ST. PAUL, Minn. — In the 63rd minute, Chicago City Dutch Lions forward Jake Lane was played in on goal. Coming off his back line to pressure, Minneapolis City SC’s Daniel Sessler effort succeeded in pushing Lane wide, giving a pair of Crows defenders time to recover, and block Lane’s shot at the near post. In what had been a tense, scoreless match to that point, that the Dutch Lions’ most-dangerous chance of the evening had come and gone gave Minneapolis fans a moment to exhale.
But, only a moment.
Chicago City entered the day having lost all six of their games, and by a combined minus-21 goal differential. Minneapolis head coach Justin Oliver and his charges could not be accused of taking 3 points for granted. But, with the race for the Heartland Division’s two postseason berths extremely tight, neither could they afford to drop points. Even when playing on a hot day after a six-hour bus ride.
Which is why the collective heart of the Crows’ faithful sank when the referee did not signal for a corner, following Lane’s shot being blocked. Instead, a card was issued to Andrew Holmes, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. No shade to Holmes, a no. 6 deputized into City’s back line due to availability issues among Minneapolis defenders, who otherwise scarcely put in a wrong foot (or outstretched arm) over 60-plus minutes.
After Felix Kogler converted his penalty, the Crows were left with 25 minutes to score at least twice in order to escape River Forest, Ill. with an almost-essential victory. And the task was a trickier one than might be assumed by anyone who wasn’t watching the Dutch Lions that evening.
“Their starting lineup was virtually all Division I players, this time,” said Oliver. “Goalie from DePaul; right back, Purdue; right centerback was at Northwestern; left centerback, University of Illinois at Chicago; the left back, Villanova; the no. 6 has played at a couple different Division I schools, transferred out east; their no. 8 was at UNC Greensboro; their no. 10 is going to be an incoming freshman at Jacksonville; the right winger was at Old Dominion; the striker played for a good Division II school, scored a bunch of goals; and their substitute left-winger was also at Northwestern. So, they had their strongest-possible lineup today.”
“Definitely a better team,” concurred Crows midfielder Ian Shaul, who previously faced the Dutch Lions in Minneapolis’ 4-0 win at Edor Nelson Field on May 30. “They had a couple of different players. They were at home, which helped them; we came down here on a travel day. I think they should start picking up some results, soon. They looked good, but we were still able to get a result, which is nice.”
The Half Hour Nap
With holding midfielders Holmes and Jake Swallen comprising a majority of the Crows’ three-man back line, only Curtis Wagner was playing his natural position. Impressively, this posed no real issue for a makeshift trio that made a number of fine tackles to keep the Dutch Lions from seriously testing Sessler in the first half.
Rather, in surprising fashion, it was Minneapolis’ attack that struggled to assert itself, early.
“At times, we could have had a lot more ball speed,” noted Shaul. “I think that would have helped us out, necessarily. Especially when they’re collapsing on Preston [Kipnusu]. Maybe we go into him and then around, or we just find other ways to break. But I think ball speed is something we definitely need to focus on, and it will help us attack better.”
That aforementioned Dutch Lions’ defensive approach was unsubtle: collapse upon the Crows’ no. 9, Kipnusu, with more than one defender, whenever he received the ball with his back to goal. It wasn’t a terrible plan. And as an unspoken sign of respect for how much of a handful the Drake No. 9 has been, the Dutch Lions kept-alive Kipnusu’s streak of drawing a yellow card or worse from the opposition in all five of Minneapolis’ league games this season.
“The first 22 [minutes] I don’t think we were very good,” said Oliver. “We were trying to play out of some trickier moments. We weren’t able to really get Joe [Highfield] and Preston as involved, or our wide players. The water break happened, and I thought we came out of that water break really, really good.
“Joe Highfield had two big chances… I thought we had a handful of opportunities where we had four-v-threes, three-v-twos, three-v-threes, where just our final ball was kind of off. So, we ended the half a lot more positive, but without really forcing their keeper to do a whole lot.”
Slapped Awake
Kogler’s penalty prompted changes from Oliver. Forward Tomas Menna and winger Elijah Fearing were sent on in the 66th minute. With Holmes on a yellow, surprisingly, it was Minneapolis’ leading goal scorer, Jackson Kirsch, that replaced him in the back line.
Oliver had seen both Kipnusu and Highfield put in committed, physical work for more than an hour on a hot, turf field, and wanted Menna’s energy up top, to continue to press Chicago City.
“We have a lot of versatile players who can play different spots,” Oliver said. “Our midfield three ended up being Joe Highfield at the no. 10, Morgan Olson at the no. 8, and Ian Shaul at the no. 6, and that’s still a phenomenal midfield.”
As it would play out, pushing midfielders Kirsch and Shaul deeper worked out quite well for Minneapolis’ attack. But it took some help from one of the youngest Crows.
If you’re a Drake Bulldogs fan, you might not yet be familiar with Fearing, who is an incoming freshman. If you’re a Crows supporter, you might not be, either, unless you’ve kept up with the Minnesota Thunder Academy and Woodbury High School product who has featured for the Futures over the past couple summers.
In just his second league appearance for the Crows’ senior side, the 18-year-old forward felt no jitters when his number was called.
“I don’t really feel, like, afraid, playing [in League Two]. I feel confident,” said Fearing. “I feel like I fit in with the guys. I feel like I’m at this level for a reason. I feel like I can show it.”
A demonstration was not long in the making. Picking up the ball with space down the touchline in the 77th minute, Fearing drove towards goal, blending patience with athleticism.
“When I first looked up, I felt our runners were kind of behind, so I took my time on the one-v-one,” said Fearing. “The defender gave me a lot of space, so I was looking to go endline. Then, just as I was about to cut the pass, I cut in.”
Having taken his marker off his feet a step early, Fearing pushed the ball past the sprawled defender, winning contact, a penalty, and for the Crows, a path back towards a victory.
Fellow Bulldog, Kirsch, jogged up from the back line, and converted. It was Kirsch’s sixth goal of the summer, setting a new Minneapolis City single-season record in League Two, surpassing Eli Goldman.
“We were losing at the time,” said Fearing. “So, 0-1 game, in my head, I just gotta go out there and change the game. I gotta get us a goal, and I gotta do my job defensively, putting in some tackles.”
“I thought Elijah Fearing was incredibly impactful,” said Oliver. “Tomas Menna was incredibly impactful. Was very proud of that. Ronan Selbo came off the bench, and Adam Senna came off the bench. Both of them did a good job.
“You got to see when our backs kind-of got put up against a wall, we had a phenomenal reaction and response.”
Seven minutes after leveling, Highfield was able to turn from a half-pocket of space before spotting Shaul.
“Every time you get a midfielder, especially someone of Joe’s quality, driving at the back line, we want runners in behind; runners everywhere,” said Shaul.
Highfield dutifully slipped a ball that put Shaul through on goal, and the North St. Paul native buried his chance.
“It was just about making sure I connected properly with the ball, and got the finish right,” Shaul said, of his five-hole finish on Tobais Stirl.
And where the two goals came from midfielders getting forward, it’s worth mentioning an added-time intervention from a forward, Menna, who raced all the way back to the end line to make a key tackle and preserve the late victory.
Race for the Heartland
Rier Light FC handed Rochester FC the latter’s first defeat of the season, with the latter already having established itself as one of the frontrunners for the postseason. This as the six-game halfway-mark approaches for most of the division’s clubs.
Wednesday’s win for the Crows has kept the Minneapolitans right in the thick of the playoff race, and had they even drawn against the Dutch Lions, would be looking up at five teams, instead of being part of a three-way tie for third, just 2 points back of second.
A tough but winnable tilt against the division leaders, down in Rochester, Minn., awaits Minneapolis on Sunday. It is a fixture for which Crows supporters have always traveled well, and friendly voices are appreciated, as Minneapolis looks to extend its three-game winning streak in the all-time series.
Then, a three-game homestand begins with St. Croix Legends on June 18.
