Last May, every MNUFC fan was counting down to the same day. Inter Miami was set to take to the pitch at Allianz Field for the first time ever, bringing with them a lineup of soccer superstars including Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Miami was coming off a 4-1 bashing of Red Bull New York. Minnesota had just shut Austin out 0-3 on the road. Both clubs were on a roll, but hosting and beating the eventual Cup winners was a tall task for anyone.<\/p>\n
Your Loons more than rose to the challenge. Sure, there were some big names on the field, but the Black and Blue approached this game like any other, level-headed and ready to defend the home turf. It hasn\u2019t even been a full year since this glorious Saturday, but I just couldn\u2019t resist reliving a game for the ages.<\/p>\n
\n Getting Ahead<\/p>\n
It was a stadium sellout on May 10, and it was loud even in the first half hour, when the scoreline remained nil-nil despite a number of attempts on both sides. That excitement hit a fever pitch when Minnesota opened the scoring with Carlos Harvey\u2019s through ball to Bongokuhle Hlongwane, who found the back of the net in the 32nd minute to put the hosts up 1-0. Take it from someone who was filming from the Roof Deck \u2014 the stadium had never been that electric.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anthony Markanich doubled down in stoppage time with one of his classic close-range headers, closing out the half with the Loons up 2-0. Against a team that had lost only twice in the regular season so far, Minnesota was making waves.<\/p>\n
It was a special day not only for the fans in the stands, but the ones on the pitch. To dominate against such a high-caliber team is no small feat. Wil Trapp still has a photo of him having a conversation with Messi in Spanish, Messi mid-laugh in front of the visitors\u2019 bench, both to remember a fantastic performance by the Black and Blue and the momentous occasion of sharing the field with a global superstar.<\/p>\n
\n Doubling Down<\/p>\n
Miami came out swinging in the second half, fighting to catch up. Their momentum paid off when Messi netted one for the Herons in the 48th off a cross from Alba.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou play against him and you\u2019re like . . . the apex predator is on the field,\u201d Trapp said. \u201cJordi Alba\u2019s crossing it to where he\u2019s not even there. There\u2019s no space, and then the ball shows up at his foot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it was one and done for Miami that day. Defender Marcelo Weigandt gave the Loons their third with a brutal own-goal in the 68th, unable to head Joaqu\u00edn Pereyra\u2019s powerful corner out of danger. With the home team up 3-1, the Wonderwall was shouting for a fourth.<\/p>\n
Robin Lod delivered with 20 minutes left on the clock, striking a beautiful leftie from outside the box off a Tani Oluwaseyi assist. Nothing says cinema quite like Minnesota\u2019s highest-scoring match of the season, matched only by that same 4-1 scoreline against San Jose in July.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That victory was one of the crowning achievements of a record-setting season for the Loons, but more than that, it was a testament to the sheer energy and joy this game brings to the Twin Cities. It was a day no Black and Blue fan, player, or avid staff writer will soon forget.<\/p>\n
The Rewind series is part of Minnesota United’s 10th Season campaign, a celebration looking back on some of the big moments that got us here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last May, every MNUFC fan was counting down to the same day. Inter Miami was set to take…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[74274,74273,5429,8943,123,125,124,17155,74272,74275,74276],"class_list":{"0":"post-154008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-anthony-markanich","9":"tag-bongokuhle-hlongwane","10":"tag-inter-miami-cf","11":"tag-latest-news","12":"tag-miami","13":"tag-miami-headlines","14":"tag-miami-news","15":"tag-minnesota-united-fc","16":"tag-minvsmia-05-10-2025","17":"tag-robin-lod","18":"tag-topic-the-rewind"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}