Minnesota United welcomes back Allianz Field full house with 2-0 victory

Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath said he wanted his team to give the first full Allianz Field crowd in 612 days something to cheer about.

So Wednesday's 2-0 victory is what Heath means by wanting his Loons to play on the "front foot?"

It's a phrase Heath uses often, soccer vernacular for pushing forward and taking the game to the opponent.

That his Loons did Wednesday against a depleted expansion Austin FC team by scoring twice in the game's first 18 minutes.

Each goal came from the two newest Loons, recently acquired left-side attacker Franco Fragapane and former French first-division striker Adrien Hunou.

Austin FC had scored just once in its past five games and played without captain Alex Ring, a late scratch, as well as injured defender Ben Sweat and former Loons striker Aaron Schoenfeld.

Fragapane was denied his MLS debut at Real Salt Lake last month because of delayed transfer paperwork back home in Argentina. Now he has two goals in his first two MLS games. He scored the Loons' only goal in Saturday's 1-1 draw against FC Dallas and scored again with a nifty goal in Wednesday's 10th minute.

Hunou made it 2-0 just eight minutes later when he headed Fragapane's corner kick from the left past Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver.

Minnesota United CEO Chris Wright considered Wednesday's return of a full house for the first time since October 2019 "a relaunch" of a franchise that came within minutes of reaching the MLS Cup last December and then started this season 0-4.

That 0-4 start included a 1-0 home loss to Austin FC on May 1.

The Loons now are undefeated in their past five games — 3-0-2 — after that unexpected losing streak to start.

The club announced a sellout of 19,209 fans Wednesday.

It designated Wednesday's game as its annual "Pride" night. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared at a free pregame vaccination clinic operated on the stadium's "Great Lawn" and wore a Loons scarf in doing so.

Excited season-ticket holders, wait-list members and the general public came and filled up Allianz Field with song and drumming, with swaying banners and canned smoke coming from a jam-packed Wonderwall at the stadium's south end.

They hadn't done so since the franchise's first playoff game, a loss to L.A. Galaxy two seasons ago.

They added a rendition of "Wonderwall" at game's end, too.

The Loons' biggest home audience in the COVID-19-interrupted 2020 season was 250 family, friends and staff. They opened this season playing their first four home games in front of a restricted audience of 4,100.

That all changed Wednesday, when fans chatted and cheered all game long after Heath's team indeed gave them something to cheer about almost from the start.

"You can feel the atmosphere," Wright said during the team's game broadcast. "Tonight is a night of celebration."

Fragapane started the party early after right back Romain Metanire did the work on the right side, creating a crossing pass into the box. Fragapane slipped from near the goal line out to the penalty-kick spot before he bumped the pass up to where he could swipe it past Stuver with his right foot.

Hunou's goal came while star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso was temporarily on the sideline seeking treatment after he was knocked to the grass more than once.

Hunou headed Fragapane's curling corner kick from the left corner cleanly out of a group of players from both sides rising to get a head on it.

While Loons goalkeeper Tyler Miller kept his sheet clean all night, Heath substituted liberally in the second half, sending in Jacori Hayes, Justin McMaster, Ramon Abila, Ozzie Alonso and Juan Agudelo. That gave rest to Hunou, Fragapane, Reynoso and Metanire with a Saturday game at Portland in forecast 100-degree heat ahead.