Storylines Presented by BMW | #MINvATX

WHATEVER, BRAAAD: The last time out against Austin, MNUFC rolled in a 4-2-3-1 that was missing Bakaye Dibassy from the backline and featured a four-man front of Hassani Dotson, Emanuel Reynoso and Ethan Finlay through the midfield and Ramón Ábila up top. While the teams ended up even on total shots at 13, Austin put two more on frame than the Loons and ended with 1.9 xG to Minnesota’s 0.9, making the 1-0 final score a fair summary of the game. Overall on the season, though, Austin — like many expansion teams before them — have struggled with converting chances; their six goals on the year lags 3.91 goals behind their expected goals of 10.28. Perhaps more worryingly for Head Coach Josh Wolff, they’ve been giving up quality looks more than any other team in the league with an expected goals allowed of 17.19, which is almost two goals worse than bottom-dwelling Cincinnati’s 15.38. It’s no exaggeration to say that it has been goalkeeper Brad Stuver’s heroics that have kept them in games so far. He leads the league in saves with 47 and has saved 0.44 more goals per 96 than expected — a mark that currently puts him above elite keepers including Andre Blake and Matt Turner. If the Loons hope to score, they’re going to have to do more than ping shots and hope Stuver makes a mistake because it doesn’t happen often.

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