Minnesota United takes 1-0 series lead on Real Salt Lake

Dayne St. Clair was stellar in goal, making six saves during regulation, as Minnesota United edged out Real Salt Lake in a penalty shootout after a tense 0-0 draw on Tuesday night in Sandy, Utah. In the penalty tiebreaker, Minnesota took advantage of two crucial misses from RSL, with Justen Glad and Braian Ojeda both sending their shots over the bar. Ojeda’s miss on RSL’s final attempt, which skimmed off the crossbar, sealed the 1-0 lead for the Loons in the series.

Now sixth-seeded Minnesota looks ahead to Game 2 on Saturday night, where they can secure a spot in the Western Conference semifinals. RSL’s Zac MacMath was equally impressive, recording seven saves during regular time and stopping a penalty from Michael Boxall, Minnesota’s third shooter, giving his team a glimmer of hope—only for Glad’s subsequent miss to negate that advantage.

The match remained uneventful in the first half, but the second half brought more action, with neither team able to break the deadlock. Robin Lod played a key role in setting up Minnesota’s early chances, first with Kelvin Yeboah’s shot in the 47th minute that forced a challenging save from MacMath, followed by Carlos Harvey’s close-range attempt that missed narrowly in the 49th.

On the other end, St. Clair showcased his skills by denying Diego Luna and Cristian Arango in quick succession in the 52nd minute. Nineteen minutes later, Yeboah found Tani Oluwaseyi in the box, but MacMath was quick off his line to block Oluwaseyi’s shot.

As the match neared its conclusion, MacMath continued to shine, diving to his left to stop Yeboah’s effort in the 83rd minute, then blocking Bongi Hlongwane’s follow-up. St. Clair matched him in the final minutes, thwarting Diogo Goncalves with a leg save in the 85th minute and confidently catching Arango’s header during stoppage time. This performance helped Minnesota secure its fifth clean sheet in six matches.