In 2023, Minnesota United had four goalkeepers on its first-team roster – overkill, perhaps, but an acknowledgement that no team ever wants to run short of keepers.

This year, the Loons went with a different plan: two goalkeepers on the MLS roster, two more signed to their MLS NEXT Pro roster.

Though they knew that starter Dayne St. Clair would likely miss some time with the Canadian national team during Copa América, they had MLS veteran Clint Irwin ready to fill in, plus Alec Smir and former Homegrown player Fred Emmings signed with MNUFC2 and eligible for short-term backup duty.

All that could go wrong was a few poorly-timed injuries – which, in this month of cascading roster disasters, is of course exactly what happened.

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A key theme of this Minnesota United season has been the constant presence of young players around the first team. Fans have seen eight players make their MLS debuts this year, all new acquisitions or players from MNUFC2, the second team.

The only issue: Many of those players have yet to make their mark, meaning that the Loons — losers of four straight games, heading into Wednesday night’s home game against Vancouver — still have significant depth problems during their biggest roster crunch of the year.

read the rest at StarTribune.com…

Kervin Arriaga has been one of the breakout players for Minnesota United this season – so much so that he’s now moving to play under even brighter lights in Europe.

The 26-year-old Honduran is joining Serbian giants FK Partizan, for a mid-six-figure transfer fee, one that could increase depending on Partizan’s success. The Belgrade club, 27 times league champions, will attempt again this year to dethrone cross-town rivals Crvena zvedza – better known here as Red Star Belgrade – for the first time since 2016-17.

Partizan is also in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, with their first game set for July 23rd or 24th; they would need to win three rounds of play-offs to make it into the 36-team group stage.

I tell you all this because it’s the beginning of trying to explain something that doesn’t make immediate sense: why would Minnesota United sell Kervin Arriaga?

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Forgive me for a link dump; sometimes it’s the only way I can remember what I’ve written.

May 18: Minnesota United beats Portland on Sang Bin Jeong’s first goal of season

Analysis: Minnesota United add another club in Caden Clark’s bag as he plays backline

May 22: Are Minnesota United, Emanuel Reynoso moving closer to a split?

May 24: How Minnesota United coach Eric Ramsay’s simple formation shift led to big success

May 25: Minnesota United settles for 3-3 draw at Colorado after coughing up two-goal lead

Analysis: Minnesota United’s Eric Ramsay learns Colorado conditions are primed for chaos

May 29: Minnesota United shut out 2-0 at LAFC to end unbeaten streak

Minnesota United reality check: Three rough halves show Loons not yet MLS title contenders

May 31: With Emanuel Reynoso gone, Minnesota United must think long-term

June 1: Minnesota United gets back to winning ways by topping Sporting Kansas City 3-1

Analysis: Minnesota United follows through on Eric Ramsay’s plan, pushing wingbacks further up the field

June 4: Minnesota United’s depth chart is a shell of itself with international call-ups, injuries

June 7: With Minnesota United winning more at Allianz Field, coach Eric Ramsay sees similarities to Old Trafford

June 8: Shorthanded Minnesota United draws 1-1 with FC Dallas

Analysis: It’s a night for debuts, and Minnesotans, for Minnesota United at Allianz Field

June 14: Minnesota United shows there’s more to statistical picture than expected goals

June 15: Loons add another ‘L’ to lifetime losing streak in Seattle – Twin Cities

June 18: Minnesota United at FC Dallas: Keys to the match, projected starting XI and a prediction – Twin Cities

June 19: Short-handed Loons drop 5-3 match in Dallas – Twin Cities

June 21: Minnesota United at Austin FC: Keys to the match, projected starting XI and a prediction – Twin Cities

June 22: MN United lose Dotson to yellow cards and fall 1-0 to Austin FC

For the first time this year, Minnesota United is playing two games in a week, with the LA Galaxy Wednesday and the Portland Timbers on Saturday. And so it’s been rather a busy week for me, with covering both games, and trying to write some setup articles as well, for the Star Tribune.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

Tuesday: Minnesota United’s designated players have the talent to match the LA Galaxy - but not the production - For once, Minnesota’s designated players are perhaps even bigger names than those in Los Angeles. Their production - especially the AWOL Emanuel Reynoso - can’t match up, though.

Wednesday: Late header by Kervin Arriaga earns Minnesota United 2-2 draw with LA Galaxy - The Loons played a great first half, but still had to come from behind in the second half to rescue a draw.

Thursday: Minnesota United’s draw with the LA Galaxy was a tale of two halves - The analysis from Wednesday night’s game, including a ton of quotes about how the Loons defended Riqui Puig, and why they’re so good on set pieces.

Friday: Much like Ted Lasso, new Minnesota United coach Eric Ramsay doesn’t talk about winning - “I’m genuinely not a coach that’s going to talk about winning all that often.” You don’t see a lot of coaches talking like this - well, one fictional coach, and one Minnesota manager, at least.

Again, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who’s been reading. It means a lot.

I’ve been writing articles like this one about Minnesota United for a long time, because I’m endlessly fascinated by numbers in sports, and how they can help explain what we’re seeing, and whether they match up with what we’re seeing.

One of the best things about right now is that now I can not only dig into the numbers, but also I can go and ask the people involved about them, too.

We can see from the numbers that the Loons go long from goal kicks a lot, more than the average team. Why? What are they hoping to gain? What are they aiming for?

Anyway, I hope you’ll read my latest Star Tribune piece, talking about where the Loons rank in MLS in a whole host of different things, what that says about who they’re shaping up to be as a team - and what the people involved think about it.

I was on Star Tribune duty for Minnesota United’s 2-1 win at Atlanta, the fourth Loons road win of the year.

Here’s the game story.

Here’s the postgame analysis, including talk about first-half long-ball tactics, end-of-game scrambling, and Robin Lod.

As always, thank you so much for clicking these links and reading this coverage. It helps!

First of all, I would like to thank the Minnesota Timberwolves, for dispatching the Phoenix Suns - not just because it was great to see the Wolves win a playoff series for the first time in a couple of decades, but because it’s extending out my run covering Minnesota United for the Star Tribune.

It’s also been a couple of weeks since I sent out a post here with all of what I’ve been writing, which is a nice chance to sort of look back on a couple of weeks of coverage. So here are some links:

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The Loons went on the road and dominated Charlotte, winning 3-0. I covered it for the Star Tribune.

Again, please check out the expanded game coverage, and let me know what you think. The story on the web is longer than the story in print, in order to fit in more quotes and analysis from postgame.

Ahead of MNUFC’s game with Charlotte FC, I wrote about how Michael Boxall has become the Loons’ leader. Plus, a look at how Eric Ramsay approaches halftime, and a complaint about the MLS schedule.

I have yet to get any data about how many people are reading the coverage, but the social media response has been positive, so I’m hopeful. Thank you to everyone who’s gone out of their way to read - it means a lot.