International break is a needed pause for faltering Loons

The three-week FIFA international break coming up will allow Minnesota United time to rest, heal and most importantly contemplate.

The Loons go there with a 5-6-3 record in MLS play that places them eighth and just below the playoff line in the 14-team Western Conference.

They also go there with management considering its options with the next transfer window opening in July.

"We've got three weeks now to sort of evaluate where we think we are, what we need to do," coach Adrian Heath said. "Do we need to anything when this window opens? I think there's going to have to be some tough decisions made, for sure."

The Loons have some roster flexibility, with injured midfielder Hassani Dotson out for the season and with defender Chase Gasper traded to the LA Galaxy.

"We've got an opportunity to freshen things up if we want to and we've got some big decisions to make," Heath said.

The Loons won't play another MLS game until June 19 at the New England Revolution. They won't play another league home game until Real Salt Lake on July 3 after Saturday night's 1-0 home loss to Eastern Conference-leading New York City FC.

That contrasts a May when they played eight games. Included was what Heath called an "embarrassing" U.S. Open Cup 2-1 loss at Allianz Field to third-division Union Omaha on Wednesday that sent them home after the round of 16.

They needed a break.

"I don't know if we need it," said Loons defensive midfielder and captain Wil Trapp, "but we got one."

Trapp played all Saturday with what he called a "little crack" in a rib suffered in last week's important 2-1 victory at FC Dallas.

"The rib's not displaced, so we can just roll with it," he said. "It was a risk, of course, but thankfully nothing happened. I'm a hockey player now. You know it's going to be tough. There's a little bit of risk there, but we were shorthanded and that's just part of the game."

Heath called it a "great time for a break" for a team that played so many games in such a short time and did so with uneven results, particularly offensively.

The Loons have already played at Philadelphia, New York Red Bulls, Austin, Los Angeles FC, Seattle and Dallas and played NYCFC at home.

That list includes the top two teams in each conference and six of eight teams that would make the playoffs in each conference if the season ended now.

NYCFC scored a set-piece goal in the 29th minute Saturday and remained unbeaten for an 11th consecutive game in all competitions. The team also stretched its shutout streak to six games in a row. That's only the fourth time in league history and the first time since the Galaxy in 2010.

"We've been running on empty for a couple of weeks now," Heath said. "A lot of tired bodies, as most of the players will be. It gives us a chance to regroup and refocus maybe."

Players will regenerate early this week, then will be given some time off starting Wednesday, Heath said Saturday night.

"That will help us a coaching staff sit down and decide what we think is going to be best moving forward," Heath said. "We've had a difficult start to the season with the teams that we've played, but there's still a long, long way to go in this league."

The Loons have played 14 games in a 34-game MLS season — and three U.S. Open Cup games.

"The guys need a rest and the past few games haven't been going well, so this will be a nice mental reset," goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair said.

St. Clair is one of five players for whom this FIFA break will be work, not rest, with their national teams.

He will trying to secure the third and final goalkeeper spot on his Canadian team that has qualified for the World Cup in November for the first time since 1986. It will play CONCACAF Nations League games against Curacao and Honduras.

"He's in a particularly rich vein of form," Heath said. "It's a huge year for the kid with the World Cup around the corner. We've spoken to him about making sure he keeps that standard up Monday to Friday and in games to make sure he's on the plane to Qatar. This doesn't come around very often, once a generation, certainly for Canada."

Loons defender Michael Boxall is headed for his New Zealand team that will play Costa Rica in a winner-take-all June 14 qualifier with a World Cup spot on the line.

Leading scorer Robin Lod is also off to play for Finland, midfielder Kervin Arriaga for Honduras and attacker Bongokuhle Hlongwane for South Africa.