Tani Oluwaseyi’s longer ramp to be a key Minnesota United contributor

Tani Oluwaseyi has become Minnesota United’s superior sub.

The 23-year-old forward has come off the bench to provide two vital assists and one crucial goal in only 88 total minutes of playing time this season. Each of his goal contributions across three separate matches has directly aided the Loons in securing their seven points so far this season.

For Oluwaseyi, this upswing was years in the making.

As a junior at St. John’s (N.Y.) University in spring 2021, Oluwaseyi — his full name is pronounced Tan-ee Oh-loo-wa-shay-ee — was named to the 2021 preseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is given annually to top men’s and women’s collegiate soccer players.

He was first-team all-Big East Conference that pandemic-reduced season, but in his senior season that fall, he missed almost the entire schedule due to a dislocated kneecap.

“I had a lot of high expectations for what I thought I could do that year,” he told the Pioneer Press last week. “I had to pivot and focus everything on going pro.”

MNUFC rated Oluwaseyi’s athleticism at 6-foot-2 and his ability at St. John’s to know how to move defenses and finish in front of net. The Loons picked him 17th overall in the 2022 draft.

But the knee injury resurfaced in his first preseason camp with the Loons, and he went down to MNUFC2 in the MLS Next Pro league, where he also suffered a series of hamstring injuries and an Achilles injury. He had two goals and one assist in 10 appearances.

“It was a start-and-stop year for me the first year,” Oluwaseyi said. “I generally don’t consider it my first year as a pro.

“It was a lot,” he said of the injuries stacking up. “I learned a lot from it. Grew a ton from it, so I’m grateful for it, but hoping for better times moving forward.”

Good times have been stacking up since last season.

After the elation of his game-tying goal against Columbus on March 2, Oluwaseyi discussed the letdown of hearing a year ago that he wasn’t going to play regularly in MLS in 2023. But he said he quickly moved on to the task at hand.

The Loons had sent him out on season-long loan to the USL Championship with San Antonio FC, where he scored 16 goals and dished seven assists in 2,036 regular-season minutes.

“For the most part, I was healthy last year,” Oluwaseyi said. “I dealt with a hamstring toward the end of the year, but I played through it. It didn’t stop me from playing in a game, but you see my goal-scoring came in bunches and then disappeared for a little bit, that was kind of when the injury started and went through.”

Oluwaseyi was born in Nigeria, started playing soccer at age 5 and moved to Ontario when he was 10 in 2010. That move didn’t go over well with Tani and his two siblings, Tami and Tite.

“We had a pretty good life in Nigeria but (our parents) thought that there was better opportunities for us if we moved to Canada,” Oluwaseyi said. “It wasn’t a decision that we were happy with in the moment, me and my siblings. But looking back on it, it was the best thing they ever did for us. It’s paid off for every single one (of us).”

Tani’s older sister is now an engineer, and his younger brother just graduated from college and works in business. And he, of course, is a budding professional soccer player.

Tani credits his father, Debo, and Irishman Ron Davidson, a former youth coach in Canada, for being his biggest role models in soccer.

When Hassani Dotson was filming Oluwaseyi’s post-match interview with reporters after the Crew game, the footage was headed for his father.

“He’s been a lifelong (Manchester United) fan, unfortunately,” Tani said with a laugh. “We breathe football in Nigeria, so it’s just ingrained in our culture. He’s a big fan of the game and has a big understanding of the game. My mom (Kemi) calls him an armchair critic, but he’s a pretty good armchair critic.”

Tani and Debo talk before and after matches. “He will give me an unfiltered opinion — sometimes welcome, sometimes not,” Tani said. “I will take it how it comes.”

The plan is for the Oluwaseyis to come to Allianz Field for a game later on this season. Tani’s hope is to be healthy and contributing on the field at that point.

Rosales suspended

Loons left back Joseph Rosales received a red card for his role in the scuffle at the end of the 3-2 win over Orlando City, a club spokesman confirmed to the Pioneer Press on Monday. The Honduran will be suspended for the Los Angeles FC match in St. Paul on Saturday.

The Orlando Sentinel said Orlando’s Wilder Cartagena also was given a red card.

Maplewood native Devin Padelford, who was in a preseason position battle with Rosales, appears to be the top candidate to step in against LAFC.

Rosales, who was not officially booked in Saturday’s match, had received his one previous red card in MLS in 2022. L.A. Galaxy forward Douglas Costa elbowed Rosales in the head at the end of the match, and Rosales retaliated with a shove.

Knowles to remain

Interim head coach Cameron Knowles will become a permanent assistant coach under new head coach Eric Ramsay, the club said Monday.

“Cameron stepped into a leadership role and prepared our first team ahead of the season and has handled everything with professionalism and passion,” Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad said in statement. “He provided a consistency during a time of transition for the club.”

Under Knowles, the Loons went 2-0-1 in the first three matches of the season. With seven points, MNUFC currently sits in second place in the Western Conference standings.