St. Louis led 2-0 inside 10 minutes in St. Paul. Then the Loons scored three unanswered — and Marcus Caldeira finished the job in the 86th.
By The Beat Writer — CelebnMusic247
Nineteen matches is a long time to not lose a soccer game. It ended in six frantic minutes of disbelief in St. Paul on Saturday, when the Minnesota United St. Louis City 3-2 final delivered a stunner: Minnesota United rallied from 2-0 down to snap the visitors’ 19-match unbeaten streak, per the Associated Press report via Sportsnet.
The start could not have gone worse for the home side. Rafael Navarro scored unassisted in the fourth minute, then assisted Jeong Sang-bin’s second goal of the season in the tenth, and St. Louis City (14-6-10) carried that 2-0 lead through halftime looking every bit the team that had not lost in months.
Minnesota’s rally began with Aziel Jackson, who finished assists from Kelvin Yeboah and Bongokuhle Hlongwane for his first goal of the season. Yeboah’s fingerprints stayed all over the comeback — he has now contributed to a goal in bunches during this stretch — and the pressure kept building until Marcus Caldeira scored in the 86th minute to complete the turnaround and send the home crowd into the kind of noise usually reserved for playoff nights. Comebacks were the weekend’s theme across sports — Cole Caufield scored twice, including the overtime winner, for the Canadiens.
Minnesota United St. Louis City 3-2: What the Comeback Means
The standings math makes the result more than a vibes win. Minnesota (8-12-10) has lived in the league’s crowded middle all season, and beating the conference’s most consistent side — from two goals down, late — is the sort of result a team points to in the locker room for weeks. San José State’s 11-sack defensive masterpiece against UTEP was another statement win. For St. Louis, the loss is survivable; the streak was bound to end somewhere. Ending it after leading 2-0 inside ten minutes is the part that will sting on the flight home.
Unbeaten runs die in one of two ways: quietly, or like this. St. Paul chose the loud option.
Sources: Associated Press via BVM Sports
