Minnesota United’s season came crashing to an end on Alan Valasco’s penalty kick goal late Monday night.
After a roller coaster ride in which a playoff spot wasn’t locked up until the final day of the regular season, the Loons’ chances came down to 90 minutes that turned into 120 and then some Monday night against Dallas in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
In a valiantly fought match that tested an oft-injured MNUFC side’s stamina, the home FC Dallas were forced into penalty kicks where they converted all five attempts while captain Wil Trapp’s lone miss for the Loons proved fatal to the season.
🙌 @FCDallas advances to the Conference Semifinal after defeating Minnesota United FC in PKs with a panenka! 🎯
Relive all the @Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs action in our 90' in 90"! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Fvy2avdVtR
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 18, 2022
That leaves the Loons players, front office and fans staring at the offseason and what comes next for the Minnesota side. Here are five questions that need answering this offseason.
1. Who will MNUFC bring in at CB to provide youth and depth?
Minnesota’s defensive core has improved over the years through consistency and better talent. That consistency has is now aging players as the Loons top three center backs Michael Boxall, Bakaye DiBassy and Brent Kallman are all in their 30s (34, 33, 32). That’s not terribly old for that position but age caught up to the Loons this season with Boxall losing half a step, DiBassy suffering a brutal injury in August that will keep him out for the majority of next season, and Kallman at times proving why he was favored for more of a depth role instead of a starting job.
There will be a number of free agent center backs coming on the market this year. Most notable among them is New York’s Aaron Long. The Loons may be priced out of his market due to expected Designated Player status and do they really want to pay a lot of money for another 30-year-old center back who is coming off an injury that looks to have sapped the speed that made him a unique threat at the position? Unlikely.
With the expected absence of DiBassy for much of next season the Loons front office will have to spend considerable time filling out the center back room in the depth and starter roles.
2. What does Adrian Heath do about the forward position?
The black hole of the roster since the team’s inception into MLS has been the center forward where the squad has not been able to find consistent quality in six years. Fan favorite Christian Ramirez scored 14 goals his first season but his production fell off before eventually being moved in a mid-season trade. Since then MNUFC have employed a healthy number of players at the position, never really finding the guy.
After a shaky start to the season it looked like Luis Amarilla, in his second stint with the club, was going to be that guy when he scored seven goals in 12 matches. Amarilla then fell off the face of the planet not finding the back of the net in the Loons’ final seven regular season games and not even registering a single shot in the playoff loss to Dallas.
🇵🇾 dynamic duo 🇵🇾 pic.twitter.com/LJAbtvY5zq
— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) August 27, 2022
The contract would be expensive to bench but Amarilla hasn’t proved consistent enough over the course of a season to be the forward for a team that aspires to compete for trophies. There will be options on the forward market for sure but the Loons’ cap space makes that tough and whether the owner wants to shell out another chunk of change for a striker is a question that’s certainly got to be asked.
3. What is the plan at goalkeeper?
Minnesota started the season with Tyler Miller at starting keeper but after he came up sick before the third game of the season Dayne St. Clair took over and never looked back.
St. Clair was drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2019 and it was hoped that he would become the goalkeeper of the future. It took a couple years but this season St. Clair finally took those reigns full time, playing well enough to earn an All-Star nod and even winning the All-Star Game MVP award.
starships were meant to fly pic.twitter.com/UofzTRbcVE
— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) August 11, 2022
The young Canadian played well enough to be widely considered a lock for Canada’s World Cup squad next month.
That leaves the question of what to do with Tyler Miller. The club have an option on his contract but you can’t ask an experienced keeper like Miller, who has proven good enough to be a starter on just about any MLS side, to be benchwarmer again. You don’t want to let him walk either, so a trade will presumably have to be in the works for the 29-year-old keeper.
Miller’s value on the trade market could help shore one or two of the issues on this list or it could bring cap maneuverability to help in those areas. It seems quite obvious that Miller won’t be in Black and Blue next season but how it happens is still to be seen.
4. What will MNUFC do in the midfield?
The Loons’ midfield is one of the deepest positions on the roster but it’s also one that has a lot of questions about who will play each week.
Adrian Heath favors a two man midfield, which doesn’t leave a lot of spots to fight over in a position group that employed no less than six guys this season.
This almost becomes a question within a question as the first thing that needs to be solved is whether Robin Lod is full time starter in the midfield or if he goes back into the attack. Lod has scored 22 regular season goals in his four years in Minnesota. That makes him valuable in the attack with his movement and ball skills but he also proved incredibly invaluable this season going back into the midfield when injuries decimated the Loons. Lod’s vision, passing and physicality made him a dynamic threat in the midfield, opening up different routes for the ball to move from defense to offense.
Captain Wil Trapp was brought in to take over league legend Ozzie Alonso and has filled in quite well in the defensive-minded midfielder role. He’s proved to be a valuable leader in the locker room and on the field and figures to be back in a similar role next year.
The Loons lost Jacori Hayes and Hassani Dotson to season-ending injuries and they’ll figure to be back in the mix in 2023, Hayes as depth and Dotson as a jack-of-all-trades with starter quality.
Then there’s the question of what the club wants to do with Jonathan Gonzalez, who they brought in in August on loan. Gonzalez showed flashes of the talent that sparked a recruiting war for his services between Mexico and the US a couple years ago and is young enough to regain that form.
Rosales ➡️ Gonzaléz ➡️ GOAL pic.twitter.com/DJ6eFg6AaK
— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) October 9, 2022
5. The right side of the field showed promise but is it the long-term answer?
When Romain Metanire’s injuries started in preseason it was figured he’d be out for a couple games, but his rehab hit bumps in the road, never allowing one of the league’s best right backs to return. Metanire’s injury this season and his age (32) don’t indicate a long-term future for him at the role.
D.J. Taylor proved to be the club’s most improved player with his fill-in role at the right back position. Taylor was signed before the 2021 season as a depth piece from at the time second division North Carolina FC. In his first season with the club Taylor only made eight appearances with Metanire starting, but in 2022 he took over starting duties and proved to be a quality replacement on defense. Is he the future at the position? That’s yet to be decided as the club brought in Alan Benetiz in August but quickly went back to Taylor after Benetiz proved to be a defensive liability.
you could say Rey put that one
🎶 deep in the heart of texas 🎶53' | #MNUFC | #DALvMIN pic.twitter.com/cVdhSNVnXe
— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) October 18, 2022
The other player on the right side that’s up for debate is Bongokuhle Hlongwane at right wing. The South African winger was brought in as a developmental piece but quickly figured into the starting spots after impressing in preseason. In his debut season with the club he scored two goals and registered four assists in just over 1,500 minutes of regular season play. He showed the raw talent that excited the MNUFC front office but can he harness that to fit into the attack full time and push Robin Lod into the midfield?
