最新杏吧原创

Let鈥檚 start with how an undefeated opponent, one of just three left unblemished in MLS play so far this season, reacted to its victory over City SC.

Did you see it?

Minnesota coach Adrian Heath pumped his fist into the 最新杏吧原创 night when time expired, hugging his staff as if the MLS Cup had been secured.

Earlier, after Minnesota striker Luis Amarilla scored on what became the game-deciding penalty kick in the 78th minute, his teammate Kervin Arriaga had raced toward CityPark鈥檚 supporter section with a hand cupped toward his ear before punctuating the celebration with a shimmy of his rear.

It seems beating City SC, the expansion team all of the experts figured would be quite easy to handle entering the season, suddenly means something. 鈥淔ans don鈥檛 boo nobodies,鈥� the great Reggie Jackson said. A cousin of that factual observation tells us opponents don鈥檛 shake their tail feathers after beating an easily beatable team.

That was one lesson offered up in the loss.

There were more.

City SC was not going to stay undefeated forever. The 1972 Miami Dolphins, they are not. But even in a loss, they proved you better bring your best game, and perhaps benefit from some good luck, to take them down. Especially at home.

With respect to March Madness, the action at CityPark on April鈥檚 first evening provided moments as tense as the Final Four playing out down in Houston.

Driving to the game, I thought about a question I heard often when City SC was preparing to launch. What would crowds be like when other sports overlapped? Well, here we were. The Cardinals played a day game downtown. The Blues had played away. One of college basketball鈥檚 biggest days overlapped entirely. And? Still another CityPark sellout.

Fans were in place and on their feet before Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright served as the pregame coin-flipper. He wasn鈥檛 the only one who had come over from Busch. The only remaining question about interest level should be if the soccer stadium should have been built a little bit bigger, to make room for everyone who would come if they could. Winning motivates this impressive crowd, sure, but Saturday proved a quieter game doesn鈥檛 mean silenced fans.

Goalie and captain Roman Burki鈥檚 expert handling left a Minnesota attacker with liquid ankles. Klauss鈥� near misses were electric, as is his ability treat the ball like a yo-yo on a string, pushing it ahead and pulling it back as needed to navigate around defenders. The passion of vice captain Tim Parker is unrivaled, whether he鈥檚 channeling it into a slide tackle or unleashing it on an official who just flashed him a yellow card because of his physicality.

There were many whoa moments in this 1-0 loss, and these fans didn鈥檛 miss them. They amplified them. And they did their darnedest to sway two pivotal calls that didn鈥檛 go their team鈥檚 way.

The first was Kyle Hiebert鈥檚 slide into Amarilla that set up the game-defining penalty kick. The second was Klauss eating a knee to the face from Michael Boxall late in the second half, which resulted in nothing called. What could have devolved into officiating blame games didn鈥檛 go down that road after the loss.

Another good sign.

鈥淲hen he got hit in the head?鈥� sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said about the shot to Klauss, with a healthy dollop of sarcasm, before self-correcting.

鈥淵ou talk about penalties and maybe penalties,鈥� Pfannenstiel continued. 鈥淚 just looked it over. Two very tight, tight decisions. The one where we concede the penalty, (Jake) Nerwinksi placed the ball first and Kyle slides in and hits the guy afterward. That鈥檚 up to the referee to decide. I wouldn鈥檛 give it, but I鈥檓 wearing a pink 鈥� City Red 鈥� shirt. Our (potential) penalty, it鈥檚 a tough one. Klauss puts the head down because he goes for the ball, but the defender who did hit him didn鈥檛 see him. It could have gone the other way. But, I don鈥檛 think we need to worry about the referee decisions. That was not what decided the game for us or against us. There were enough moments where we could have scored the goal. It鈥檚 not up to the referees. It鈥檚 up to us.鈥�

Instead of complaining, City SC players and coach Bradley Carnell complimented Minnesota鈥檚 game plan and execution, pointing out how a conservative defense gummed up the 最新杏吧原创 attack and limited second-chance opportunities. Team captains Burki and Parker were candid about the winning streak perhaps weighing on the team and maybe dulling its edge a bit. Midfielder Eduard Lowen pointed to a need to be more 鈥渃linical鈥� in front of the goal after three on-target shots yielded no goals. Carnell didn鈥檛 sound relieved that the loss was behind the team, but he did seem to see the advantage of being able to turn the page.

That process started before the team pulled off its jerseys.

鈥淲e鈥檝e arrived in the league,鈥� Carnell told his players. 鈥淧eople know about us in the league. We鈥檝e been competitive. We are competitive. And we鈥檙e not done yet.鈥欌��

There was one more thing to like after loss No. 1.

Did you see it?

Burki gathered his teammates and led a lap around the pitch. Players thanked fans who had not yet left. It鈥檚 the kind of thing you see after victory, not so much defeat.

I wondered, so I asked. Why?

鈥淏ecause we should be thankful for every time the people show up to celebrate and push us,鈥� Burki said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 take it for granted. We love our fans. They are the reason we are 5-1 and have had such a successful start to the season. Be thankful. Stay humble.鈥�

We鈥檝e learned enough about this new soccer team to expect it to respond well to its first taste of adversity.

鈥淲e will lose a few more games,鈥� Pfannenstiel said. 鈥淲e are aware of that. It鈥檚 all about how we bounce back. It鈥檚 all about the reaction.鈥�