Minnesota United wins club-record sixth road game, nips Nashville 2-1
Minnesota United won a club record sixth road game in a season with Sunday's 2-1 victory at Nashville SC.
Newly acquired right back Alan Benitez's 75th minute goal stood as the winner on a night when the Loons scored multiple goals for a fifth consecutive road game.
The Loons now are 5-6-1 on the road and 5-3-4 at home while they remain in fourth place in the Western Conference.
The two teams traded goals with the Loons' Franco Fragapane scoring in the 27th minute and Nashville following with All-Star Hany Mukhtar's goal in the 61st minute before Benitez scored his first goal in his fourth MLS appearance.
Sunday's game reunited Emanuel Reynoso, Dayne St. Clair and coach Adrian Heath with Mukhtar and Walker Zimmerman, all of whom were on the 26-man MLS All-Star team that beat Mexico's Liga MX stars 2-1 on Wednesday.
Before St. Clair was named game MVP, Mukhtar's 40-foot strike that hit the crossbar in Tuesday's skills challenge beat the Liga MX stars 3-2 in the five-category event.
BOXSCORE: Loons 2, Nashville SC 1
In the first half, Nashville and U.S. men's national team defender Zimmerman turned the ball over in his team's half with a careless pass that the Loons intercepted and went the other way.
It ended with Fragapane scoring on a left-footed shot from the left wing, just as Zimmerman tried to close on him from the edge of the 18-yard box.
He was too late.
"We gifted them an opportunity they took full advantage of," Nashville coach Gary Smith told FS1's national broadcast at halftime. "In tight games we have to limit that to pretty much zero against great players."
Loons striker Luis Amarilla nearly scored in the 12th minute, but his right-foot shot from beyond the 18-yard box evaded Joe Willis' outstretched hands. But it banged off the crossbar and bounded away.
St. Clair preserved the lead with a two-handed save on Zimmerman's header off a corner kick in the first half's stoppage time.
Willis stopped Loons right-side attacker Bongokuhle Hlongwane's short-range shot in the second half's second minute to keep the Loons from stretching their lead further.
St. Clair shortly thereafter made another diving stop, his sixth stop of the night that kept the score 1-0 for his side. That's the most saves he has made in a game since June, though he finished with seven.
Willis stopped Loons star Emanuel Reynoso's left-footed shot moments later in a game getting stretched from one end to the other.
Nashville All-Star attacker Hany Mukhtar tied the game in the 61st minute after Fragapane committed a foul just outside the 18-year box. That gave Nashville a dangerous, short free kick they turned into Mukhtar's 14th goal this season.
The free kick went from the right side to the left wing and back again before Mukhtar's volley strike, on which Loons goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair had little chance.
Benitez scored his goal in the 75th minute by cleaning up on the far post from right back after he had pushed far forward, following star playmaker Emanuel Reynoso with the ball on the left.
Reynoso pushed the ball ahead for second-half sub Joseph Rosales, who had just entered the game for Fragapane.
Rosales' bouncing cross went through traffic all the way through the six-yard penalty box to Benitez, who finished calmly on the far side.
Reynoso, Robin Lod and starting center back Michael Boxall all returned to the starting 11 after each was suspended for last week's 4-3 loss at Colorado because of yellow card accumulations.
Lod returned to the central midfield spot he has played recently, alongside Kervin Arriaga, who returned from an ankle injury to Sunday's starting lineup. Until then, Arriaga had played one game since late June. Young Joseph Rosales and Nabi Kibunguchy played there in their absence last week.
Reynoso went back to his attacking midfield position with Fragapane on his left and Hlonwane on his right, all of them beneath striker Amarilla.
Boxall returned to right center back after Brent Kallman started there at Colorado.
St. Clair started in goal again, fresh off his MLS All-Star Game MVP award Wednesday at Allianz Field and looking to shake off his last two MLS games, in which he and his defense allowed four goals in each game.
Nashville SC played without Prior Lake's own Teal Bunbury, who had scored in each of his last four games but missed Sunday's game because of a groin injury sustained in Saturday's training.
The Star Tribune did not travel for this game. This article was written using the television broadcast and video interviews before and/or after the game.
