If you haven’t seen it already, check out David La Vaque’s game preview story today. It’s got some good quotes from Justin Davis and Aaron Pitchkolan about the next eleven days of United’s season, the busiest stretch they’ll have all year.

Today, Minnesota takes on Tampa Bay at the Dome. Tuesday, they’ll play the Des Moines Menace in the US Open Cup, at Robbie Stadium. Saturday, they play Tampa Bay again, this time on the road. The following Tuesday, if they beat Des Moines, they travel to play Sporting Kansas City of MLS.

That’s four potential games in eleven days. In past seasons, with a 28-game league season, United might have sent out a less-than-full-strength side for one or both league games, in the hopes of using the first team for the Open Cup games. But this year, with the twelve-game spring season, the team can’t afford the risk of league losses.

“We’ve got the US Open Cup coming up. The Open Cup’s important, now the first season is important, where do you put your chips?” said defender / assistant coach Kevin Friedland. “I don’t think you can afford to not put them in both baskets. Last year during the Open Cup, we basically sent the second team out for two games. We got two results, we got two 0-0 away draws, which is a good result – especially given that it was essentially our second set of guys. I don’t know how we’re going to handle that coming up.”

It’ll be interesting to see what the team sheets look like over the next two weeks. I’d be surprised if United didn’t play a full-strength side today, given that they’ve had a full week of practice at home – but I suspect there will be a lot of rotation for the three that follow.

Injury report

United has listed three players as “questionable” on their injury report. Center back Connor Tobin is still dealing with the ankle injury that has kept him out of the past two games; Kentaro Takada, who missed last week in Fort Lauderdale, is still affected by his ankle injury, too. Max Griffin is also listed as questionable with the recurring hamstring problem that has limited him to just one game this season.

Midfielder Bryan Arguez, however, finally made his season debut in Fort Lauderdale, coming on for the second half in United’s 2-1 loss to the Strikers. He looked effective, and I would not be too surprised to see him get an increasing number of minutes over the next stretch of games.

More on the Open Cup

I’m really getting into the Open Cup spirit – so much so that I penned a column for the RandBall blog about how it needs to be expanded to at least one other sport. Bruce McGuire of du Nord also put together a quick history of Minnesota’s appearances in the tournament, a fascinating trip down memory lane.

When last we saw the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Twin Cities, Minnesota was beating them 2-0 in the first leg of the NASL championship series. The next week, though, the Rowdies turned around the two-goal deficit, winning 3-1 and then prevailing on penalties to snatch the title from Minnesota.

Now, the two teams are among a host of title contenders for the spring season, with both teams tied for second place, three points behind Carolina. Saturday, Tampa Bay comes to Minnesota; the following Saturday, United makes the return trip.

To help educate us about the Rowdies, I talked to Mike Manganello, who covers the Rowdies for the Tampa Tribune, and who can be found on Twitter at @MikeManganello. He was nice enough to answer a few questions.

1. Did the NASL title help Tampa, in terms of attendance and popularity and coverage locally?

I’m not sure the NASL title helped the Rowdies. Through three home games this year, Tampa Bay’s average attendance is 3,740, just above last year’s average attendance of 3,116. Their home form has been awful — two points from three games — but if the Rowdies can really get rolling at home, attendance should go up. I think more people locally know of the Rowdies than last year, but they haven’t necessarily started coming to games yet.

2. The Rowdies and Fort Lauderdale talk up their rivalry – how much of that is an honest rivalry between the teams, and how much is the two clubs just trying to manufacture a “derby”?

I think the Tampa Bay-Fort Lauderdale rivalry is more for the hardcore fans than the casual fans or organizations. Fans of both teams certainly get up for those games and generally despise the other city, but I’m not sure the players themselves really care. That may change though, considering Rowdies forward Georgi Hristov reportedly ruptured Strikers goalkeeper Cody Laurendi’s spleen in a collision last month. Of course, that left Fort Lauderdale a goalkeeper short, so they went and got Rowdies legend Tampa Bay fan-favorite Jeff Attinella on loan from Real Salt Lake. The Strikers’ visit on July 4th could be … explosive.

You could make a case that the players consider Minnesota a bigger rival than Fort Lauderdale, given their playoff history.

3. Is midfielder Luke Mulholland the league’s best player?

I’m not sure Luke Mulholland is the NASL’s best player yet, but could walk into the starting eleven for any team in the league and he’s probably the most exciting player to watch. His footwork is clinical, his creativity is unparalleled and he has amazing touch with the ball. Sometimes he’s not quite quick enough to get back when an attack breaks down, but he eventually gets there. His free kicks are something to watch too. It was ultimately in a loss, but his first half against Atlanta was special. He got an assist with a knockdown header, scored from open play and then score from a free kick in the span of 35 minutes.

4. Other than Mulholland, who should Minnesota fans keep an eye on over the next couple of weeks?

If you want to see good players, watch the Rowdies’ wide midfielders. Evans Frimpong on the left and Raphael Cox are both undersized and play with that extra bit of grit because of it. Both work hard on both ends of the field and never stop running. They’re a very fun pair to watch.

For pure entertainment, watch the disaster that has been Rowdies goalkeepers. After opening the year with two clean sheets, Andrew Fontein was quickly benched after allowing twice being caught way off his line in an ugly 4-3 home loss to Atlanta. His replacement, Diego Restrepo, is very adventurous, often chasing the ball outside the box and relying on goal-line clearances from his defenders. It’s a position of real concern for Tampa Bay.

5. Much has been made about Orlando’s MLS ambitions. Is Tampa looking the same way – and if so, would the league ever go back there, after the folding of the Mutiny in 2001?

I don’t think Tampa is nearly as concerned with getting into MLS as Orlando is. Orlando City already has the committed ownership group with the financial power to make the jump, support from the city and stadium plans in place if MLS gives the go-ahead. The Rowdies are still struggling to get local support to begin planning a stadium and I think new investors would have to be brought aboard for the Rowdies to seriously consider trying to get into MLS. If Orlando City’s setup was in Tampa, MLS wouldn’t hesitate to bring them in. Tampa is actually a much larger media market than Orlando and the biggest in Florida, bigger even than Miami. For now though, Orlando and Miami seem to be way ahead of Tampa in the MLS arms race and this state won’t ever have three teams.

The winter of 2013 will go down in history as the Winter That Wouldn’t End – and now, its lingering effects are causing problems for outdoor soccer, even in mid-May.

Minnesota United FC plays its first game in the US Open Cup next Tuesday, and had planned to play at the National Sports Center in Blaine. The field at the NSC stadium, however, is in terrible shape after the winter – and the NSC has recommended that United stay off it, lest it be damaged for the remainder of the year.

No location for next Tuesday’s game has been finalized, though team sources say that it is very likely that the game will be played at the University of Minnesota’s Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium, in Falcon Heights near the U of M St. Paul Campus.

If United wins, they would have a chance of hosting a Major League Soccer team the following Tuesday, May 28. If they do host that game, it would be played at the Metrodome.

If Minnesota also wins that game, they would again have a chance to host the following game, which would not take place until June 12.

The team still needs to finalize stadium plans, and clear the venue change with US Soccer, which administers the US Open Cup.

Robbie Stadium has seating for only 1,000 spectators, as well as standing-room-only areas at the top of the stands and around the field. Through three games at the Metrodome – albeit for NASL games, and on Saturdays – United has averaged 5,238 fans per game.

United takes on Fort Lauderdale tonight at 6:30, in a matchup of a team that’s tied for first and a team that’s alone in last. Here’s David La Vaque’s preview of the game. If you’re looking to watch tonight, you can do so at the NASL website.

It sounds strange to say, just four games into the year, but Fort Lauderdale already seems like a team with nothing left to lose. With six teams above them in the standings and eight games to go in the spring season, the Strikers may well be adopting more of a role as a spoiler.

United head coach Manny Lagos knows well that this could make the home team even more dangerous in south Florida tonight. “I think we have to be aware that we’re going to play a team that’s going to be hungry to get a result,” he said. “We have to make sure from the get-go that we are ready to match and exceed their intensity and their workrate, and from that, play good soccer.”

The Strikers, shaky in goal this year, will depend on loanee Jeff Atinella, who was the best keeper in the league last year for Tampa Bay before catching on with Real Salt Lake in MLS this year. On the one hand, you can wonder how effective Atinella will be, given that he’s only been with Fort Lauderdale for a couple of days. On the other hand, the same was true of Carolina’s Enzo Martinez, and he scored the game-tying goal last week.

The return of the US Open Cup

This year marks the 100th edition of the US Open Cup, a knockout tournament that includes all levels of American soccer. United, being in the second division, enters the tournament in the second round of the competition; MLS teams enter in the third round.

The first round (following, of course, a bunch of qualifying rounds for amateur teams) takes place on Tuesday. Minnesota will face the winner of the first-round match between the Des Moines Menace of the USL Pro Development League, and the Madison 56ers of the National Premier Soccer League – two leagues that are generally considered to be in the fourth tier of American soccer. Minnesota played Des Moines last year in the tournament as well, beating them 2-0 in the second round.

United’s first match is Tuesday, May 21, and will be played at home. It’s a key match for the team, as the winner moves on to the third round, where they will play an MLS team – and, with the possible exception of the NASL league finals, there’s no game that United’s players are more excited to play than a game against an MLS team.

You might want to keep Tuesday, May 28 open on your calendar. If United wins, and if they win the coin flip to host in the third round, an MLS team of some kind will be coming to town.

Injury report

Defender Connor Tobin is set to miss his second straight week of action with an ankle sprain. He’s been walking around fairly normally – no walking boot, no limp, but has a ways to go before his ankle is ready for game action.

Midfielder Kentaro Takada has also been bit by the ankle-sprain bug; he turned his ankle on Monday, and didn’t make the trip to Fort Lauderdale as a result. Striker Max Griffin also did not travel, as he is still dealing with a hamstring injury suffered in the run-up to the Atlanta game two weeks ago.

Midfielder Bryan Arguez, however, could make his season debut tonight for United. He was on the bench last week against Carolina, though he didn’t play, but we could very well see him play tonight.