Minnesota United lose at home to San Diego FC as goalkeeper Wessel Speel’s MLS debut is one to forget

Minnesota United’s game against San Diego FC was supposed to be a battle of contrasting styles, between San Diego’s possession-heavy attack and the Loons’ defense-first setup, between physicality and athleticism.

Instead, it turned into a battle of blunders.

In the end, San Diego took home a 4-2 victory at Allianz Field on Saturday night, with both goalkeepers hoping that the game tapes will be never be seen again.

The first goal came from San Diego defender Christopher McVey, whose pass back to his own goalkeeper, C.J. dos Santos, curled invitingly past dos Santos and into the back of the net. The second came from SDFC’s Anders Dreyer, which wouldn’t have been notable — Dreyer had six goals on the year — except that Dreyer was standing in the center circle when he scored it.

It meant that rookie Loons goalkeeper Wessel Speel, playing in his first MLS game, had to deal with giving up a goal on the first shot he ever saw in league play — from 50 yards away.

“It’s a different level, some small details. I still have to get adjusted to read body language better and I think he just caught me a bit by surprise,” Speel said. “Kind of really unnecessary goal to concede.”

Kelvin Yeboah put the Loons back ahead, following another blunder by dos Santos, but a second-half penalty kick from Dreyer tied the score in the 66th minute.

Nine minutes later, Milan Iloski got on the end of a perfect Dreyer cross in the center of the Loons penalty area, and headed home for the go-ahead goal. And then in stoppage time, Iloski scored again on a breakaway, to give San Diego all three points in the expansion team’s first visit to Minnesota.

“I did feel at halftime that we had control of the game, in our way of having control of the game, and I felt like we had a really good chance in the second half of coming out and winning,” Loons coach Eric Ramsay said. “And obviously that’s not been the case, and the goals are really disappointing ones that we’ve conceded because I feel like in general play we haven’t given an awful lot away.”

Dreyer’s first goal will live on as part of highlight reels for years, mostly because he even had the audacity to attempt it in the first place. The San Diego midfielder received a pass almost on top of the halfway line, on the center spot in the center circle, then turned and spotted Speel off his goal line. The technique to not only keep his shot on goal, but to clear the 6-7 Speel and still keep the ball from soaring over the top, made it an instant contender for goal of the season.

They say you always remember your first game, but Speel had a night that he will want to forget.

Dreyer’s goal, from the center circle, was bad enough, but Speel will likely see the penalty kick in his nightmares. The goalkeeper guessed the correct side of the goal, and Dreyer took a weak penalty, rolling the ball softly to Speel’s left – but somehow, the ball snuck under the rookie goalkeeper and trickled over the line.

Speel has already won two games in the U.S. Open Cup for the Loons this year, so the 23-year-old has some positives from this season so far, as well. But he won’t remember his first MLS game fondly.

Last season, when the Loons’ international players departed for Copa América, their chances to contend at the top of the Western Conference quickly followed. As a result, the Loons have been more focused on June than most teams – just because they wanted to avoid another summer swoon.

Losing 4-2 at home in a game that the Loons led twice, has to remind Minnesota United an awful lot of last season, when everything that could go wrong in June did.

BOXSCORE: San Diego 4, Minnesota United 2

MLS standings

Whatever tactical battle might have ensued in the game was probably ended in just the eighth minute, when San Diego’s willingness to play passes in their own defensive penalty area went horribly wrong.

McVey, under no pressure by a Loons player, tried to firmly hit a 25-yard pass back to his keeper, but his aim was just slightly off. dos Santos, in goal, should have focused on stopping the pass, but instead tried to shape his body to quickly make a pass of his own. Instead, the ball hopped over his foot, and rolled gently into the net, with no Loons player within 20 yards of the goal or the ball at any point of the play.

It’s another extended absence for Minnesota, as the Loons hadn’t played since June 1, and don’t play again until June 25 against the Houston Dynamo – a quirk of the schedule due to the CONCACAF Gold Cup and other summer tournaments.