Loons vs. Austin: Keys to the match, storylines and a prediction

Minnesota United vs Austin FC What U S Open Cup semifinal When p m Wednesday Where Allianz Field Stream CBS Sports Arrangement Paramount Weather degrees mostly sunny mph east wind Form Minnesota is unbeaten in four including a - accomplishment at first-place San Diego on Saturday Austin had won two straight before a - loss to Texas rival FC Dallas last weekend Modern matchups Minnesota beat Austin - in Texas on May and the two teams played to a - draw in St Paul on May Quote Players are possibly sick of hearing me describe games as finals because I think I ve been doing it for a while and it gets the desired response head coach Eric Ramsay disclosed But I feel like we have been in that position where we ve been in the hunt for lots of things for a lot of this season Stat Forward Kelvin Yeboah has not scored in seven straight matches but he was dealing with another lull in May before scoring in an Open Cup round of match against St Louis He also converted on two penalty kicks in the USOC quarterfinal win over Chicago Context The Loons are expecting at least fans for Wednesday s match which is well short of the stadium s limit of but way more than they have had in previous rounds Absences MF CB Carlos Harvey is out with a knee injury that Ramsay mentioned is not considered serious CF Momo Dieng is ineligible after already playing in the tournament for Hartford Athletic Prediction With only goals in games Austin has struggled to tally especially without injured forward Brandon Vazquez and Minnesota s success is built on a suffocating defense Loons move onto their first Open Cup final since with a - success