Loons suffer devastating last-minute loss to Austin in U.S. Open Cup

Minnesota United and its supporters had their hearts ripped out in the final seconds of a U S Open Cup semifinal Wednesday at Allianz Field Austin FC s CJ Fodrey scored on a rebound in the th and final minute of extra time for a - win that pushed the Loons out of the national tournament Tied - after minutes Minnesota and Austin were nearing penalty kicks before the devastating ending in St Paul If Minnesota would have won they would have hosted Nashville SC in the final on Oct after Nashville beat Philadelphia - in a semifinal Tuesday Instead Austin will host the final Loons midfielder Joaquin Pereyra gobsmacked supporters with a wonderful zip -yard free-kick goal around the Austin wall and inside the left post to tie the competition - in the th minute Winger Osman Bukari was Austin s most-dangerous attacker in the first half and his pace beat Nico Romero in behind and pushed his shot underneath Loons goalkeeper Dayne St Clair for a - lead in stoppage time Loons head coach Eric Ramsay had worried on Tuesday about the threat Bukari s athleticism presented About minutes earlier Bukari was only issued a yellow card from referee Alexis Da Silva for kicking out at Loons defender Anthony Markanich who fell to the ground after the contact and was incensed once he got up A handful of players on both teams got in a pushing match after the situation Without a sending off from a red card Bukari was able to twist a knife just before halftime Loons forward Kelvin Yeboah suffered a leg injury and limped off the field in the th minute With new forward Momo Dieng cup-tied to Hartford Athletic and ineligible to play for Minnesota the Loons didn t have another No on the game-day roster Yeboah grabbed his hamstring after going down in the box a insufficient minutes earlier After coming off he slumped dejected in his dugout seat Without his only natural forward Ramsay troubleshooted with Robin Lod moving from attacking mid to striker while Joseph Rosales subbed into a midfield spot Ramsay later moved Bongi Hlongwane from right wing back to center forward and it gave Minnesota more speed up top and helped set up Pereyra s goal The Loons had a handful of minor scoring chance before Yeboah exited but limited after the change across the rest of the first half To reach the semifinal the Loons beat Louisville City - in the U S Open Cup round of on May topped St Louis - in the round of on May and defeated Chicago Fire - in the quarterfinals on July