Minnesota United scored in the second minute of Saturday's game and then defeated Sporting Kansas City 2-1 at Allianz Field for its second win in five home games this season.
Six days after a win over rival Charlotte, the Loons scored on a goal from defender Michael Boxall with two minutes remaining and a goal from Thani Oluwaseyi in the 25th minute.
The Loons are currently 5-2-2 overall, while Sporting are 2-3-5.
SKC's star striker Alan Pulido pulled one back with a goal in the 38th minute.
Boxall's goal was his seventh career MLS goal, and his first since last season's final game at Sporting Kansas City, and also before the capacity crowd had settled down.
He converted a set-piece shot from a corner kick with a lofty right-footed kick towards the far post.
Loons midfielder Robin Rodd flicked a shot from the near post. The ball passed just over the traffic and reached the boxall at the end of the line, allowing him to raise his right foot high enough to guide the ball into the goal.
Oluwaseyi took a 2-0 lead with a tap-in near the far post in the 25th minute, scoring his fourth goal of the season and third in April alone.
Pulido tied his team up 2-1 with a one-touch run from the top of the 18-yard box, converting SKC captain Daniel Saloy's cross into a bouncing shot past Loons keeper Dane St. Clair.
This was Pulido's third goal of the season.
The Loons will continue to play without injured rookie defenders Hugo Bacharach (knee surgery) and Jordan Adebayo-Smith (ankle), while star midfielder Emmanuel Reynoso will be sidelined for the second consecutive year. He remained in Argentina for the start of the season.
Midfielder Hassani Dotson, who scored in a 3-0 win over Charlotte a week ago, was listed as questionable Friday with what coach Eric Ramsey called a “complaint” in his hamstring. Ta. Coach Ramsey hinted that Dotson might play some minutes in the game in some capacity, but Dotson was neither a starter nor a sub on Saturday night.
Center back Mickey Tapias started that night as a substitute on his way back from an ankle injury. He came on as a substitute for Oluwaseyi in the 65th minute.
Veterans Franco Fragapane, Will Trapp and Rod will start in midfield behind Teemu Pukki and Oluwaseyi, with the backline consisting of Joseph Rosales and DJ Taylor on the outside, Devin Padelford, Vauxhall and The versatile Kervin Arriaga formed a three-man back line between them.
Earlier Saturday, the Loons signed second-team goaltender Alex Smeal to a short-term contract to back up St. Clair. He could be called up to the first team for one more MLS game and two more non-MLS games this season.
Loons attacker Sang Bin Jeong participated in the Asian Cup Olympic Qualifiers with the South Korean U-23 National Team and returned to Minnesota in time for Saturday's game. However, he was not deemed ready to be in the match-day squad after scoring a goal as a second-half substitute in South Korea's 11-10 penalty defeat to Indonesia on Thursday, in which they were stripped of their Olympic qualification. Ta.
