Columbus Crew 1-1 Minnesota United (Minnesota advances 5-3 on penalties)
ORLANDO, FL–The way people were touting Columbus Crew as a contender to win the MLS is Back Tournament after a perfect group stage, it seemed like only a brick wall could stop them. Its name turned out to be Minnesota United after they defeated the Crew in a penalty shootout, 5-3, after a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes. The Loons will face San Jose Earthquakes in the quarterfinals on Saturday (7pm CT, ESPN2).
The Crew came into this match not having conceded a single goal against seven for in their three group stage matches. That streak ended in the 18th minute on a corner where a flick-on header by Jose Aja was put in on the volley by Robin Lod to give the Loons a 1-0 lead.
The Crew kept pressing for an equalizer, but Minnesota looked firm and assured defensively. That was, until the 79th minute when Aja needlessly gave away a penalty after taking down Derek Etienne Jr. in the area. Tyler Miller made the save on Gyasi Zardes’s spot kick, but Zardes was able to put in the rebound to level matters.
It went straight to a penalty shootout after that. Both teams made their first two kicks while Aaron Schoenfeld scored in the third round for the Loons. However, Chris Cadden would see his shot saved by Miller and it would be Chase Gaspar who would clinch it in the fifth round for the Loons as they eliminated the Crew and moved on to the next round.
“I think we’ve played our way into the tournament. And I think we’ve got progressively better, every game. And we had to be better tonight, we played a really good team,” said Minnesota coach Adrian Heath.
As for the Crew, who would’ve been the fourth team to reach the quarters after missing the the 2019 MLS Playoffs (Orlando, San Jose, Sporting KC), they will go away after being the only team to have a 100% record in the group stage.
“We leave here with our heads high,” said Columbus coach Caleb Porter. “You can’t take away what this group has done in those first three games.
Columbus Crew
Minnesota United
