Minnesota Extends Unbeaten Run to 7 with Draw in Toronto

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MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota Extends Unbeaten Run to 7 with Draw in Toronto

April 12, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


TORONTO, Canada, -- Minnesota United extended their unbeaten streak to seven games with a scoreless draw against Toronto FC at BMO Field. The Loons generated several promising opportunities, including a close-range strike from Bongokuhle Hlongwane, but were ultimately denied by goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Dayne St.Clair preserved the clean sheet with a key early save in the second half, helping Minnesota earn a valuable point on the road. The Loons return home to Allianz Field, where they will host FC Dallas on Saturday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m. CT.

3' - Minnesota United created their first chance on goal after Joaquín Pereyra was able to cross the ball from the left side of the pitch, finding right wingback Bongokuhle Hlongwane on top of the six-yard box. Hlongwane fired off a one-touch shot that ricocheted off teammate Kelvin Yeboah toward goal, but ultimately, Toronto FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson deflected the ball out.

34' - Pereyra stepped up to take a free kick that was awarded to MNUFC inside Toronto's half. The Argentinian midfielder sent a long ball over the top finding Michael Boxall on the six-yard line for a header to goal that went high above the crossbar and out of bounds.

47' - Canadian International Dayne St. Clair made a crucial save to keep the score 0-0. Toronto FC forward Derrick Etienne Jr. had a close-range shot from the left flank, but St. Clair off his line deflected the shot, keeping the ball out of goal.

59' - Minnesota continued to apply pressure in the attacking third. Yeboah found Pereyra on the right side of the penalty area who quickly played it across to find Nicolás Romero on the opposite side. Romero fired a shot toward goal, but it deflected off Johnson, going out of bounds.

76' - MNUFC was awarded a free kick near the 18-yard line. Rosales delivered a precise ball into the box, connecting with Romero, who rose for a header on goal, but Raoul Petretta stepped in with a crucial clearance to deny the opportunity.

GOAL SUMMARY

None

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

MIN - Bongokuhle Hlongwane (caution) - 17'

TOR - Lorenzo Insigne (caution) - 33'

MIN - Jefferson Diaz (caution) - 84'

NOTABLE STATS

100 - With the start in Saturday afternoon's match at Toronto FC, Honduran international Joseph Rosales made his 100th game appearance for Minnesota United across all competitions.

LINEUPS

Minnesota United XI: GK Dayne St. Clair; D Joseph Rosales (Anthony Markanich 87'), Nicolás Romero, Michael Boxall©, Jefferson Diaz (Carlos Harvey 87'), Bongokuhle Hlongwane (DJ Taylor 54'); M Joaquín Pereyra, Wil Trapp (Samuel Shashoua 70'), Robin Lod; F Tani Oluwaseyi, Kelvin Yeboah (Sang Bin Jeong 87')

Substitutes Not Used: GK Alex Smir; D, Morris Duggan; M Hoyeon Jung; F Loïc Mesanvi

Toronto FC XI: GK Sean Johnson; D Sigurd Rosted, Kevin Long, Raoul Petretta; M Theo Corbeanu (Charlie Sharp 80'), Deybi Flores, Lorenzo Insigne (Maxime Dominguez 80'), Jonathan Osorio ©, Kosi Thompson; F Derrick Etienne Jr. (Tyrese Spicer 72'), Federico Bernardeschi

Substitutes Not Used: GK Luka Gavran; D Kobe Franklin, Lazar Stefanovic; M Alonso Coello, Matty Longstaff, Markus Cimermancic

ATTENDANCE: n/a

BELL BANK MAN OF THE MATCH: Joaquin Pereyra

UP NEXT:

MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. FC DALLAS

Allianz Field | Saint Paul, Minn.

4.19.2025 | MLS 2025 Regular Season | Match 9

7:30 p.m. CT (MLS Season Pass/1500 ESPN)

MINNESOTA UNITED POST GAME QUOTE SHEET

HEAD COACH ERIC RAMSAY

On how he looks at the 0-0 result against Toronto FC...

"I think everyone leaves, probably us as much as them [Toronto FC], and everyone involved, players and staff will probably leave with a sense of frustration after that game because it was open without it leading to any real clean cut chances either way. I felt like we did a really good job of sticking to the game plan defensively. We obviously restricted two top players on their day to very little, in a way that the course of the last couple of games that hasn't always been easy for the opposition. So, I feel like we did a really good job in that sense, and unfortunately we couldn't create as much as we wanted to in front of goal. They're obviously scrapped with really fighting for their lives at the moment, I think that was reflected in the way they approached the game. They were very tough to break down, it was a balance that we haven't encountered over the course of this year so far, where we've got the lion's share of the ball and we've got to find a way of making chances with long spells of possession, lots of consecutive passes, and we made changes as the game went on to try and help us to do that, but ultimately it's a stalemate and it felt like that. It felt like it was going to take something special to unlock it or it was going to be a mistake. Unfortunately in our case, neither of those scenarios arose, but if you look back at the context of the last seven days, four points of the road, a clean sheet here today, in the run up to two home games, and taking our run to seven unbeaten, I'm fairly pleased with that. I think had someone presented me with that at the beginning of this week, we'd have taken that."

On what it means when the team has half of the possession...

"We're going to have to do both this year. We're going to have to be a team that is undoubtedly always going to be a counter-attacking threat. We're always going to be able to use big spaces the opposition gives us and tonight we were probably a pass or two away from some precision or a pass or two away from being a team that can create with organized attacks and longer spells of possession and I don't think it's a reflection of the amount of the ball we had was a reflection of whether we played well or didn't. It was the conditions that they [Toronto FC] set to an extent. We of course, over the year as we move forward are going to now encounter teams that are very, very conscious of the way in which we've had success over the course of the first seven games, or the first eight games I should say. It's going to be a process of iteration for us in that sense as we encounter new challenges, as we encounter the opposition adapting to us, we will adapt for sure. We showed some good signs today, if I was to review the game, undoubtedly, I'll find lots of repeated short pass connections where we've got players really, really close to one another where we're able to work the ball out of pressure, find solutions to bringing the ball from one side of the pitch through the middle and out the other. We just weren't able to find the final piece today. I think we had the better of it probably over the course of the first 45 minutes when it came to clean cut chances in front of goal, but weren't able to do that in the second half. That's an area in which we're going to have to improve and I will of course, think about how the team is set up, the types of substitutions that are made, in a scenario where we're encountering something that is maybe less familiar, less comfortable for us, and I'm interested to see where we can take that as a group."

On where he felt the challenges were when breaking down Toronto FC ...

"We obviously have two forwards that are very comfortable in attacking big spaces and as the space reduces in front of goal, we are more reliant on central combinations, the way in which the eights link off the number nines, the way in which the two number nines can bring those guys into play, the intricacy of the movement on the last line. I think we fell foul a little bit tonight of the early, what I would categorize, to an extent, as an enforced change with Bongi [Bongokuhle Hlongwane] in that. He was obviously being targeted by the opposition on a booking in the way they moved [Federico] Bernardeschi. We wanted to make sure that we didn't risk him picking up a second booking early in the game, so we ended up playing with DJ [Taylor] who is much closer to a fullback than a wide player and of course a really solid defensively, but you lose a bit of that unpredictability that Bongi gives you in the final third. So, we for sure have players that are really well suited to killing the opposition off in situations like that. You've got Robin [Lod], you've got Sam [Samuel Shashoua], you've got Joaquín [Pereyra], you've got Jo [Joseph Rosales], you've got Bongi. You've got three forwards that are not between the lines forwards, Sang Bin [Jeong], Kelvin [Yeboah], and Tani [Oluwaseyi],but for sure given a really good chance, given the opportunity to attack a cutback, they'll be there in good numbers. We've got the ingredients and we just need to work at it, but I don't want to step away from this game tonight letting that sense of frustration being the overriding feeling for the group and us because I think we're in a really good place. The fact that we're forcing teams to adapt to such an extent is a feather in our caps, and now it's for us to go again and continue to adapt and I'll admit we've got the tools to do so. As I say, we're now seven games unbeaten and showing some really positive signs, I would also add to that we've played five of the first eight games away from home, which is not easy. So, to get to this point with two home games coming up, I'm really pleased."

On not capitalizing on set pieces...

"That's another thing in terms of adaptation to the opposition, of course the opposition will spend a large portion of their week based on our set play threat working on set plays. So we sharpen their focus, we heighten the level of attention that the opposition have in those moments and then it becomes another problem for us. So you see teams, I'm sure to focus far more than they would do. So in comparison to playing other sides. It is for whom these types of situations might be slightly easier for us. It becomes really tough because teams are really putting a lot of effort into that.But I know for sure that we will continue to be a threat in that sense. And it's not just goals that set play moments lead to, for us it's territory, it's second phase opportunities and we play for those really purposefully. So yeah, nothing hugely clean cut tonight, but again that's not to take anything away from those moments, how important they are to us and what they've given us over the course of the first eight games."

On what he felt like worked on the defensive side, only allowing Federico Bernardeschi one shot on goal...

"If someone had said to me prior to the game that we would've been so tight defensively that the opposition would've had 0.3 or 0.4 XG [expected goals], Bernardeschi [Federico Bernardeschi] and Insigne [Lorenzo Insigne] would've had very low opportunity to combine, to link, to make their mark on the game, I would've been really pleased and I would've expected us to score. I would've expected us to win. Obviously that hasn't been the case today. We haven't been able to find the back of the net. We haven't been able to create repeated chances in the way that we have done over the course of the first seven games. But as I said at the beginning of this call, the level of detail in the execution of the game plan defensively was outstanding. I think we've restricted two of the top players in the league, who were gathering momentum over the course of their last two games to very little action in front of goal. And again, that's testament to the way in which our group approaches each game at the moment. And I think that was, of course, a huge contributing factor in us getting to the end of the game, nil-nil, and continuing our run."

On if he needed more from Robin Lod in terms of breaking down the opposition...

"Of course Robin [Lod] will be someone in those situations we are really reliant on. He is one of the players in the league that has an eye for a final pass that can give you that unpredictability. He can play within the structure, but also find ways to create clever overloads on one side of the pitch, find ways of popping up between the lines. You will have seen a good link, they have got a good feel for one another, him and Joaquin [Pereyra] Sam Shashoua when he comes on, Wil [Trapp] up to that point. They like short connections, they like to attract the pressure they like then to find the space through the opposition midfield out on the other side or in behind the back line. Robin is a player that gives us that edge so as the season progresses and we the more we find ourselves in these situations the more we will be reliant on Robin, but I am also not in any way wanting to take away from the attacking players that we've got. We have a group I would characterize as very direct, very goal-orientated. We've got some players that can play a final pass with real intricacy and precision and there's probably three or four of those across the front line and that's really important for us."

On his thoughts on Sam Shashoua's performance...

"If you think back to Sam's [Shashoua] last sub appearance against LA [Galaxy] a situation in which we were in not dissimilar conditions, we were without the ball, we were attacking our supporters end at home and he made a real impact then and you see a cleanness on the ball, you see a real intricacy and precision with the way he uses it. He brings the best out of the other midfield players that are close to him in that sense. I wanted to get another attacking player on the pitch and I felt like it was worth that calculated gamble and a roll of the dice in taking Wil [Trapp] off and keeping another attacking player on the pitch in Robin and moving Wil's spot and keeping Sam closer to the front line. Hoping that would give us a little bit of a spark and connection that had been missing in the game up until that point and I think he did fairly well. So as I look back [on the decision] it's a very logical one and one that will bear fruit as time goes on."

GOALKEEPER DAYNE ST.CLAIR

On whether the defense is being taken for granted after another clean sheet...

"I think we're very comfortable in the way that we defend. Not only the back five, but we know that the guys up top do a lot of work for us, and we kind of showed some clips early in the week just showing,highlighting, some of the work that they've been doing for us too. But I think that us back five-we're back six, if you include me-feel very confident in keeping the ball out of the back of the net. And I mean, this is our fourth clean sheet. So it's been a good start to the season for us, but in defending, it's something that you can never turn off. So next game, we're gonna have to go again."

On limiting Federico Bernardeschi's impact throughout the match...

"We know he likes to collect the balls in wide areas and then start to run at guys. So I think we did a good job of getting pressure out there early so that he couldn't kind of drift into the middle of the pitch where he's a lot more dangerous in terms of getting those shots off. So I think we defended him collectively between-I mean, all the wing backs switching sides-but I think the two eights on those sides did a good job of kind of closing in as well, that when he came inside, he was seeing more bodies."

On making a stoppage-time save against Canadian teammate Jonathan Osorio...

"I think that's one that I should-should always be saving for sure. But I think leaving the game with a clean sheet versus them is something that I'm definitely happy about. But it definitely would've been a little bit nicer to kind of get those extra two points for the bragging rights as well. But something I'm happy about."

On the special attendees that came in support of Dayne St. Clair...

"It's definitely a bit of a mess when you're the away team and me and Tani [Oluwaseyi] are trying to get as many tickets as possible, but I think we were able to kind of manage. But having my parents here, a lot of family friends, and then some-some of my friends here as well-I think we had a good cohort between me and Tani [Oluwaseyi]. Of course, when you're the away team, the seats aren't always the best, but feeling them and knowing that they were in the stadium was definitely something that kind of probably gave both of us a little bit of extra push and motivation coming into today."

On his parents becoming Apple TV stars...

"I'll have to tell them to rewind it and pin it when they were there."

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