Midfielder Eduardo Blancas recorded his fifth goal of the season in the 32nd minute, which gave him the team lead. The tally followed Minnesota’s opening goal four minutes prior.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — In its first match outside of California since June 2, The Town FC fell short against Minnesota United FC 2 in a 5-3 shootout following a 1-1 draw in regulation.
Minnesota (5-11-2, 19 points) played down a man for nearly half the game as defender Hugo Bacharach was booked with a red card in the 50th minute. But even with the player advantage, The Town FC (7-6-7, 31 points) struggled to capitalize on offense and finished with just one shot on target.
Midfielder Cruz Medina returned to the lineup for the first time since July 5 as he had spent time with the United States Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team that made it to the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship Final — where he faced off against TTFC teammate goalkeeper Emmanuel Ochoa — who represented Mexico.
Sixteen-year-old forward Chance Cowell — brother of former San Jose Earthquakes forward and current Chivas de Guadalajara star Cade Cowell — made his professional debut after checking into the game in the 84th minute.
The Town found itself trailing in the first half when forward Loïc Mesanvi drilled a shot attempt from deep outside the 18-yard box and past the reach of goalkeeper David Sweeney in the 28th minute. TTFC wouldn’t take long to respond, however, as midfielder Eduardo Blancas would equalize just four minutes later.
Blancas fed off a header from defender Wilson Eisner and tapped in the game-tying goal. Despite the momentum swing, though, Blancas’ tally would be an isolated occurrence for The Town FC’s offense. The goal was his fifth of the year, which leads the team.
Head coach Daniel DeGeer utilized his substitutes to some degree, but even with an extra player and fresh legs, TTFC couldn’t find a game-winning moment in regulation, setting up its seventh shootout appearance of the season.
In the shootout, a misfire from forward Julian Donnery allowed MNUFC2 to take the victory. Minnesota didn’t miss a single shot, giving it two points in the table and moving it to 13th place in the Western Conference.
The result was Sweeney’s first career MLS NEXT Pro shootout loss. Coming off a loss to Portland Timbers (6-6-9, 31 points), The Town FC is yet to win in August following an undefeated July.
Nonetheless, the one point gained in the match keeps TTFC in the playoff picture at seventh in the West. In a conference full of parity and close clashes, wins will continue to come at a premium as the calendar winds down.
The Town will have over a week off before hitting the pitch again. The team’s next match will be at home against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (9-6-5, 34 points), a team that TTFC fell to back on June 2 in a 3-1 match. Given The Town FC’s immense success on familiar turf this season, it will hope to find the win column against a Vancouver squad that is coming off a loss.
The upcoming match will take place at Saint Mary’s Stadium in Moraga on August 18. It will kick off at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
MEDIA ASSETS
Click here to download photos of the match
Click here to watch highlights of the match
MATCH INFORMATION
2024 MLS NEXT Pro Season
Minnesota United FC 2 1[5] – 1[3] The Town FC
Allianz Field
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Scoring Summary:
MNUFC2 (1-0) — L. Mesanvi 28’
TTFC (1-1) — E. Blancas 32’
Misconduct Summary:
MNUFC2 — H. Bacharach (Caution) 14’
MNUFC2 — M. Nyeman (Caution) 33’
TTFC — C. Walls (Caution) 38’
TTFC — C. Medina (Caution) 48’
MNUFC2 — H. Bacharach (Red) 50’
Minnesota United FC 2: C. Irwin (GK), F. McRobb, H. Bacharach, Z. Valentin, D. Taylor (A. Randell – 46’), H. Dotson (K. Romanshyn (C) – 46’), W. Trapp (M. Nyeman – 32’), B. Fischer, S. Shashoua (A. Martinez – 61’), J. Adebayo-Smith, L. Mesanvi (J. Farris – 68’)
Substitutes not used: T. Ibsais, R. O’Driscoll, F. Montali, E. Nieves
SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 13; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 0
The Town FC: D. Sweeney (GK), R. Ibarra (T. Allen – 90 + 1’), C. Walls, A. Cano, W. Eisner (S. Bilter – 66’), B. Leroux (J. Spivey – 66’), E. Mendoza, C. Medina (C) (J. Donnery – 66’), R. Lynch (C. Cowell – 84’), E. Blancas, A. Edwards
Substitutes not used: R. Rajagopal, M. Guerra, O. Hernandez
SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 15; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 2