MINNEAPOLIS — In the midst of a tight race atop the Heartland Division, and playing in its penultimate regular-season home game, Friday’s tilt against Rochester FC was a must-win for Minneapolis City SC. Particular as it prefaced an upcoming two-match road swing.
Squad rotation saw centerback and captain Nick Kent rested along with the Crows’ co-leading scorer Preston Kipnusu. With City still in the hunt for its first division title since 2021, and first-ever against League Two competition, the pair’s absence could well have added to pregame jitters for Crows fans.
And yet, Minneapolis scored a pair of goals, kept a clean sheet, and kept all its hopes for the 2025 season alive.
Defender Cole Schrage punctuated a Man of the Match performance by — in addition to not putting a wrong-foot in all game defensively — slinging a ball from midfield behind the Rochester back line for winger Andrew Heckenlaible to run onto.
“I just kind of picked my head up, and saw out of the corner of my eye, Andrew kind of making a darting run across the back line,” Schrage said. “And, I just tried to play it to him, and it worked out.”
Coming off his line and out of his box, keeper Andrew Swancutt was unable beat Schrage to the ball. The St. Louis Billiken applied a single, deft touch to move the ball wide of the keeper. With control of the ball and an empty goal awaiting him, the moment beckoned, like a particular piece from Schiller’s poem famously set to music by Beethoven.
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Run your path, brothers,
Joyfully, like a hero to victory.
Heckenlaible calmly slotted the ball into the net, giving Minneapolis the lead in just the 26th minute.
Though Heckenlaible had gotten the better of him in the moment, on the whole, credit is due to Swancutt, who went on to finish the game with nine saves. And, it would take until late in the second half for the Crows to double their lead.
“I thought our first half was pretty poor,” said Minneapolis head coach Justin Oliver. “They did have more of the on-ball. I would say, I think we probably got out-possessed somewhere around 70-to-30. So that part was disappointing. I do still think we had more shots — like six to two or something. So there was some good that went into it. They had a lot of lot of the ball with no bite, I guess is how I would describe it.
“And then. the second half, I thought, was a complete night-and-day difference. In the second half we could have scored four or five goals today. Our pressing was better. They did change shape. They went to a 4-3-3 second half, and that suited us a little bit better, too. So, that’s when I think we got to go back to doing some of our usual things.”
Midfielder Jake Swallen has been a bright spot for the Crows all season, in terms of what has become the usual. And, as he’s proven his quality with his first touch, tackling and passing, against Rochester, he also did it via a shot struck from 27 yards out.
With the likes of Kipnusu, Kent, Jared Hecht, Joe Highfield, Curtis Wagner, Cole Schrage, and company, the Crows have a lot of height at their disposal and have been formidable on corner kicks. Perhaps it was this threat that resulted in Swallen being unmarked, 30 yards from goal, on a corner.
Receiving the ball directly from Jackson Kirsch, Swallen took a touch, ahead, into space, before putting laces through a driven shot that swerved and skipped-but-once on its way into the far corner. The goal coming in the 82nd minute, it put the game to bed.
That the Crows had played for nearly an hour with just a one-goal lead gave Schrage, Hecht and Wagner a fine line to walk at the back.
“It’s kind of tough, because you’ve got to be on your toes,” said Schrage. “Anything can happen. They can get through one, one bad bounce, and they can be in on goal. So, I think you just got to stay mentally locked in, like, the whole time.”
“I think it was really good,” Schrage added, giving his thoughts on the win. “Three points. Kind of started off pretty slow, but our defense really ground it out, and I think that really helped.”
The victory completed a season sweep of Rochester, marking the Crows’ fifth-consecutive win in the all-time series between the pair.
Defense Comes Out Ahead
Thanks to both a clean sheet and its pair of goals, Minneapolis took not only 3 points on the evening, but the Heartland Division’s best defensive record from Rochester.
“It’s always great to get a clean sheet, but all the guys in front of me played fantastic,” said City keeper Daniel Sessler. “I think Cole was by far the best in the back line today. But yeah, it’s good to go five points clear of anyone behind us, and our goal is to keep pushing and get through for the fans and for the club.”
Minneapolis has conceded 11 goals across nine league games this season. Facing tougher competition than it did during its NPSL era, City may be hard-pressed to end the season with the three-more clean sheets needed to tie its all-time club record for fewest goals conceded in a league campaign. But, it has a very good chance of improving upon its League-Two best of 18 goals conceded, set last year.
Amid the Crows’ current five-game winning streak in the league, the Crows haven’t conceded more than a goal in any of those five contests, and only four times in total.
That City earned a shutout absent its captain, Kent, is yet another testament to the depth present on its roster.
On the Sidelines
In the 74th minute, a big tackle from Heckenlaible upended Jovaunn Ramos, but as Heckenlaible got all-ball, the play initially resulted in only a Rochester throw-in.
As he collected himself from the ground abutting the touchline, words were traded between Ramos and the adjacent Minneapolis bench. The exchange then prompted Ramos to leave the field of play to shove Kipnusu. Inserting himself as Kipnusu backed away with his hands up, Joey Tawah performed one of those small acts that can sometimes have an outsized impact in a title race; the holding midfielder, yet to have been subbed on, offered blue language to take Ramos’ focus off of City’s star striker.
Keeping a firm grip on the match, referee Alex Hofstetter diffused the situation with quick red cards to both Ramos and Tawah. The former, kicking a bench, being restrained by teammates, and taking a circuitous route to the locker room, while the City holding midfielder immediately grabbed his shin guards and made a professional jaunt to the tunnel.
Earlier, in a more joyful happening, Kipnusu had joined the Minneapolis Citizens supporters group in the west end of the grandstand at Edor Nelson Field. Even with the night off, Kipnusu turned up to support his teammates, on field during warmups, and from the bench for the majority of the game. But the 6-foot-4 Drake Bulldog took time in the second half to stand and cheer with Minneapolis’ die-hard fans.
Race for the Heartland
The wheels have come off for Rochester and River Light FC. The (other) Loons, who began the season with five-straight wins and what was the best defensive record in the division, have now lost four-straight. The Lights have managed just one point from their last five games, via a 2-2 draw at home against RKC Third Coast on June 19. Worse, River Light has lost its last two contests by a combined 9-2 margin.
Early results mean Rochester has yet to be eliminated from either the Heartland title race, or the Central Conference playoffs. But the (other) Loons can’t earn more than 24 points on the regular season, and have faded approaching the final turn.
RKC Third Coast and Sueno FC have just drawn 1-1, minutes before publication of this recap. The draw caps the Seagulls at 22 possible points, and puts the Dreamers level with the Crows atop the table at 20 points, earned. Sueno holds the first tie breaker, having beaten the Crows, having handed Minneapolis its only loss of the season 3-2 in Illinois on June 6.
Meanwhile, the Crows’ win over the (other) Loons means Minneapolis remains in control of its own destiny. City will travel away to St. Croix on Wednesday, away to RKC on July 9, and finish the regular season at home against Sueno.
With four teams still with all to play for, it will likely be a nail-biting finish, however the particulars shake out.
