Minnesota United scratches out 1

If coaches and players are rationalizing after a soccer match, odds are high they did not win.

That continued to be the case for Minnesota United at Allianz Field on Sunday; the Loons were hurt and helped by Seattle Sounders center back Yeimar, who scored for both teams in a 1-1 draw in St. Paul.

Minnesota (8-8-8, 32 points) can find some satisfaction with the one point netted because the Loons trailed Seattle in the first half, the Sounders entered the match with an MLS-low 25 goals allowed this season, and MNUFC have historically struggled against the Sounders.

“We got to take the positive from (Sunday) in how well we played,” said Hassani Dotson, who moved around to three different positions.

MNUFC’s brutal all-time MLS record against Seattle improved ever so slightly to 1-11-2, but they ended a streak of four straight defeats since July 2021. The Loons have a minus-18 goal differential since 2017, and the Sounders are the only Western Conference club the Loons have not beaten more than once.

“We were looking at this game that we were expecting to get the three points,” Michael Boxall said. “In years past, that’s maybe not been the case against other, stronger Seattle teams. We weren’t able to capitalize.”

Seattle (10-9-8, 37 points) is currently winless in its past four MLS matches.

“Thought we deserved more than we got out of it,” coach Adrian Heath said. “There have been a lot of positives (Sunday). I wish we would have won the game like everybody else, but there is some good stuff coming out of the 90 minutes.”

Sunday’s first half boiled down to two headers; Seattle made the most of it, and Minnesota missed its best chance.

In the 17th minute, Yeimar won a free header in the box between the Loons’ Michael Boxall and Micky Tapias, and it went past goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair for a 1-0 lead. It was Seattle’s only shot on target in the first half.

The Loons’ goal concession came one minute and nine seconds after D.J. Taylor kept a ball in the defensive box, forcing his team to defend longer and needing Tapias to clear a ball off the goal line.

In the 37th minute, Boxall was fed a chipped cross from Emanuel Reynoso, but the Loons’ center back put his nodded shot over the crossbar. He was in disbelief as the Allianz Field crowd groaned.

“I just royally (expletive) that one up,” Boxall said. “Obviously, again, Rey, the perfect ball in. I just (jumped) early, and your eyes lit up and you just feel like you have so much time. Just messed it up completely.”

Yeimar headed in Reynoso’s dangerous free kick into the six-yard box for an own goal in the 56th minute to tie the score 1-1.

The goal was vital with leading scorer Bongi Hlongwane out with a knee injury, Reynoso less than 100 percent with an ankle knock and Teemu Pukki’s goalless drought reaching 687 minutes across MLS and Leagues Cup matches since he scored his only goal for Minnesota against Houston on July 12. He had only one shot Sunday.

“He’s fighting himself a little bit at the moment,” Heath said. “I said to him, you’ve got to enjoy playing football and do everything that you have always done. … He wants to do well so badly that he’s probably overthinking it at the moment.

“I’ve got no qualms that he will deliver goals.”

Heath continued to favor having traditional center midfielders play on the wing, with Hassani Dotson and Joseph Rosales there Sunday, but right winger Ismael Tajouri-Shradi subbed in the 65th and helped the Loons have 10 more shots than Seattle (16-6).

The Loons have now reached 20 points dropped at home this season (2-2-7), and they play host to last-place Colorado on Wednesday.

“Another one at home, we need to be picking up three points,” Boxall said. “I feel like I’ve repeated that a lot.”

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