Minnesota United vs. Austin FC
What: U.S. Open Cup semifinal
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Allianz Field
Stream: CBS Sports Network; Paramount+
Weather: 75 degrees, mostly sunny, 5 mph east wind
Form: Minnesota is unbeaten in four, including a 3-1 victory at first-place San Diego on Saturday. Austin had won two straight before a 2-0 loss to Texas rival FC Dallas last weekend.
Recent matchups: Minnesota beat Austin 3-0 in Texas on May 3 and the two teams played to a 1-1 draw in St. Paul on May 24.
Quote: Players “are probably sick of hearing me describe games as finals because I think I’ve been doing it for a while and it gets the desired response,” head coach Eric Ramsay said. “But I feel like we have been in that position where we’ve been in the hunt for lots of things for a lot of this season.”
Stat: Forward Kelvin Yeboah has not scored in seven straight matches, but he was dealing with another lull in May before scoring in an Open Cup round of 16 match against St. Louis. He also converted on two penalty kicks in the USOC quarterfinal win over Chicago.
Context: The Loons are expecting at least 14,000 fans for Wednesday’s match, which is well short of the stadium’s capacity of 19,600, but way more than they have had in previous rounds.
Absences: MF/CB Carlos Harvey is out with a knee injury that Ramsay said is not considered serious. CF Momo Dieng is ineligible after already playing in the tournament for Hartford Athletic.
Prediction: With only 31 goals in 29 games, Austin has struggled to score, especially without injured forward Brandon Vazquez, and Minnesota’s success is built on a suffocating defense. Loons move onto their first Open Cup final since 2019 with a 2-0 victory.
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