Minnesota United Exits Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Following Loss to San Jose
MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United Exits Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Following Loss to San Jose

Published on April 29, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


SAN JOSE, Calif. - Minnesota United's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run came to an end Tuesday night after falling 4-2 to the San Jose Earthquakes in the Round of 16 at PayPal Park. After trailing early, the Loons responded with a strong second-half surge as pressure from Anthony Markanich forced an own goal before Tomás Chancalay finished off the go-ahead strike to give MNUFC a 2-1 advantage. San Jose answered with three goals over the final 22 minutes to reclaim control and secure the advancement to the quarterfinals. Minnesota United now turns its attention back to MLS regular-season play with a road match against Columbus Crew on Saturday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m. CT at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.

3' - Nectarios Triantis got the first dangerous opportunity on target after receiving a loose ball inside the penalty area, but goalkeeper Daniel was able to collect the attempt.

4' - Shortly after, Niko Tsakiris got a dangerous opportunity for the Earthquakes as he stepped up to take a free kick on the left flank, and the chance went just over the crossbar.

11' - Minnesota defender Jefferson Diaz created the Loons' first scoring opportunity after Joaquín Pereyra slipped a short through ball into the right side of the six-yard box, but the attempt went wide.

15' (0-1) - San Jose Earthquakes were the first to find the back of the net through Beau Leroux after a defensive mistake near the top of the penalty area. He took a few touches and fired a shot to open the scoring.

19' - Left winger Anthony Markanich created another dangerous chance on target after Tomás Chancalay found Pereyra, who then slipped a through ball into space for Markanich. Markanich fired an attempt, but goalkeeper Daniel made the save with his body.

50' - Nicolás Romero, got the first dangerous opportunity of the second half Chancalay delivered a corner kick, and Romero, positioned at the top of the six-yard box, headed the ball off the crossbar.

51' - Shortly after, Chancalay slipped a long through ball into the penalty area for Pereyra, who curled an attempt from the right side of the 18-yard box, but the shot hit the left post and bounced away.

59 ' (1-1) - Minnesota United found the equalizer through the pressure from Markanich after Triantis carried the ball from the middle third on the right flank all the way to the right side of the penalty area. Triantis then played a cross across goal to the left side of the penalty area, where Markanich's pressure forced an own goal from Ronaldo Vieira.

63' (2-1) - MNUFC found the lead in the 63rd minute through Chancalay after Markanich slipped a through ball into space on the left flank. Chancalay carried into the left side of the penalty area, made a cut inside and then fired a right-footed shot into the back of the net.

68' (2-2) - The Quakes found the equalizer four minutes later after Leroux sent a cross into the penalty area that was initially cleared. Jack Skahan then collected the ball outside the box, took a few touches, and fired a shot that was deflected off Devin Padelford before finding the back of the net.

73' (2-3) - San Jose found the lead after a long switch from Niko Tsakiris to Skahan, who then laid the ball for Leroux. Making a run to the top of the 18-yard box, Leroux hit a first-time shot to find the lead.

75' (2-4) - San Jose doubled its advantage as Tsakiris found the back of the net when Ousseni Bouda broke in on a one-on-one with goalkeeper Drake Callender. Bouda then squared the ball across to Tsakiris, who calmly tapped it into the net.

79' - Callender made a crucial save to keep the deficit at two after Bouda laid a pass off for Skahan, whose curling effort was headed toward the lower left corner. Callender dove to push the shot out for a San Jose Croner.

90' - The Loons were awarded a free kick just outside the left corner of the penalty area. The Colombian James Rodríguez stepped up to take the set piece, sending a shot on frame, but Daniel was able to push the attempt from danger.

GOAL SUMMARY

0-1 SJ - Beau Leroux - 15'

1-1 MIN - Ronaldo Vieira (own goal) - 59'

2-1 MIN - Tomás Chancalay (Anthony Markanich) - 63'

2-2 SJ - Jack Skahan - 68'

2-3 SJ - Beau Leroux (Jack Skahan) - 73'

2-4 SJ - Niko Tsakiris (Ousseni Bouda) - 75'

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

SJ - Ronaldo Vieira (caution) - 27'

SJ - Preston Judd (caution) - 45'

Notable Stats

10-7-3 - Following tonight's loss, Minnesota United has a 10-7-3 record in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches. All three draws ended in penalty shootout wins for the Loons.

LINEUPS:

Minnesota United XI: GK Drake Callender; D Anthony Markanich (Mauricio González 89'), Nicolás Romero (Devin Padelford 65'), Morris Duggan, Jefferson Diaz, Kyle Duncan (Mamadou Dieng 77'); M Tomás Chancalay, Owen Gene, Nectarios Triantis (James Rodríguez 77'), Joaquín Pereyra ©; F Kelvin Yeboah

Substitutes Not Used: GK Alec Smir; D Kieran Chandler; M Wil Trapp

San Jose Earthquakes XI: GK Daniel; D Jamar Ricketts (Dave Romney 82'), Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic (Ian Harkes 83'); M Timo Werner (Jack Skahan 35'), Ronaldo Vieira ©, Niko Tsakiris, Beau Leroux, Ousseni Bouda; F Preston Judd (Paul Marie 46')

Substitutes Not Used: GK Nathan Crockford; D Jack Jasinski; M Nick Fernandez

UP NEXT:

MINNESOTA UNITED FC @ COLUMBUS CREW

ScottsMiracle-Gro Field | Columbus, Ohio

05.02.2026 | MLS 2026 Regular Season | Match 11

6:30 p.m. CT (Apple TV/1500 ESPN)

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

HEAD COACH CAMERON KNOWLES

On the club's loss against the San Jose Earthquakes in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup...

"Obviously really disappointing. You know, I think we believed that if we came here and were able to win, that that would give us a really good chance of winning it. You take on one of the best teams in the league, we went toe-to-toe with them, and for large parts of the match, I thought we had the better of it. Fantastic chances that we create and then you get that deflected goal and the sort of shifted momentum, and the game goes the other way, but I think the guys should take a lot of pride in knowing that we can go and compete with any team in this league."

On conceding three goals in quick succession...

"It's really difficult. And that's sort of the nature of what [the] San Jose [Earthquakes] has been doing. They've been a juggernaut really in the league [Major League Soccer] with how many goals they've been scoring and the results that they've been getting. They're a tough team and once they catch a little bit of momentum, they get rolling."

On the aggressiveness of the team in the first half and early second half...

"I thought the guys did great. We've talked a lot about how we can be aggressive, and we've tried to implement that in a lot of these games that we've played. This was another place where we wanted to come, and we wanted to be on the front foot on both sides of the ball, and again, for large parts of that game, you saw that, you saw the way that the guys were getting forward. You look at, again, chance creation, you look at pressure higher up the field, and I thought the guys were great in that sense."

On the loss being attributed to self-inflicted mistakes...

"I think any time you concede a goal, it is usually a series of mistakes and certainly like every performance, we will go back and we will look at those things. It is really hard to sort of point blame at any one person because on the other side, you know there is certainly a chance we could have scored that maybe change the momentum in the game too once we go 2-1."

On the team's aggressiveness in the last two games across all competitions...

"Really well. Look, we have a home match that we should get more out of with the way we played. We needed to be a bit cleaner around the goal. Then, I thought of the way that the guys responded then in this game with the chances they were creating from the areas they were creating them; that was exactly what we wanted to see. There was so much positive to take out of it. It is obviously, again, disappointing that we are not able to compete for a trophy. It is one competition that we are no longer in. I think the majority of that performance is really positive."

On if fatigue played a factor in the second half...

"Those guys [Morris Duggan, Jefferson Diaz] have logged a ton of minutes. We had a lot of freshness around them, and it wasn't as transitional as some of our other games have been. You have to give those guys so much credit. We haven't had a lot of ability to rotate them out, we haven't had much rest for them. They just keep going and it's really incredible. Both sides of the ball, the both are up, stepping up, getting higher up the field, [making] big recovery runs. Fatigue always plays in the longer a game goes on but those guys I don't think have looked too much different from game to game."

On if there was a specific play that looked like the turning point in the loss...

"Obviously the deflected goal is a difficult one to give up. It gives them a little bit more belief, it changes, sort of shifts the momentum of the game at that time. When you need to be calm and understand that we are going to get ourselves back in the game. We are probably going to score another goal and to just have that belief that we can see it out at that point. You don't want to be in a situation where that shift in momentum leads to another chance, another chance and unfortunately that's the way it went."

On the biggest positive from tonight's match...

"We came to a team that has been red hot in the league this year. They have scored a ton of goals and again for a large part of the match, we had the better of it. We showed we can compete with any team in the league. I think knowing that we have to come back here to San Jose, we have to play this team twice again in the league. We should take so much positivity from that. We should take confidence in our ability to go into some really difficult environments and to play difficult teams that we can compete with all of them."

On the mood in the locker room following tonight's result...

"The guys are disappointed. I think that is a sign of their belief in what they can achieve. Any time that you get knocked out of competition, there is a disappointment. Those guys are really disappointed about that because they understand that they could have come here and won that game. That we had enough to beat this team."

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Major League Soccer Stories from April 29, 2026


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