Minnesota United will try to snap a six-match winless streak against the team that knocked them out of the Western Conference playoffs last season when they host San Diego FC on Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.

The Loons (6-6-5, 23 points) enter the contest in ninth place, three points ahead of San Diego (5-7-5, 20 points) in the race for the final playoff spot. It’s a rematch of last November’s Western Conference semifinal final, won by San Diego 1-0 on a goal by Anders Dreyer in the 72nd minute.

Minnesota is 0-3-3 in its last six matches and comes in off a 0-0 draw with defending Western Conference champion Vancouver last Saturday. The Loons haven’t won a game since May 2 at the Columbus Crew, 3-2.

Goals have been hard to come by for Minnesota, which has scored just 19 times in 17 games. Only Atlanta United (17) and Sporting Kansas City (18) have scored fewer in the MLS this season. Kelvin Yeboah has eight goals and Anthony Markanich has four, but none of their teammates has scored more than one.

Still, despite failing to score a goal, the outcome was a positive for the Loons. First-place Vancouver has scored a Western Conference-best 37 goals and drilled Minnesota 6-0 in the first meeting on March 15 in Canada. That set the team record for largest margin of defeat for Minnesota.

Loons coach Cameron Knowles says good defense is a catalyst for his team’s offense.

“Most of our goal attacking comes from good defending, and we have to maintain that,” Knowles said.

San Diego, just 1-4-2 on the road this season, comes in off a 1-0 home victory over FC Dallas last Saturday.

Forward Alejandro Alvarado Jr., making his first start after undergoing right knee surgery 13 months earlier, scored his first MLS goal on a right-footed blast from about 10 yards above the box in the 50th minute. CJ Dos Santos made one save for his first clean sheet.

San Diego dominated possession, roughly 70-30, and in total passes, 867-299, while also finishing with an 8-1 edge in shots on goal.

“Just really happy for Alejandro,” San Diego coach Mikey Varas said. “It’s his first goal at the first division level, and he took the goal really well. Ultimately, I think we created a lot of chances on the night, (and) overall it was a really complete performance by our team.”

–Field Level Media

The Houston Dynamo look to continue their rise up the Western Conference standings when they face Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in Kansas City, Kan.

The Dynamo (8-6-2, 26 points) rolled to a 3-0 home victory over Austin FC last Saturday and are tied for the fourth-most points in the conference with Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas.

Mateusz Bogusz scored twice for his third career MLS brace while sparking the Dynamo against Austin.

“He’s a machine,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said of Bogusz. “His output is pretty amazing, and he’s up and back, and I’m so thrilled for him because he does so much.”

Bogusz ranks second on the Dynamo with four goals, behind Guilherme’s eight. Guilherme, an All-Star, contributed one goal and one assist in the win.

This is the teams’ first meeting this season. Houston struggled against Sporting Kansas City last season, losing 3-1 at home in May and playing to a scoreless road tie in October.

But Sporting KC (4-11-2, 14 points) hasn’t been strong all season and resides in last place in the Western Conference.

Last Saturday, Sporting KC was routed 4-0 by host Los Angeles FC. Denis Bouanga had two goals for LAFC and Sporting KC didn’t have the firepower to match.

“I think it’s just, in certain moments, decision-making,” Sporting KC coach Raphael Wicky said of the effort. “I believe that we played, in possession, some really good sequences.

“We were good on the ball. We didn’t create that much, but that’s also not easy against them to be honest.”

SKC played without forward Capita Capemba due to illness. He had one goal and one assist over Kansas City’s previous two matches.

Star striker Dejan Joveljic had scored goals in the previous two games before the shutout. He leads Sporting KC with eight goals after a career-high 18 last year in his first campaign with SKC.

–Field Level Media

Less than three months ago, St. Louis City were all but buried.

The club won just one of its first 10 games (1-6-3) and scored more than one goal just twice across that stretch.

Ahead of their match against visiting Real Salt Lake on Saturday night, the dreadful start is nothing more than a distant memory.

St. Louis (7-6-4, 25 points) has won four straight matches and is unbeaten since a May 3 loss, propelling the red-hot club into a Western Conference playoff position. Although Yoann Damet’s team looks vastly different compared to the start of the season, the first-year head coach believes the team’s attitude hasn’t changed.

“The mindset of the group is amazing, and I’ve said that since Day 1,” Damet said. “These guys are amazing, the way they are showing how relentless they are in being committed to one another, and being committed to their own growth has been second to none.”

Marcel Hartel’s five goals lead St. Louis, while Simon Becher has a team-high five assists.

Salt Lake (8-6-2, 26 points), meanwhile, is trending in the opposite direction. After a 2-1 road loss to the Portland Timbers last weekend, the club has dropped consecutive games for the first time since April.

In search of its first win since May 16, Salt Lake is anxious to get back on track.

“When we lose a game like this, there’s not too much time to feel sorry for ourselves,” defender Lukas Engel said following the Portland match. “We’ve got to bounce back. We’ve got to go out there and get a clean sheet. Then I’m pretty sure we’re going to win the game because we’re going to score goals. I am 100% sure of that.”

Salt Lake was outshot 25-7 by the Timbers.

Zavier Gozo and Sergi Solans spearhead Salt Lake’s offensive attack, each posting six goals.

–Field Level Media