Minnesota United on the rise 10 games into debut MLS season
Longtime Minnesota United fans (such that it's possible just a few years in) have seen this before.
Maybe not this, specifically -- beating a squad like Sporting Kansas City this past Sunday is still relatively new territory -- but silky feeds from Miguel Ibarra and explosive finishes off the foot of Christian Ramirez are old hat for Loons fans.
The duo ran roughshod through the North American Soccer League from 2012-15 (how else do you earn the nicknames Batman and Superman?), leading United to the league's spring championship in 2014, before Ibarra was shipped off to Liga MX.
Now, 10 games and roughly one-third of the way through their first MLS campaign, Ramirez, Ibarra and the rest of the Loons finally look like they belong.
After losing three of their first four games in comically lopsided fashion (they broke up the rut at 0-2, drawing with Colorado Rapids) the Loons are finally hitting their stride, and are 3-2 in their last five games following a 2-0 win over Kansas City, the top team in the Western Conference.
Despite a 1-0 loss to San Jose Earthquakes at home to close out April, the Loons appear to have sorted things out after rolling to a 4-2 win over Real Salt Lake for their first MLS win back on April 1.
A loss to top-ranked FC Dallas followed, but United bounced back for a draw with Houston Dynamo and a 1-0 win over Colorado Rapids, before things came to a head in its win over Kansas City.
Ibarra showed off in the victory, capitalizing on an overmatched KC defense and setting up both United goals with a pair of dazzling crosses in the first half.
It was enough to earn Ibarra his first MLS Team of the Week nod.
Abu Danladi, the top pick in last year's MLS SuperDraft, finally got in the act, scoring his first professional goal off a feed from Ibarra to open the scoring.
Ramirez was on the receiving end of the second, and has thus far kept pace with MLS' best strikers. He now has six goals on the season, one behind CJ Sapong and Erick Torres for the league lead.
| Player | Team | GP | MINS | Goals | Assits | Shots |
| CJ Sapong | PHI | 9 | 661 | 7 | 1 | 19 |
| Erick Torres | HOU | 8 | 676 | 7 | 1 | 24 |
| David Villa | NYC | 8 | 706 | 6 | 4 | 35 |
| Jozy Altidore | TOR | 10 | 810 | 6 | 3 | 26 |
| Fanendo Adi | POR | 9 | 802 | 6 | 2 | 26 |
| Cyle Larin | ORL | 9 | 794 | 6 | 1 | 22 |
| Ola Kamara | CLB | 10 | 868 | 6 | 1 | 27 |
| Maximiliano Urruti | DAL | 7 | 619 | 6 | 1 | 28 |
| Christian Ramirez | MIN | 10 | 812 | 6 | 1 | 29 |
| Juan Agudelo | NE | 10 | 805 | 6 | 0 | 17 |
Their turnaround hasn't gone unnoticed.
United rose three spots in MLS' weekly power rankings, and now sits just two points behind Vancouver Whitecaps for No. 6 spot in the west.
Their much-maligned defense has improved, while goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth led the Loons to their second shutout despite having his nose broken in the 55th minute of the win over Kansas City.