MNUFC2 Loses 2-1 in Hard-Fought Match against North Texas SC
September 3, 2022 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro) – Minnesota United FC 2 News Release
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — MNUFC2 competed in a hard-fought match against North Texas SC on Saturday night to keep its playoff hope alive, but the Loons’ lone goal from Aziel Jackson wasn’t enough as Minnesota fell 2-1 at Allianz Field and were officially eliminated from MLS NEXT Pro playoffs contention.
MNUFC2 had solid control during the majority of the first 15 minutes of the match against North Texas, but the opposing side took advantage of open space in the box to score the opening goal in the 12th minute. Throughout the first half, the Loons recorded 11 shots (five on target), but finished the first 45 minutes without a goal. In the first minutes of the second half, Minnesota found its breakthrough when forward Tani Oluwaseyi connected a pass with midfielder Aziel Jackson in the box. Jackson finished the shot and scored the equalizer in the 49th minute. But, North Texas once again found their way behind the Loons back line and maneuvered a few passes in the box, with Isaiah Parker scoring the go-ahead goal, giving the visiting side the 2-1 advantage that remained as the final score.
With the loss, MNUFC2 remains in the sixth position in the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference standings (8-9-5, 33 points) and is officially eliminated from playoff contention.
MNUFC2 next travels west to face Timbers2 on Sunday, September 11 at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon. Kick is set for 4:00 p.m. CT, and the contest will be streamed live at www.mlsnextpro.com.
GOALS
0-1 NTX – Bernard Kamungo, Assist by Collin Smith (12′)
1-1 MIN – Aziel Jackson, Assist by Tani Oluwaseyi (49′)
1-2 NTX – Isaiah Parker, Assist by Bernard Kamungo (55′)
DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
Yellow, MIN – Ignacio Gutierrez (25′)
Yellow, NTX – Jose Mulato (45’+1′)
Yellow, NTX – Collin Smith (46′)
Yellow, MIN – Ignacio Gutierrez (63′)
Yellow, NTX – Antonio Carrera (90’+1′)
NOTABLE STATS
9 – MNUFC2 midfielder Aziel Jackson made nine key passes against North Texas SC. Jackson leads MLS NEXT Pro in that category with 62 total chances created.
9 – Jackson scored his ninth goal of the regular season and his tied for the team lead with forward Tommy Williamson.
23 – The Loons outshot North Texas 24-10 on Saturday night. Nine were on target for Minnesota.
TEAM LEADERS (Updated through September 3)
Goals – Aziel Jackson and Tommy Williamson (9)
Assists – Aziel Jackson (7)
Saves – Fred Emmings (45)
Wins – Fred Emmings & Alec Smir (3)
Shutouts – Eric Dick (2)
MLS NEXT PRO STANDINGS, WESTERN CONFERENCE (Through September 3)
(W,L,D, points) SOW*
1. x-St. Louis CITY 2 (15-5-2, 48 points) 1
2. s-Tacoma Defiance (13-5-4, 46 points) 3
3. Houston Dynamo 2 (13-4-5, 46 points) 2
4. North Texas SC (13-5-5, 43 points) 2
5. Earthquakes II (10-8-3, 34 points) 1
6. e-MNUFC2 (8-9-5, 33 points) 4
7. e-Whitecaps FC 2 (7-7-7, 31 points) 3
8. e-Colorado Rapids 2 (6-9-6, 28 points) 4
9. e-Sporting Kansas City 2 (8-12-2, 26 points) 0
10. e-Real Monarchs (4-14-3, 15 points) 0
11. e-Timbers2 (1-16-3, 9 points) 3
*Shoot Out Wins count as two points
y – Clinched #1 Conference Seed
s – Clinched Division Title
x – Clinched Playoffs
e – Eliminated from Playoffs
MNUFC2 POST GAME QUOTE SHEET
HEAD COACH CAMERON KNOWLES
On his emotions following the match against North Texas SC and Minnesota’s elimination from MLS NEXT Pro playoffs…
“Listen, that’s really disappointing, bitterly disappointing. Because when you start to roll back all those games and you think about where you could have picked up points and even tonight, some of the chances we had, it’s tough to know that we’ve still got two games to play and we don’t have a chance to get above that [playoff] line. Credit to the opposition. They held on. We threw everything we had at them. They put in a performance that was worthy of a playoff team.”
On if soccer can be a cruel game and the 24 shots MNUFC2 took against Texas…
“We created a number of chances and I think, and I haven’t seen the ones we’ve conceded, either, but we’re probably going to want those ones back as well. In the moment they seemed a little bit soft. The first one was maybe the first time they’d been inside our penalty area. It’s encouraging that we had so many chances in the game. When we got back to 1-1 and we had some good momentum in that second half, I really thought we were going to come back, but they scored the next one.”
On the message to the team for the remaining two games…
“I think this is where you’ve got to take a step back and realize what the league is about, and it’s not just that side of it [playoffs]. The development component and we’ve got two more 90-minute matches for guys to continue that development process. We’ve got a new player that made his debut tonight [Juan Mosquera] that we’re going to have to continue to integrate into the team and hopefully if we get another one in as well, then we get to see that. Listen, it’s tough. But I don’t think we can define the season solely on whether we make or miss the playoffs. That was certainly our goal from day one and especially as we went through the core part of the season and it is disappointing to be out of it. Still, we’ve got a really motivated group, we’ve got a hungry group that we’re going to try and get the max points out of the next two games.”
On Juan Mosquera’s debut…
“To come in, and he’s only been training with us for four or five days, [his] attitude’s been excellent. He’s coming in in good condition and ready to play. So, it was good to see him on the field and to do well on his own. I thought it was a good first performance from him.”
On what he tells guys when they may be down on their missed chances…
“They know. It’s not so much drawing their attention to that. Tani [Oluwaseyi] has been out of the game for a long time; he spent a lot of the year injured and you can see the lack of sharpness there. His ability to get in those spaces and to create those chances was exceptional the amount of chances that he had. It takes time to get that sharpness back. It takes time to get that confidence in front of goal. And, it will come for him. He’ just got to stay healthy so he can continue to get a run of games and then start turning those chances into goals.”
On how the team prepared to face a player like North Texas’ Bernard Kamungo…
“We show the guys video, we talk about it and we try to contain them as much as possible. A lot of that is a collective effort. It’s not like ‘hey, one guy’s got to do a job on this player and if he does, we’ll be alright’, it’s a collective effort tot try and limit their chances and limit their opportunities in the final third. I thought for the most part that we actually did that. We knew that this is a team that when you look at the conversion rate of their chances, it’s really high. They’re up there with Tacoma [Defiance] in terms of how many chances they convert. So, we knew we had to limit those chances and I think you saw that tonight in terms of them taking opportunities that they had in front of them.”
On the differences mentally when the players play at Allianz Field…
“This is such a special place to play a game. Being relatively new here, my first time being in the building here, it is exceptional. This takes some beating in terms of a stadium and atmosphere and for these guys – even though they don’t have the 20,000 [fans] that the First Team have – to be able to walk through this tunnel, to walk out on this field and imagine yourself one day playing in front of Wonderwall and 20,000 people in the stadium, there’s no better motivation, there’s no better feeling. The guys were up for it today and there was a good energy in the group before the game, a good energy in the warmup, a good start to the game with better chances. I think this place just lifts the performance. It’s a beautiful stadium, a beautiful field and a really inspiring place to play.”
On any of his players that can shine in the final two regular-season matches…
“I think it’s just continuing. I don’t know necessarily that it’s going to be two games that make a difference. You’ve got [Juan] Mosquera who’s now played 45 minutes and is likely to feature in the next couple games. You’ve got Carlos Leatherman who’s played a far bigger role than we anticipated six months ago and has continued raise his level and now has two more opportunities to do so. There are a number of guys. It’s two big games and two big opportunities to show what we’ve got. They’re [the players] competitive. They want to win. It’s not like they’re just going to walk away and write things off. If we can’t finish in the top four, we might as well finish fifth.”
On Aziel Jackson leading the league in key passes (chances created)…
“Any time that you can be a league leader in any statistical category, barring the negative categories I suppose, but in terms of a productive category like that is really beneficial. It shows the value of why we wanted to have this team and why MLS wanted to create this league in the first place. That [Aziel] was a guy that had a short loan spell last year, didn’t get many games, couldn’t really get into a rhythm of playing and now has an opportunity over the course of 24 games to play week-in and week-out to get in that rhythm and to gain confidence and to continue to grow and develop. He’s taken that opportunity for sure. It’s really exciting to see him do that and to continue to perform and create those chances. He’s been a really big contributor for us this season.”
MIDFIELDER AZIEL JACKSON
On his takeaways from the loss against North Texas SC…
“It’s just another game. We have to move forward. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was great to play in front of our home fans and we appreciate them coming out to support us and we have to finish these next two games strong.”
On playing at Allianz Field…
“It’s great to get on the grass and be at Allianz [Field] and in Saint Paul. This is home to us. Allianz is our new stadium and we have to take care of it and get business done. Unfortunately, tonight, that wasn’t the case. But now, we’ve just got to keep moving forward.”
On how to improve in chances created and goals over the final two matches…
“We just need to be more clinical in the final third. We’ve had a lot of chances, including myself. We were in the right spot, so we’re doing the right things. We just need to be more clinical. Hopefully in these next two games we’ll be able to finish those chances.”
On the mindset heading into the final games of the regular season…
“This game stings. But, we just have to go back to training with our heads high and know that we put everything, we put our heart and soul into this game. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the job done, but I think these next two games will really show our character and how far we’ve come as a team.”
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