It’s almost difficult keeping track of all of Minnesota United’s injuries in the midfield – and somehow, they just keep on piling up. “We’re even lighter, if we can be,” said head coach Manny Lagos.

Among the long-term injured, Aaron Pitchkolan remains out with an ankle injury, suffered two weeks ago against Tampa Bay. Max Griffin still has a hamstring issue, one that has kept him out for over a month. Lucas Rodriguez has been battling through a hamstring issue of his own, and is out for tonight’s game in San Antonio.

Now Bryan Arguez, who had just started establishing himself as a key player for the team in central midfield, is again injured, and did not travel to Texas. It’s enough to send you to the roster with one question: who’s left?

The only bit of luck for the team is that Kentaro Takada has returned from his injury problems, and played all 90 minutes in last week’s 3-2 win over Tampa Bay. He and Michael Reed will almost certainly play in central midfield.

Out wide, it’s a different story. Miguel Ibarra remains healthy, but has had a disappointing year so far – no goals, no assists, and just one shot on goal this year, even though he has played almost every minute of the season. On the other side, Simone Bracalello has been the team’s best attacking player in 2013 – but even he is listed as “questionable” on the injury report.

If he can’t play, then it’s probably down to Kevin Venegas, a former winger that was converted to a fullback this year. Venegas came on at halftime for Bracalello last week, and if the Italian winger can’t go, it might again fall to Venegas to fill in.

Healthy(-ier) in the back, still hurting up front

At least the United defense is getting healthier. Captain Kyle Altman “should be good to go” for tonight’s game, according to Lagos. Altman suffered a concussion in training several weeks ago, and some had feared that he might be out for the remainder of the first half of the season – his last games in a Minnesota uniform.

With Connor Tobin is available as well, Cristiano Dias settling in, and Brent Kallman doing well in his first two pro games, Minnesota appears to have plenty to choose from in defense – a luxury they don’t have anywhere else.

Up front, Etienne Barbara is still out with a back injury, but Pablo Campos appears to be healthy for his return to San Antonio, where he was last season’s league MVP.

It’s pronounced “Jayson”

One bright spot for Minnesota has been the re-appearance of forward Geison Moura, who has been in and around the Minnesota team for most of the last three years. Moura, signed on a temporary deal to shore up the squad, scored against Tampa Bay on Saturday, and was the team’s liveliest player after he came on in the second half against Des Moines.

“Essentially this is his secondary business; he’s really sought after as an indoor specialist,” said Lagos. “He’s always trained with us in the offseason, and he’s been part of this team in one way or another the past couple of years.”

Moura played just over four matches’ worth of minutes over the past two years in the NASL, picking up one assist along the way. In indoor, though, he was the 2012 MVP of the Major Indoor Soccer League with Missouri, and scored 17 goals last season for Wichita in just 14 games.

“That type of player, and that transition to sign him, was a no-brainer when we needed some players on the roster,” said Lagos. “He took a little bit of the spring off to get married, and then came back. I think Geison and I have a really good relationship, and we discussed where he was at mentally and whether he could help out – and I think right now, he’s really excited to be part of the team.”

A burgeoning rivalry?

San Antonio coach Tim Hankinson called Minnesota his team’s “greatest rival” on Twitter this week, and it’s true that the teams do have a history. Lagos, however, was not willing to go as far with the rivalry talk. “I’m not very good at saying those things,” he said. “I will say this: all of those games have been great games, very competitive – honest, hard soccer that has produced a lot of excitement. It’s got the pieces in place to become a great rivalry.”

The Scorpions have only been in the league for one season, but San Antonio and Minnesota played six times last year – including twice in the playoffs. The second of those playoff games produced one of the more famous moments in Minnesota’s short NASL history, as Campos – now with Minnesota – headbutted Altman, earning himself a red card and providing the advantage Minnesota needed to upset the league’s best team, 2-1.

Gameday details

Tonight’s game in San Antonio kicks off at 7:30pm. You can watch all the action from your computer, at nasl.com or mnunitedfc.com. If you’re in a social mood, the Dark Clouds – the team’s die-hard fanbase – will be watching at the Nomad World Pub in Minneapolis.

This Saturday, Minnesota United FC visits San Antonio, their first visit to the Scorpions’ new home at Toyota Field. The teams played on opening day this year, drawing 0-0 at the Metrodome.

It’s been a strange year for the Scorpions. On the one hand, they opened a new soccer-specific stadium in San Antonio, probably the nicest facility in the NASL. On the other hand, last year’s regular-season champions are last in the league at the spring season’s halfway point. They’ve also turned over almost all of their front-office staff and seemingly three-quarters of their roster.

In other words, it’s been up and down this year in San Antonio. To find out more, I emailed Chris Hockman, who covers the Scorpions for the San Antonio Soccer Examiner and is a columnist for Soccer Newsday.

1) San Antonio was last year’s league champions, but more than halfway through the spring season, they’re sitting at the bottom of the NASL table. What’s gone wrong in San Antonio?

Where do I start? The club had an awful pre-season, they played two Division 2 Colleges and an NPSL team and that was it. In no way is that preparation for the rigours of NASL play. Communication has really been lacking, while poor pass selection is a trend in NASL – the Scorpions seem to have perfected it this year, often completely bypassing a talented mid-field. They just don’t seem to have any passion this year. Whatever spark was there last year that fired this team up, it’s gone; they don’t seem motivated.

2) I’ve heard some rumblings about front-office upheaval with the Scorpions this year. What’s been going on – and has it hurt the team?

Michael Hitchcock ran the club last year through his PMI company, and was hardly ever in San Antonio. This year they brought in Howard Cornfield and the staff is actually employed by the Scorpions instead of PMI. That’s a good thing. But Howard doesn’t have the soccer experience and contacts that Hitch had, so that may be hurting a bit – but at least he’s not working for Atlanta as well, like Hitch was.

I also think it’s been a money thing. There’s a lot of speculation that Hitch spent too much money (hard to argue, the club brought in guys like [forward, and all-time MLS regular-season goal-scoring leader] Jeff Cunningham but never used him) and perhaps owner Gordon Hartman is looking to save some money, given all profits from the club go to charity. That’s speculation though. I don’t get to look at the figures so I don’t know, but on the surface that seems to be what’s happened. Is it good for the team? Probably in terms of long-term survival – Hitch’s management would likely have run the club broke very quickly… but in terms of results and keeping fans happy, probably not.

3) On Twitter on Wednesday, Scorpions coach Tim Hankinson called Minnesota his team’s “greatest rival.” From the fan’s or the media’s point of view, is there truth to that?

There’s a real rivalry there. It’s hard in NASL – as a journalist I don’t really feel the heat on any teams, it’s hard to hate teams that take you over a day to drive to. But this one is certainly feisty, especially after the playoff games last year and the transfers between the teams. I think Puerto Rico was probably bigger, but given they’re out of the league this year, Minnesota is the biggest rival for San Antonio.

Of course, the second a team comes in this league within 500 miles of San Antonio, that will change; it’s just hard for the fans to hate any team without the geographical reason there, so it’s good to see the Scorpions try and generate one.

4) Now that the stickers have been taken off the Scorpions’ new stadium, how does it look? Anything particularly good or bad that other teams can learn from?

I think it’s a solid stadium, I really like it and it’s great for this level. There are probably not enough restrooms, but that could be said about every stadium. I think the most frustrating thing is that they named some concession stands after David Beckham and Pele. I get that they’re big characters, but why not name them after players that have played for this team – at least Pele has played in San Antonio. There’s a missing elevator at the media entrance which is a little frustrating (especially given I have a leg injury right now), but on the whole it’s great. I’m trying to think of something really positive to point out for teams to imitate but it’s just a generally good stadium. I think the locker-room facilities are solid, a second smaller locker-room for the coach to give tactical talks is a cool move and I don’t see a ton of that in the US stadiums.

5) San Antonio brought in a handful of new players this offseason. After seven games, who has been the biggest standout among them?

I joke that the Cosmos had more players on their books than the Scorpions did one month out from the season – but it’s not far from the truth, this is almost a completely new squad.

Midfielder Bryan Jordan really is a cut above this team and this league; I feel for the guy, he wouldn’t be in NASL if he hadn’t been with the LA Galaxy, competing for a spot against Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, and Beckham; no one is going to beat those guys out. In terms of the Eastern Europeans – midfielder Edin Husic has been the most impressive. I looked at some videos of his when he was signed, and the kid has a lethal left boot that we’re really starting to see, I think he could be the dominant player in the Spring season if the Scorpions can pull it together.

6) How much does San Antonio miss the players that Minnesota signed for this season?

The fans certainly do. I personally thought Pablo Campos was overrated, much to the frustration of the fans. Daryl Sattler is missed, but Jeremy Vuolo seems to be doing well since he’s gotten some starts at goalkeeper. I spoke to Coach Hankinson before the season about it, and he said that he would have liked Campos- but it sounded like he didn’t like the Scorpions offer, and I don’t know if he’s worth what I heard he was asking. Hankinson said Aaron Pitchkolan would only have been a substitute, which surprised me; he seems exactly the kind of player this team could use, and I certainly miss him.

Campos has really been a surprise to me this year. Last year he took 100 shots and scored one-in-ten and would never pass. This year he seems more choosy with his shots and is actually passing the ball! I think it’s an easy excuse though. You look at this team on paper and I think they covered well for the three – except for maybe Campos, they didn’t really get the striker they needed. But Vuolo was an able replacement for Sattler, and I’d take Phelan for Pitchkolan any day. I think that’s what makes this season so disappointing for Hankinson. This squad, on paper, is better than last year’s squad, but for whatever readon they just aren’t producing.

 

My thanks go to Chris for explaining everything about the Scorpions.

NOTE: This appeared first at SoccerCentric.

On Sunday, I was in Kansas City, to watch Sporting KC play Houston in an afternoon matinee. Friend of the blog Michael Rand wrote about the experience for Page 2, but a short summary: the atmosphere was electric, and so many people showed up that it was a good thing the game started late or, thanks to traffic, we would have missed the opening 15 minutes.

Michael attempted to capture the experience, to quantify it as part of a discussion about whether Major League Soccer is a “major” sport. By television dollars, it’s on the fence; by average salary, it’s near the line; attendance is high, but you can find areas to quibble there. Ulitmately, I’d agree that MLS is not yet on the level of the four “major” professional leagues in North America, in that the league isn’t yet awash in the sea of money that follows the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB around.

That atmosphere, though. If you had been there on Sunday, you wouldn’t question whether MLS is a “major” league, because to me and to the other 20,875 people in Sporting Park, it felt like nothing but. I’ve been to Seattle and Kansas City this year, two of the best atmospheres in MLS, and there’s no doubt left in my mind that it’s a major league. And it kills me that some soccer fans seem to see the MLS, or following a European club team, as their only chance to be part of that.

The announcement of the design for the new Vikings stadium brought a fresh round of speculation about the possibility of MLS coming to Minnesota. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to see a major-league team here someday – but having an MLS team is not a precondition of having an atmosphere like the one that I experienced in Seattle, or in Kansas City. Minnesota already has a team – one that regular blog readers will be familiar with – and there’s no reason that going to a United game couldn’t have that same atmosphere.

Yes, United’s league – the second-divison North American Soccer League – is not on the level of MLS. But the skill level has nothing to do with the fan experience; there were no fans in Kansas City on Sunday that enjoyed the game less because the play was not quite on the level of the Premier League or La Liga.

What I’m trying to say is this: if you’re a soccer fan, you would have enjoyed the game on Sunday. You would have enjoyed the chanting, jumping, screaming die-hards in the Members Stand, whether you were one of them or just another fan in the stands. Major league or not, Sunday’s game is the kind of thing you want to be a part of.

There’s no reason that same atmosphere can’t come to Minnesota, with or without an MLS team. But you, the soccer fan – you have to show up. It’s not going to happen if you stay home and wait.

Goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel will make his first league start of the season tonight for Minnesota United FC, following a strong performance Tuesday night in the US Open Cup.

Van Oekel was the team’s regular goalkeeper for most of 2012, but lost his starting spot this season to free-agent pickup Daryl Sattler. Tuesday, though, he made two of the team’s best saves of the season against Des Moines; in the first half, he had to backpedal to tip away a long shot that was destined for the top corner, and in the second, he managed to keep out a header from point-blank range, getting down low to his right to push a shot around the post.

Tampa Bay scored three goals last week against Sattler – including one in which he tried to punch the ball out of danger but knocked it straight to Rowdies midfielder Shane Hill, who scored. Even last week, Sattler blamed himself. “At the end of the day, I’m the last man back there,” he said after the game.

The injuries pile up

Every week, it seems like one or two more players end up on the injury report for United. This week, it’s center back Kevin Friedland and midfielder Lucas Rodriguez who are out for Saturday, in addition to the long list of previously injured players.

Center back Connor Tobin, who has missed the last three weeks with an ankle injury, is with the team and is in a late battle to be ready for the game. If he can’t go, presumably Brent Kallman – whose first professional game was last Tuesday – will start at center back alongside Cristiano Dias, as Kyle Altman remains out with a concussion.

In the midfield, Aaron Pitchkolan remains with an ankle injury. Simone Bracalello, like Tobin, is also questionable, and with Max Griffin still recovering from a hamstring injury of his own, without Rodriguez the team is a little short of wingers. Michael Reed and Bryan Arguez will likely start again in the center, but if Bracalello can’t go, the team will have to mix and match out wide.

Up front, Etienne Barbara is also out. Tuesday, Pablo Campos and Geison Moura – who is on a three-week contract – combined well after Moura came on in the second half. If Moura doesn’t get a place in the starting lineup, Travis Wall could be in line for another start.

Gameday details

Tonight’s game is at 6:30 pm, Central time. You can watch at United’s official site. Tampa is tied for first with 11 points; Minnesota is in fourth with eight.