Minnesota
Loons look for more home success vs. Sounders (Aug 03, 2018)
Minnesota

Loons look for more home success vs. Sounders (Aug 03, 2018)

Published Aug. 3, 2018 12:15 a.m. ET

Minnesota United FC has been strong in front of the home fans recently, but the second-year club has yet to register a win over the Seattle Sounders -- a club that's playing lockdown defense while surging in recent weeks.

Minnesota, looking for a fifth straight win at TCF Bank Stadium, takes on a Seattle club looking to extend its unbeaten streak to seven straight matches Saturday night.

Though Minnesota (9-12-1) fell 4-2 to the Vancouver Whitecaps last Saturday and is eighth in the Western Conference with 28 points, the club sports an impressive 8-3-1 mark at home. The eight home wins are the most by any team in MLS currently out of the playoff mix.

"It is all about momentum for us," Loons defender Eric Miller told the team's official website. "We have to keep our home form going. We have to make sure we get three points this weekend."

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Following this match, Minnesota plays five in a row on the road and won't play again at home until Sept. 22.

"If we can get a home win, get a little more comfortable than we already are in 3-5-2 and try to keep that rolling then we can try to find a way to fix the road woes," Miller said.

The Sounders' recent play has the club pushing for a postseason spot. Seattle (7-9-5) is 10th in the West with 26 points and is five points behind Real Salt Lake for the final berth.

And the Sounders are coming off perhaps their biggest win of the year, 3-1 over New York City FC on Sunday. Seattle is 4-0-2 since losing to the Portland Timbers on June 30, and Stefan Frei has yielded three goals during the team's hot streak.

"The incredible thing about this (run) is we're not playing well," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer told the league's official website. "We're grinding out games, we're winning these games because we're playing good defense and we're scoring one or two goals. And that's the scary part. You think about six unbeaten and you think if we start playing well, like we're supposed to, we can go on a really long run."

Seattle's 24 goals allowed are the fewest in the Western Conference and second-fewest in MLS behind the New York Red Bulls (22). Schmetzer's team will be tested as it tries to slow down midfielder Darwin Quintero.

The Colombian leads Minnesota with 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in his first season in MLS, and has six goals during the Loons' four-game winning streak at home.

"Since I've been here, I realize that the level is not as low as many people think," Quintero told the league's site. "There are players with lots of pedigree, playing at a very high level, that contribute a lot."

The Sounders topped Minnesota, 3-1, on April 22, and have outscored the Loons 9-2 while taking all three all-time meetings.

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