Minnesota United鈥檚 4-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16 could be chalked up to bad luck.
But there鈥檚 also the adage of creating your own luck, and the Loons didn鈥檛 do themselves any favors at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on Tuesday.
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Kervin Arriaga suffered two yellow cards in the first half, and his cumulative red card Tuesday put his team down to 10 men when they were already down a goal.
Between Arriaga鈥檚 bookings, Loons winger Bongi Hlongwane鈥檚 handball in the box led to a penalty kick from Corey Baird, which he converted past Clint Irwin in the 34th minute.
The Dynamo broke it open in the second half, with Baird registering a hat trick with goals in the 68th minute and 88th minute. Aliyu Ibrahim scored on a breakaway in the 80th.
Houston will face Austin FC or Chicago Fire in the quarterfinals June 6-7. Those two MLS sides will play their round of 16 match at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
As the Loons won two straight in the national tournament, manager Adrian Heath and Co. began to think about the possibility of winning the Open Cup and going on to play in CONCACAF Champions League for the first time.
Now, the MNUFC鈥檚 most readily available option to playing in the regional tournament is off the table. They will look to form in MLS and in the new Leagues Cup with Mexico鈥檚 Liga MX to play in CCL for the first time in seven seasons.
Arriaga has now accumulated seven total yellow cards across 13 matches in all competitions in 2023; he has four in MLS play, meaning he has been flirting with a one-game suspension for a while now.
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Arriaga鈥檚 fouling and argumentative ways have been a concern since he came to Minnesota in 2022. He had eight yellow cards in 24 matches last season.
Heath has tried to address the issue with his Honduran midfielder.
鈥淭he thing with Kervin is his natural instinct to get after the ball, so he always leaves himself susceptible to getting yellow cards,鈥� Heath said Friday. 鈥淭he other thing that is disappointing is he has had a couple of dissents, which you can actually do something about. It鈥檚 something with Kervin that we have spoken about. At times he has to be a little bit more disciplined and understand the game is refereed differently here than where he鈥檚 from.鈥�
Heath made seven total changes from the 1-0 win over Portland on Saturday, with striker Luis Amarilla dropping out for Mender Garcia, and Sang Bin Jeong replacing Franco Fragapapane as central attacking midfielder. Hlongwane remained at right wing, with Joseph Rosales playing through a knee knock suffered vs. Timbers.
Arriaga came back to the starting XI after subbing on in the previous two MLS matches; he paired with Wil Trapp in central midfield.
Irwin, who started in the previous two Open Cup wins, remained in net for the national tournament. Irwin had made two saves in the eight-round shootout to help MNUFC beat Philadelphia Union in the Open Cup鈥檚 round of 32 on May 9.
Houston did not start Mexican star midfielder Hector Herrera amid 10 changes from their MLS game Saturday. Four of the Dynamo鈥檚 starting XI have not played in the league this season. Herrera played in the second half.
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MNUFC can put its full focus on MLS play now, with Real Salt Lake coming to Allianz Field on Saturday night.
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