Minnesota United meet Fire after COVID-19 issues

After having their scheduled Sunday night match at FC Dallas postponed following two positive COVID-19 tests in their player pool, Minnesota United return to action on Wednesday night when they host the Chicago Fire in Saint Paul, Minn.

The Loons (6-5-5, 23 points) returned to training on Tuesday at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., after suspending training on Sunday and Monday as all players and team staff were placed in quarantine while testing and contact tracing took place. The team didn't identify the two players who tested positive.

Minnesota enters Wednesday night's contest one point behind fourth-place Los Angeles FC in the Western Conference. The top four teams host the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

The Loons, who haven't played since a 0-0 draw at Nashville SC on Oct. 6, will be putting a team-record three-game shutout streak on the line. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, the No. 7 overall pick of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, also has a team record 290-minute goal-less streak.

The 23-year-old St. Clair, who led the University of Maryland to the 2018 NCAA title, has 29 saves and four shutouts in eight starts since taking over for injured No. 1 Tyler Miller (hip surgery) and backup Greg Ranjitsingh (knee).

"He's proven he can play in the MLS," said Minnesota coach Adrian Heath. "And he'll only get better."

Chicago (5-8-4, 19 points) comes into the contest in ninth place in the Eastern Conference after winning three of its last five matches (3-1-1), including a 2-1 victory over visiting D.C. United on Sunday. C.J. Sapong scored in the third minute and Boris Sekulic also scored in the first half for the Fire, who also got two assists from midfielder Alvaro Medran.

The 26-year-old Medran, a product of Real Madrid's youth system acquired last October with Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) after spending five seasons in La Liga, has two goals and four assists in 16 games with the Fire.

"We all know the qualities of Alvaro," Chicago head coach Raphael Wicky said. "They're above average. He's an amazing midfielder (and a) very, very important player for our team."

--Field Level Media