coach has put me in as a starter and I have gained his trust."

WINGER LÖIC MESANVI

On how tired he was in the 43rd minute...

"I was cooked if I'm being honest."

On his experience of playing in this Leagues Cup...

"It's unbelievable. I mean I have been waiting four months ever since I started with the first team back in March. It has been about working hard and going for the opportunity to come again and just having fun with it."

On what he saw from his teammates collectively as they were down ten men...

"We all fought our way through to try to finish out the game and just drag on with them a little bit and I just kept listening to the coaches, Dayne [St. Clair] and everybody just helping around."

On his thoughts on starting the match and playing right back...

"Obviously, it is nerve-wracking, but I got rostered for a reason, and you know the coaches put their trust in me to go out there and just be me, so that is what I try to do and just have fun with it."

On how the guys celebrated Dayne St. Clair...

"It was unbelievable. He was amazing out there and he kept us in the game and congrats to him."

On what it is like to go from High School soccer to this against Necaxa in the Leagues Cup...

"It's different for sure but just enjoying the experience. It is obviously different from going to high school to the speed of play and all that stuff, but as you get the minutes you kind of adapt in a way."

On if there was a huge difference in the style of play between Necaxa and Seattle...

"I would say they played a few balls from behind and Seattle did not really do much of it, they tried to just keep it but that was what I saw that was different."

On the advice, he got from Dayne St. Clair and the other guys on the backline on starting the match and the advice he got later on during the match...

"He [Dayne St. Clair] just told me to get back into my spot, and to relax instead of jogging, to just take my time to breathe and relax."

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