Closure.
That's how captain Wil Trapp described the three-week FIFA international break that brought an end to Minnesota United's disastrous month of May this week.
It was a month that didn't feature much closure on the field. Despite a wealth of opportunities, the Loons went 1-4-1 and managed just four goals in six MLS games in May, the worst of a scoring slump that has plagued Minnesota all season.
"I think for us again, it's getting a little bit of a mental break from the [difficult stretch of games] that we had in May, which was game, recover, game, recover, which wears on players for sure," Trapp said. "So, in a way, we can use this as kind of a closure for that month and then springboarding into the rest of the season."
In those six league games in May, the Loons averaged 1.35 expected goals per game, which when multiplied out, comes to 8.1 goals in the month. Minnesota's scoring output in the month clocked in at less than half of what was expected statistically.
The month even marked a step back from the first two months of the season, eight games that many found disappointing offensively. The Loons scored 11 goals in those contests, an overperformance of their 9.4 expected goals (1.17 per game).
Minnesota did less with more in May.
"It will be, absolutely," Trapp said of the team's emphasis on finishing during the break. "I mean, I think if we look at the games where we've dropped points, it's been the small moments of chances, and it seems at times we get punished and we don't punish. And that's natural, that happens in the season. But how do we account for improving it?"
Wide back DJ Taylor has provided a lone, unlikely offensive spark in recent weeks.
Breaking into the starting lineup against LA Galaxy, he recorded an assist on the Loons' only goal, then scored himself in the next game against FC Dallas.
"It's a little disappointing, right?" Taylor said. "We expect higher standards for ourselves. But we also know we've been playing well. We just feel like ... we've been struggling to score. I feel like that's the last thing that we're missing.
"We've put a team together that's intense, and we obviously have shown that we can compete whether we're away or at home. That's our standard."
Coach Adrian Heath, who played on the attack during his 18-year playing career in Europe, sympathizes with his struggling forwards.
"It's never ever, as a striker, it's never easy when you're making opportunities and you're not scoring and people talk about it all the time," Heath said after the 1-0 loss to New York City FC on Saturday. "It does play on your mind. We've all been there. The guys are trying and we'll give them the opportunity to break out of this little slump that we're in."
Heath is spending the break in his native England, visiting a terminally ill childhood friend and his grandchildren.
For now, Trapp wants his teammates to shut out the external criticism over the break.
"I think so much of it is just not listening to it, to be honest," Trapp said. "It's really tuning it out and focusing on what you can control on a daily basis here on the field."
Etc.
The Loons announced that their Aug. 14 game at Nashville SC will start at 8 p.m., one hour later than originally scheduled.
