Minnesota United Earns 16th MLS Regular Season Win in Commanding 3-0 Victory Against Sporting Kansas City
MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United Earns 16th MLS Regular Season Win in Commanding 3-0 Victory Against Sporting Kansas City

Published on October 4, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota United hit numerous milestones in the club's 3-0 shutout win against Sporting Kansas City at Allianz Field. The victory marked the Loons' 16th MLS win of the season, the most in a single regular season in the club's MLS history, surpassing the previous record of 15 wins set in 2019 and 2024. Midfielder Joaquín Pereyra's 59th-minute goal became the 500th in club history and his assist on Anthony Markanich's first strike lifted him past Robin Lod and Darwin Quintero for a new single-season club record of 16 assists. Additionally, Markanich scored his first MLS brace, eighth and ninth goals of the season, and has scored the second most goals by a defender in a single regular season, trailing only Brek Shea's 11 goals. Minnesota now turns its attention to its final regular-season match against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Decision Day, Saturday, October 18, with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. CT.

7' - After conceding a free kick, Joaquín Pereyra stepped up to take the attempt from a few yards right of the penalty area. His initial effort was cleared out of the box by Zorhan Bassong, but the ball found its way back to Pereyra. After a few quick touches, the Argentine midfielder fired a left-footed shot, forcing goalkeeper John Pulskamp to make a diving save.

12' - Bassong stepped up to take a corner kick, playing a short pass to Jake Davis. Davis then played it back to Bassong, who sent in a long switch toward the far post. The cross connected with Ian James, whose header went just wide of the left post.

25' (1-0) - Anthony Markanich opened up the scoring for Minnesota United after Pereyra serviced a free kick from the middle third. Pereyra's kick went to the left side of the six-yard box where it found Markanich, who redirected the ball to the far post to go over the line.

43' - Sporting Kansas City saw their most dangerous scoring opportunity of the first half. Dejan Joveljić sent a through-ball pass deep into MNUFC's penalty area, where the pass connected with Mason Toye. Toye broke through the Loons' back line for a one-on-one with Canadian international goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, where St. Clair made the stop on the close-range shot.

52' - Davis made a crucial goal-line clearance after Robin Lod latched onto a through ball from Joaquín Pereyra following a quick give-and-go on the right flank. Lod took a few touches inside the 18-yard box before firing a shot, but Davis managed to get a touch on the attempt and clear it out of danger.

59' (2-0) - Pereyra received a pass from Nectarios Triantis in the middle third before switching play to Robin Lod on the left flank. Lod carried the ball forward and fired a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Pulskamp. Pereyra, positioned inside the six-yard box, reacted quickly to the rebound and tapped the ball over the line to score the 500th goal in Minnesota United's club history and the team's second of the night.

63' (3-0) - A few minutes later, Markanich scored the third goal of the night after Joaquín Pereyra fired a long-range shot from the left flank. Kansas City goalkeeper John Pulskamp reacted quickly, diving to make a crucial save. Bassong attempted to clear the rebound, but Triantis regained possession near the top of the 18-yard box. Triantis took a few touches before delivering a cross to Markanich, who was positioned near the six-yard area and headed the ball into the back of the net.

68' - From the left flank, Erik Thommy switched the ball to Jake Davis, who settled it for Dejan Joveljić. Joveljić took a few touches before attempting a shot that was blocked by the Minnesota defense. The rebound fell to Nemanja Radoja at the top of the penalty box, but his effort struck the right post and bounced clear of danger for the Loons.

GOAL SUMMARY

1-0 MIN - Anthony Markanich (Joaquín Pereyra) - 25'

2-0 MIN - Joaquín Pereyra - 59'

3-0 MIN - Anthony Markanich (Nectarios Triantis) - 63'

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

SKC - Zorhan Bassong (caution) - 53'

NOTABLE STATS

9 - Anthony Markanich has scored the second most goals by a defender in a single regular season, after scoring his first MLS brace. He now sits behind defender Brek Shea's record of 11 goals recorded in 2014.

10 - Dayne St. Clair recorded his 10th clean sheet of the regular season, setting a new personal best for most shutouts in a single campaign.

16 - With today's assist, Joaquín Pereyra has surpassed Robin Lod and Darwin Quintero's single-season club record of 15 assists, a mark originally set by Quintero in 2018 and later matched by Lod in 2024.

16 - With tonight's victory, Minnesota United improves to 16-7-10, marking their most wins in a regular season, surpassing the previous club record of 15 set in 2019 and later matched in 2024.

500 - With Joaquín Pereyra's goal in the 59th minute against Sporting Kansas City, MNUFC has now scored its 500th club goal.

6 - MNUFC, including tonight's victory, is currently riding a six-game winning streak in their final regular-season home matches dating back to 2020.

ATTENDANCE: 19,784

BELL BANK MAN OF THE MATCH: Anthony Markanich

LINEUPS:

Minnesota United XI: GK Dayne St. Clair; D Anthony Markanich (Nicolás Romero 75'), Michael Boxall ©, Morris Duggan, Jefferson Diaz; M Joseph Rosales, Wil Trapp (Hassani Dotson 82), Nectarios Triantis (Dominik Fitz 82'), Bongokuhle Hlongwane (Julian Gressel 86'); F Joaquín Pereyra, Robin Lod (Owen Gene 81')

Substitutes Not Used: GK Alec Smir; D Kieran Chandler; M Darius Randell; F Mamadou Dieng

Sporting Kansas City XI: GK John Pulskamp; D Logan Ndenbe (Tim Leibold 74'), Alán Montes, Ian James, Robert Voloder, Jake Davis; M Memo Rodríguez (Erik Thommy 64'), Nemanja Radoja (Santiago Muñóz 74'), Zorhan Bassong; F Mason Toye (Dániel Sallói 75'), Dejan Joveljić ©

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ryan Schewe; D Jacob Bartlett, Jansen Miller; F Khiry Shelton, Stephen Afrifa

UP NEXT:

MINNESOTA UNITED FC @ LA GALAXY

Dignity Health Sports Park | Carson, California

10.18..2025 | MLS 2025 Regular Season | Match 34

8:00 p.m. CT (MLS Season Pass/1500 ESPN)

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

HEAD COACH ERIC RAMSAY

On what he told the squad after the win against Sporting Kansas City...

"I haven't actually spoken to them [the team after the game]. I hadn't on the final day here last year because I don't want to be the guy in the dressing room sort of taking the players away from their families and how nice a moment it is to have won here on this day after having a big win on Fan Appreciation Day last year, the last home game. It is exactly the way you'd want to finish the year here and the players know full well that that was a very good performance that we carried out a lot of what we intended to carry out, and we built a lot of momentum and we did what was needed to be done today. So, it doesn't need me to reinforce that. We're now in a position where we lose a couple internationals, we wish them luck, and the remainder of the group stays and rests and trains and sets up what is a really interesting finish now."

On the quality of services into the box that the team was able to capitalize on...

"We were really pleased with how it panned out. We'd obviously done something tonight that we haven't done over the course of the season and I think we're at that stage where it's another iteration of the team with some of the problems that we've had over the course of the last couple of weeks, we've enjoyed trying to find solutions to those and tonight was one of the better nights for the coaching staff I would say and the players, of course. But, we obviously scratch our heads as to how we compensate for no recognized number nine and how we try to retain a lot of the principles that have put us in such a good position over the course of this year, in the context of the change in system and asking some players to do some things that are slightly different. So, we're really pleased with the overall performance but certainly the level of threat that we carry, definitely from set plays as is always the case, and as the game ran on we were good value for far more than we ultimately got."

On changing the formation into a 4-4-2...

"We wanted to retain a lot of the good stuff that we built over the course of the year in terms of principles, in terms of the way in which we defend while also trying to really pose the opposition some very different problems at the top of the pitch. The types of problems that a Minnesota team at the beginning of the season with Tani [Oluwaseyi] and Kelvin [Yeboah] would have caused the teams. I think you couldn't be in a more different point on that spectrum between playing with two out-and-out recognized number nines to setting up as we did tonight with Joaquín [Pereyra] and Robin [Lod]. I felt like it went really well without us compromising too much of what we've done so far and that was a very recognizable Minnesota team, I would say, in spite of the fact that there were players playing in very unrecognizable positions. So, that's what we wanted tonight, we wanted to show some versatility, some flexibility, and ability to find solutions to the problems that we've got, but without losing what makes us a good team. The irony is probably in the fact that we look so different, certainly in terms of personnel, it's a game where we dominate the ball, we make a lot of chances but ultimately it's set plays that put us where we want to be."

On Anthony Markanich's ability to create opportunities...

"It's set plays where he gets the bulk of his goals and we're fortunate that we've found a way over the course of the season that we're making sure we carry a real threat on set plays from multiple situations, across multiple phases of each set play. Anthony [Markanich] obviously has a very good knack for finding himself in the right space on the second phase of set plays which is almost impossible to deal with for the opposition because yes, we're working towards a framework and yes, we've got some very clear principles that were working towards executing in those moments, but it's very difficult to predict. Anthony uses that element of unpredictability well and it's no mean feat to find himself in those positions and then score so regularly because the chances he takes aren't always easy. So, it was another remarkable night for a player that has come on leaps and bounds over the course of this year."

On predicting Anthony Markanich turning into a goal scorer...

"No, but it's needed at the moment. If you look at where are players are in the goal scoring charts and some of the difficulties we've had in that sense over the course of the year, we've really needed, number one, needed set plays, number two, we've needed players like Anthony [Markanich] to really step up and grasp our situation by the scruff of the neck and take some accountability and responsibility, and he's really done that. Nectar [Nectarios Triantis] obviously since his arrival has taken over a little bit in that mental as well. Between now and the end of the year we are going to have to make sure everyone chips in regardless of everyone does what those two guys do which is put their hands up and say, I'm an important part of this team and I'm going to make sure that we win games of football."

On Anthony Markanich's health status...

"I'm not sure, but he was fairly adamant that he wanted to continue and I think at the stage of the game that we were at it wasn't necessary. I think that is probably a good sign it didn't seem like it was really really serious and obviously us now going into a two week break we got a chance to reset and make sure that [the injury] gets dealt with well. Fingers crossed that he won't be too far away [from a full recovery]."

On what stood out the most on Joaquín Pereyra and Robin Lod's performance

"What pleased me the about his and Rob's [Robin Lod] performance tonight is that they got asked to do something different, but like I said, we did not want to lose that very clear Minnesota brand of football in terms of the difficulty to beat. The players were great, their commitment to playing as part of the team and their, firstly, acceptance of the responsibilities that we give them but then the execution with that level of aggression, with that level of consistency, that was really important tonight. In order to make that work against a tricky opposition - as you've seen - with some good players, we really needed that level of buy-in and that level of relentlessness that Rob showed. Joaquín [Pereyra] rarely lets you down on the ball. An interesting player in the sense that every time he gets the ball, he wants to make something happen. So sometimes you see lots of turnovers but you have to take the rough with the smooth in that sense because he is one of the more creative players in the league. I think if you start to soften that and you start to ask him to take less risks on the ball, you don't see the same player. Unfortunately tonight, a lot of those passes came off."

On how the team is reacting to the results across the Western Conference in the closing stages of the season...

"We're disappointed to see how it's panned out with San Diego [FC] late on in the game there and while it's not a trophy I think the fact that we are right in contention hopefully up until the last day for top spot in the west [Western Conference] is a real achievement and we wanted to take it this far. We've obviously gone well beyond the points record at this point which was the first milestone. The next milestone for us was to try and make sure that we took it to the final day and assuming things are in our favor over the course of the international break with LA[FC] and Vancouver [Whitecaps] then we got a chance of that being the case. I think that was really important that we created that real sense of fighting for a title and with that comes momentum and as you've seen tonight, we've got a team that is desperate to win. We've got some comfort in the position that we find ourselves in. I think now with a secured home advantage, we wanted to see a team tonight that looked like it was fighting for a title and you certainly saw that."

On what he saw from Dayne St. Clair and the big save at the end of the first half...

"Exactly that. It was a really crucial moment in the game and that is Dayne [St. Clair] I think he has got a real knack for being out of a game for a long period - as he was - I think the goal was almost untouched for forty odd minutes or so and when he is needed he is there. That is a super important trait of a goalkeeper and Dayne is, as I've said multiple times, he's a man for a moment. He's a man for the big stage and what I was most pleased with tonight in Dayne's case is we were able to get him the clean sheet. There have been a number of occasions this year where he has deserved one and we haven't got him one and I think goalkeepers tend to live or die by that sort of thing. He leaves the pitch a happy man and we owe him tonight for sure."

On building versatility in the team tonight without striker Kelvin Yeboah...

"We haven't over the course, if you think back to our run of form post Leagues Cup last year, it's been an exceptional run of form. I don't think there will be many, if any teams that will have picked up the number of points we have over the course of the back end of last season, over 10, 12, 13 games. Then, going into this year and haven't lost back-to-back games for well over a year in the league. What that tends to mean is that we are not searching for wholesale changes to find solutions to problems. The situation we are in now, post the [transfer] window, with everything that went with that and a couple of the injuries we've picked up has put us for the first time in a position where we have to think very differently about how the team looks. I think we have really enjoyed that as a coaching staff. I'm sure the players have been refreshed by some different messages and players having to do something different. So, as we move into the playoffs now it's a nice string to have in our bow, but obviously we have a default that we have used over the course of the last 40, 45 games that has put us in a really good position. So now we are really fortunate for when Kelvin [Yeboah] comes back into the mix we have some food for thought."

MIDFIELDER JOAQUÍN PEREYRA

On what changes when he plays as a number nine rather than an attacking midfielder...

"Well, it's a different position than the rest of the season. It's the first time I've played there [as number nine],but I think it's a position where I have more freedom, where I can play a little more freely, where I can move all over the attacking front. Today I tried to find Robin [Lod], we had to play together there. We tried to play relatively close together, and I think that all things considered, the game was a positive one."

On what changes for him defensively when you play up front...

"As I just said, it's different. It's a different position. I think when you play up front you have a little time to rest in that position when you have to defend. I think on the left side, where Jo [Joseph Rosales] was today, it's a position where you have to be constantly with the full-back, with the center-back pressing in that position. In that position [attacking midfielder] you have to move further up, you have to return, you have to retreat and find a position. So I think it gives me a little more time to rest when it comes to defending. And I think that's good for when I have to attack, to be able to have air and counterattack the way we like."

On what he saw when in the play in the second goal where he scored...

"It's something I've been trying to improve on when I have to attack and make a forward pass, trying to get into the box. All the goals, most of the goals, have been scored from inside the box. And the truth is, I've been working on that, trying to get used to making the pass and getting into the box. Today I passed to Rob [Robin Lod], then I continued my run, and the ball ended up on my feet. So, I'm happy for the goal, happy for helping the team."

On if he looks for Anthony Markanich on set-pieces...

"It seems like it's become a habit now in set pieces, that he wins the ball, that he scores goals. The truth is, he's a player who chases the ball with great ambition, with great desire. He's a player who heads the ball very well, and it has been a good season for him with nine goals [in MLS regular-season], and for us as a team, it is very important too for us as a team that he continues to score goals."

MIDFIELDER ROBIN LOD

On playing up front with Joaquín Pereyra tonight...

"I don't know. I guess, particularly for this game, it showed that it worked and it just showed that the team is capable of playing in a different system, so I'm very happy with the win."

On what the coaching staff touched on before heading into the match...

"It was a little bit different than we're used to, but we have good players who are willing to do the work for the team, so that shows. Obviously we wanted to show why we are top of the table, one of the top teams in this table, and why KC [Sporting Kansas City] is at the bottom. Just showing at home that we are the better team."

On how his game changes based on the fluidity of his position...

"I think today the combination of me and Joaquín [Pereyra] both wanted to play a little bit more with the ball. So, for us, it was more about dropping down, taking the ball, dominating the midfield, and creating some combinations. Obviously it's a little bit different when you play higher up the field than lower, so there are differences."

On whether or not he was looking to win aerial duels in the attacking third...

"I don't know. No, not really. I mean with this system it's more us to keep the ball down and have some combinations."

DEFENDER ANTHONY MARKANICH

On making sure to add goal bonuses in the new contract...

"Yeah, we made sure it was in there for next year!"

On explaining his goalscoring form this season...

"Everyone was asking me 'how I keep doing it' [scoring] after the game. I don't even know how I keep doing it. It's funny, it's just amazing."

On how to always be in the right spot to score in games...

"I literally don't know. It's maybe instinct, I really don't know."

On the thought process going up for headers...

"It's more guiding than anything. I try to hit it [the ball] into the ground especially when it's wet so [the ball] will skip. That's mostly what I aim for."

On his brother Nick Markanich and family texting him during and after games...

"They [the Markanich family] all texted me at half time. They are all blowing up my phone right now. My dad is out there in Spain [to watch Nick Markanich], so they are all watching at 3 a.m. in Spain, which is pretty cool."

On what it means to have scored the second most goals as a defender in a single season in MLS history...

"It's really cool, I saw it on Twitter [X] when they first posted it which is pretty cool, but yeah it's amazing. Then I saw it when I came off. They [Allianz Field scoreboard operators] put it on the big screen so it was pretty cool to see that also."

On if he is ready to volunteer as the team's fill-in striker...

"Yeah [Kelvin] Yeboah was saying that also, it's funny."

On the absence of the Markanich hat...

"I see the guy in the stands [wearing the hat] all the time which is pretty cool."

On whether or not his fiancée still has the hat...

"Yeah, we're thinking about making some replicas and selling them."

On how the team feels about his tongue-out goal celebration...

"Oh they [his teammates] hate it. Everyone hates the tongue-out. My fiancée does, everyone hates it. I don't know what to do though, it's just natural instinct."

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Major League Soccer Stories from October 4, 2025


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