Loons' highs and lows of 2018

October 27, 2018 at 12:28AM

Loons' highs and lows of 2018

Positives

52,000-plus: The club set an attendance record for a stand-alone local-team soccer game when it closed out its two-year run at TCF Bank Stadium on Oct. 21.

Quintero emerges: The Loons signed Darwin Quintero as their first designated player in March and he exceeded expectations. In a first partial season, he led the team with 11 goals and 14 assists.

Batman bounces back: Miguel Ibarra struggled in his return to the Loons last year, starting just 20 games and scoring only three goals with four assists. This year, he cemented his place as a starter, and has seven goals and eight assists.

Negatives

Minimal improvement: With one game left in the season, the Loons (11-19-3) are just a 2-0 defeat from finishing their second year with the same points, goals allowed and goal differential as in the disappointing inaugural year.

Road woes: Last season United had three victories and two draws on the road. This year, the totals are just one victory and two draws with one game left.

Trading a star: The departure of forward Christian Ramirez, a fan favorite, to LAFC at midseason sent supporters into a spiral. The club could reap $1 million of allocation money from the deal but hasn't used enough of it yet to determine whether it was a good call.

Megan Ryan

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