by Ian Katan
MINNEAPOLIS — A pinpoint pass, a missed header, and an unlucky rebound. In a game of small margins, it’s a well-known fact that not every chance can fall your way. A fact particularly frustrating for Minneapolis City SC, who were on the unfavorable side of multiple close-moments against the visiting St. Croix Legends.
On another day against the Legends, and later this season the Crows will have just that, the scoreline might have turned out differently. But in City’s 2024 League Two home opener, a brace from Nathan Donovan — and a late goal for insurance via Dylan Olson — went unanswered, handing City its second defeat of the new season.
Pregame, the most notable news was the departure of Minneapolis City head coach Carl Craig, who stepped away from the club for personal reasons.
“We just have to forget about what’s going on behind the scenes,” veteran defender Jonah Garcia said about the early-season managerial change. “We trust that the people in the club are gonna find a coach for us.”
Stepping onto the touchline again as interim head coach was general manager Matt VanBenschoten. VanBenschoten made only one change from the lineup he sent out against the Milwaukee Bavarians four days earlier, bringing on Joe Highfield at the top of a midfield pivot. Behind him, the backline of Garcia, Nick Kent, Max Kent, and Carson Pina, which had allowed just one goal starting from open play so far this season, remained unchanged.
Despite the familiar starting XI, City struggled to find its footing early in the game, gifting chances to St. Croix with loose passes and dribbles that lasted a few touches longer than was necessary. The cross-metro visitor’s efficient press also made life difficult for Minneapolis’ playmakers, forcing them to play long and contest for the ball against tall defenders.
“Prior to the game, we wanted to be on the ball, we wanted to play,” Garcia said. “I thought we did a pretty good job of that, but we just haven’t worked on those moments of transition. So as soon as we’re losing the ball higher up the field, our recovery, and our shape to get back was not very good.”
In the 15th minute, the first tight moment broke in favor of the visitors. Deep in St. Croix’s half, Minneapolis lost possession on a throw-in, and was caught out as the Legends moved quickly up the field. The ball fell to Luca Contestabile, a former City player who scored for the Legends against the Crows in a 2-1 victory for St. Croix last season.
Contestabile spun a pass into the space between Minneapolis’ goalkeeper and defenders. Running in between City’s retreating backline was Legends forward Nathan Donovan. A moment of hesitation between keeper and back line left Donovan with only just-enough room to get on the end of the well-weighted ball. The forward’s toe-poke sent an agonizingly-slow roller into the far corner, with keeper Even Siefken out off his line.
The hosts worked hard to not let the early concession shake their rhythm. To their credit, the Crows looked largely comfortable in possession, and worked to create chances for themselves. Hakeem Morgan dropped deep into midfield to pick up the ball and drag opponents out of position, the Kent brothers swung passes around the back, and midfielders made darting runs forward, including a powerful dash from Victor Gaulmin, who fired a shot off the outside of the post; one-of-several close chances not to fall favorably for City.
Just after halftime, Minneapolis came within inches of pulling level again. Juan Moreno picked up the ball and began a signature-surge through midfield, before rolling a pass wide for Garcia to serve into the six-yard box. Garcia’s cross was too tall for a St. Croix defender to reach, and too far for their goalkeeper to grab, but just right for Joe Highfield.
The young forward, making his first start for the Crows, was canny-enough to find space and get on the end of the cross. But Highfield’s well-met header zipped inches over the crossbar.
“After we missed that open header. Could’ve made it 1-1 and changed the game,” VanBenschoten reflected postgame, on where the game started to slip away from his side. “We knew we were gonna have to come out and chase, they were gonna have to get us out of our defensive shape.”
Instead of drawing level, the score would drift further away from City 90-seconds later. Another Crow-turned-Legend, Shea Bechtel, found space to fire a cross towards Donovan, whose shot took a slight deflection off Nick Kent and over Siefken. Striking the crossbar and rebounding outwards, the ball looked momentarily as though it would finally act in City’s best interests.
The moment didn’t last long. Siefken, still airborne after leaping to save the initial attempt, could do little as the ball ricocheted off his back and into the net. Even a striker as prolific as Donovan, who has scored 20-plus goals in three-straight seasons for UW-Eau Claire, would struggle to replicate the shot, given another hundred attempts. But when it mattered in-game, it was the exact-effort needed for his second goal of the night, down to the millimeter.
Chasing the game late into the second half, Minneapolis faced another obstacle when Max Kent, in the aftermath of getting tangled up with Donovan, was shown his second yellow card. A man down, City fought on through Sideke Jabateh, Steevie Lamarre, and Garcia, who all fashioned late chances that forced St. Croix’s defense to work for their shutout.
“I think the big positive, like I said even last week after Bavarians, is just the attitude and effort,” VanBenschoten said. “We went down a man, we’re down two goals, there’s 10 minutes left. But we’re still trying to build, we’re still trying to attack. It shows that we have the ability to be on the ball and create some things.”
Even with a late surge of pressure from City, the final goal came in front of the host’s net. Pushing forward to salvage something from the game left the Crows short-handed at the back. Creating a gap for himself to run down the endline, Donovan cut the ball back to an onrushing Dylan Olson, who placed a shot in the few unguarded inches between three City defenders, and secured all available points for St. Croix.
“We knew we were gonna be exposed, it kinda plays into St. Croix’s hand,” said VanBenschoten.
Though it won’t take the sting off a disappointing home result, some consolation can be taken from the fact that on a different day, key moments could just as easily have gone in City’s favor. Contestabile’s pass, Highfield’s header, and Donovan’s deflected shot were all inches away from opposite outcomes, but the inches that mattered-most escaped the Crows’ grasp on the night.
Historically, Minneapolis City has needed to overcome early-season adversity in League Two. In 2022, their first win came in the final league game. In 2023, they earned 4 points from the first seven games before picking up 8 points in the final five. No team wants to start slowly and rely on a turnaround later in the season, but the Crows have proven that even when results aren’t going their way, they don’t stop fighting.
“The attitude and effort is there,” VanBenschoten said. “We’re two games into a 12-game season, so there’s a lot of soccer left.”
City must now turn its attention to RKC Third Coast, which finished second in the Deep North last season, and is due in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The Crows’ collective willingness to carry on and fight will be key.
“Really dig into our building blocks,” VanBenschoten continued. “We have a great defensive foundation, starting to show what we can do on the attack. We have players that can change games for us.”
“We look at game-one against Bavarians, we look at game-two here against St. Croix, and we see what we can learn from those. We just move on to the next one,” Garcia emphasized, focused on the silver linings that can be taken from two frustrating defeats. “Us getting on the ball higher up the field, starting to form some of those triangles that we’re looking to have out in those wide areas. It’s a good step in the right direction, obviously just things to work on going into game three.”
“There’s pieces we can continue to build on,” VanBenschoten said. “I’m happy and optimistic.”
