Loons set new club record with 1-3 loss to Vancouver – Twin Cities

Minnesota United challenges the jurisprudence of Murphy’s Law.

Faced with a stubborn and growing list of absent players, the Loons’ play early in Wednesday’s game against the Vancouver Whitecaps further reinforced the adage “what can go wrong, will go wrong.”

Michael Boxall, the Loons’ reliable captain and centre-back, made a bad mistake in the first four minutes and conceded a goal, putting MNUFC right back in front, losing 3-1 at Allianz Field.

MNUFC (8-8-6, 29 points) has lost five games in a row, setting a new club record for the worst losing streak of its MLS era.

“The only way to look at the game is that we faced a real challenge in the early stages,” said head coach Eric Ramsay.

To add insult to injury, Vancouver (8-7-7, 31 points) joined Portland with recent victories over Minnesota, moving past the Loons in the Western Conference standings.

Boxall, who has been playing injured in recent weeks, attempted a simple pass to debut goalkeeper Alec Smir, but his shot was short. Whitecaps striker Ryan Gauld seized the pass and passed it to Brian White, who scored the first goal.

“Tonight, it’s 100% on me,” Boxall said. “We’re at a point where we should be fighting tooth and nail to stay in the game and not just making plays and (expletive) like I did at the beginning of the game.”

On a corner kick for Vancouver in the 16th minute, Boxall and others passed through to Mathias Laborda, who headed the ball into the net. Gauld also set up this goal with a cross into the box.

The Loons had chances to score in the 24th and 27th minutes. First, goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka came wide, but Robin Lod’s shot was blocked by the leg of a Vancouver defender. Then Vancouver was booked for handball in the box, but surprise penalty taker Joseph Rosales’ poor shot was saved by Takaoka.

Rosales redeemed himself with a corner kick in the 30th minute. Hassani Dotson headed his ball to the far post and Bongi Hlongwane scored with his left foot to make it 2-1.

Although the Loons had a better shot rate than the Whitecaps (17:6), Vancouver made the most of its chances and Sebastian Berhalter sealed the victory in the 60th minute with a spectacular goal from long range.

MNUFC has not scored a point since June 8th and has not won since June 1st.

“I haven’t really been counting,” Boxall said of the month-long losing streak. “It feels like a long time. Obviously longer than we’re used to, especially some home games where it feels like they’re getting snatched away from you like last week. It’s close, but we just can’t quite get there.”

Meager

Smir was making his MLS debut as the Loons’ goalkeeper; the 25-year-old MNUFC2 player started with Dayne St. Clair away for Canada and Clint Irwin out with a groin injury after Saturday’s loss to Portland. … With eight players out, Alejandro Bran was inserted into the starting lineup after being away from the Loons for weeks and having just come on as a substitute for Costa Rica in the Copa America on Tuesday night in Austin, Texas. … The Loons signed goalkeeper Oscar Herrera to an MLS NEXT Pro contract and a short-term loan as a first-team substitute for Wednesday’s game. Herrera, from Madison, Wisconsin, played in Augsburg until 2023 and trained with MNUFC’s first and second teams this year. … Midfielder Franco Fragapane made his 100th appearance for the Loons on Wednesday.