Saturday night against St. Louis City, Minnesota United reverted to the starting lineup that beat Inter Miami one week earlier.

They reverted back to the win column, too, beating the visitors 3-0.

Tani Oluwaseyi scored in the first half, Joaquín Pereyra and Julian Gressel scored in the second, and Minnesota United cruised to a comfortable victory, easing some of the angst the Loons felt after an ugly loss 2-0 to Houston on Wednesday.

"These are the games that you play for, to be honest," Oluwaseyi said. "We work so hard every day in training and even in the games and when you're able to put together a, quote-unquote, perfect game, with the clean sheet, scoring multiple goals [from] multiple goal scorers and you know, just feel like you played from minute one to minute 90, I think are the ones that you look back on when the season's over and you remember them pretty fondly."

St. Louis hasn't won an MLS game since March 15, a 10-game stretch in which it has now earned just three points total.

How it happened

To put it mildly, the Loons are not famous for their passing or possession. In the second half, though, the Loons' counterattacking started to look like a secret strength — especially midfielder Robin Lod, who made several inch-perfect passes that led to scoring chances.

Lod was the key in the second-half passing move that finally led to a ball in the back of the net for the Loons, connecting with Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Oluwaseyi, who made the final layoff to a wide-open Pereyra at the top of the penalty area. All Pereyra had to do was pass the ball into the back of the net, his second goal of the season.

The Loons' third goal was equally silky. Wil Trapp and Pereyra combined down the left-hand side, with Trapp slipping a through ball for Pereyra, who swung in a left-footed cross for a wide-open Gressel. Just onto the field as a substitute, the newest Loon bounced a volley past the keeper — his first goal for his new team.

"It was one of our most complete performances, I would say, and we've shown dominance in all phases of the game," Loons coach Eric Ramsay said. "… I think if you look back at the goals we scored, there's a really good balance there, and that's ultimately what I want."

What it means

Minnesota is still in the middle of a busy stretch of games, with midweek games both of the next two weeks — but the end is in sight. The Loons again play St. Louis at home in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, followed by a stretch in which they play Saturday, Wednesday and Sunday, before a longer June break for an international window and the Gold Cup.

MATCH SUMMARY: Minnesota United FC 3, St. Louis City 0

MLS standings

After a month in which Ramsay has all but split his team into a midweek squad and a weekend squad, if Ramsay again rotates for the Open Cup, that final three-game stretch could represent a return to some semblance of normalcy when it comes to lineup decisions.

Play of the game

Oluwaseyi has now scored 14 goals for Minnesota United in MLS — but few as confidently as the one he scored in the 33rd minute. Defender Nicolás Romero got on the end of a corner kick that was drifting away from goal, and headed it down directly to Oluwaseyi, who was standing on the edge of the 6-yard box. The striker, facing away from the goal and surrounded by St. Louis defenders, didn't try to swivel and shoot — he just lifted a left boot and backheeled the ball into the goal.

A less confident player wouldn't have even tried something that would invariably be described as "cheeky," were the match taking place in England.

Up next

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Wednesday the Loons take on St. Louis City at Allianz Field. This time, though, it's a U.S. Open Cup game, with Minnesota and St. Louis seeking a spot in the quarterfinals — likely with a number of changes to their starting lineups from Saturday.