Minnesota Ends Losing Streak with Scoreless Draw Against Seattle

Drake Callender made two saves for his second shutout of the season as Minnesota United ended a two-match losing streak with a 0-0 draw against the Seattle Sounders on Sunday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

This draw was crucial for Minnesota (1-2-2, 5 points), which had recently faced heavy losses, being outscored 9-1 in matches against Nashville and Vancouver. They were also coming off a record loss of 6-0 to the Whitecaps.

Andrew Thomas recorded two saves for Seattle (3-1-1, 10 points), keeping his team tied with San Diego for fourth place in the Western Conference. This was Thomas’s fourth clean sheet in five matches this season.

Minnesota, which had allowed the most goals in the Western Conference with 11 before this game, held Seattle without a single official shot on goal in the first half. Cristian Roldan did have a shot from the edge of the box that hit the crossbar in the 29th minute.

Meanwhile, Kelvin Yeboah had two good chances for Minnesota in the first half. His first attempt was a right-footed shot that missed the right post. Yeboah also had a try from the middle of the box off a pass from Joaquin Pereyra in stoppage time, but Thomas made a diving save to keep it scoreless. That was the only shot on goal by either team in the first half.

Midfielder James Rodriguez, the Golden Boot winner in the 2014 World Cup for Colombia, made his much-anticipated home debut in the 77th minute, receiving cheers from the crowd. Just three minutes later, he set up Anthony Markanich for a chance with a nice pass, but Markanich’s left-footed shot from the left side of the box went over the goal.