Minnesota

Minnesota United signs former Miami midfielder, U.S. National Teamer Julian Gressel

Published

7 months ago

April 29, 2025

Minnesota United signs former Miami midfielder, U.S. National Teamer Julian Gressel

Minnesota United signed nine-year MLS veteran midfielder Julian Gressel, who quickly joined the Loons on the practice field Tuesday morning.

Inter Miami waived Gressel in an apparent salary-shedding move after he was unable to crack the lineup so far this season under new head coach Javier Mascherano. He appeared in 32 games last year, helping Miami finish with the best record in Major League Soccer.

Gressel is under contract through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027.

Click the video box on this page to watch Julian Gressel’s press conference during his first practice session with Minnesota United, and head coach Eric Ramsay on signing Gressel, coming off the team’s first loss since the season opener and this weekend’s match at Austin

Born in Neustadt, Germany, the 31-year-old was the MLS Rookie of the Year in 2017, playing for Atlanta United in their first season in MLS. He recorded an assist in a memorably snowy debut at Huntington Bank Stadium as Atlanta faced Minnesota United in the Loons first-ever home game as an MLS team.

He’s also played six matches with the U.S. Men’s National Team, won two MLS Cups (Atlanta 2018, Columbus 2023) and a U.S. Open Cup (Atlanta 2019).

Through the first ten games of the season, United enters this weekend standing 4th in the Western Conference (4-2-4). Their next match is at Austin on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

More, from Minnesota’ United’s official announcement of Gressel’s signing:

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (April 29, 2025) — Minnesota United today announced that the club has acquired versatile MLS veteran Julian Gressel off waivers. Gressel is under contract through December of 2026, with a club option for 2027.

“I’m really excited to be here at Minnesota United and to get integrated into the group,” said Julian Gressel. “I can’t wait to get started with the guys and continue the momentum that has been established within the team.”

“We welcome Julian and his family to Minnesota and are excited for him to join our team,” said MNUFC Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad. “Julian brings an impressive depth of MLS experience and championship pedigree to Minnesota. He is a proven winner and competitor and our hope is that he will contribute those qualities to our team and continue to push our club forward throughout the rest of this season and beyond.”

A veteran of MLS, Julian Gressel joins Minnesota United from Inter Miami CF where he played for the South Florida side during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, making 32 MLS regular-season game appearances and providing nine assists. Gressel was a mainstay and played a vital role with the Miami squad that captured the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield trophy as the team with the most points in that season, notably a single-season record with 74 points.

The German-born, United States international began his career in MLS when he was selected as the eighth-overall pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by Atlanta United FC. With Atlanta, Gressel made nearly 100 game appearances, earning 2017 MLS Rookie of the Year honors and helping the team capture the 2018 MLS Cup championship and 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles. He then was traded to D.C. United and featured prominently for the team from 2020-2022 before being sent to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, competing for the Canadian side from 2022-2023, winning back-to-back Canadian Championships. During the summer of 2023, Gressel was sent to Columbus Crew, where he played a key role and helped the Ohio team lift the 2023 MLS Cup trophy.

Overall, across all MLS competitions (regular-season and MLS Cup Playoffs) since 2017, Gressel has made an impressive 258 game appearances (232 starts), where he has provided 67 assists and has scored 28 goals, to-date.

Internationally, Gressel has represented the United States. He was called up to camp for the first time in January of 2023 and was then named to the final squad ahead of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, where he earned his first cap in a group-stage victory over St. Kitts and Nevis. To-date, Gressel has made six game appearances for the Stars and Stripes.

Transaction: Minnesota United acquires Julian Gressel off waivers. Gressel is under contract through December of 2026, with a club option for 2027.

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Minnesota

Ravens Defense Has Its Swagger Back After Minnesota Win

Published

1 day ago

November 9, 2025

Press Room

Ravens Defense Has Its Swagger Back After Minnesota Win

According to Kyle Hamilton, the Ravens defense has its swagger back. Well, almost.

They need to improve their celebrations first, Hamilton said after the Ravens’ 27-19 win in Minnesota. But the mere fact that they’re planning them shows that they expect them and is a far cry from the feeling around Baltimore’s defense earlier this season.

On a day in which Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense had an uneven performance, Baltimore had three takeaways, including two interceptions, and had three fourth-down stops.

“I think we’re starting to hit our stride,” Hamilton said. “It’s not a surprise to us. I think we’re playing to our potential now, and that has to be sustained.”

Heading into their Week 7 game against the Bears with a 1-5 record, the Ravens’ defense was ranked last in the league in points allowed per game (32.3) and had just three takeaways in six games.

Baltimore now has seven takeaways in its past three games. Turnovers come in bunches, they say, and the Ravens are reaping the rewards.

Baltimore also held one of the best wide receivers in the game, Justin Jefferson, to just four catches for 37 yards on 12 targets. Fellow top receiver Jordan Addison had just three catches for 35 yards.

In his fourth career game, Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy started hot but finished completing less than half of his passes (20 of 42) for 248 yards.

Head Coach John Harbaugh said the Ravens didn’t do too much out of the norm to deal with Jefferson.

“We rolled the quarters to them a couple of times, but that’s really still covering the guys,” Harbaugh said. “I think the credit goes to the players. I thought our guys did a great job of just covering.”

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Minnesota

Minnesota Prep RB Breaks Records, Dethrones Defending State Champions

Published

2 days ago

November 9, 2025

Press Room

Minnesota Prep RB Breaks Records, Dethrones Defending State Champions

It was a night he will never forget, and neither will any of his teammates at Lakeville South High School.

Griffen Dean broke school records in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, leading the Cougars to a thrilling 49-31 victory in the Class 6A Minnesota high school football playoff quarterfinals over Maple Grove.

The win for Lakeville South ended the reign of Maple Grove, who won its second 6A state football championship in three years last season. The other title for Maple Grove came in 2021.

But this night belonged to Dean and the Cougars, as the junior had 292 yards and scored six touchdowns, accoridng to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.

Lakeville South led by two at halftime, but Dean put his team on his shoulders, scoring three times, including on a 73-yard jaunt to the end zone. The Cougars scored 28 consecutive points in the half.

Up next for Lakeville South will be a meeting with Moorhead in the state semifinals from U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday, November 14. Moorhead advanced with a 35-21 victory vs. Centennial.

Dean, who has rushed for over 1,500 yards this season, and the Cougars have won three straight since a 20-15 loss to Rosemount in mid-October. They also own narrow wins over Edina and Prior Lake around a four-point setback to Shakopee in early September.

According to the report, Lakeville South scored on its first seven possessions of the game and did not attempt a pass all game long. Nic Swanson, who has over 1,200 yards rushing this year, added 167 on the ground, highlighted by a 72-yard run.

The Cougars went 6-4 last season after an 11-2 mark in 2023. They have not had a losing record since 2017.

In 2020 and 2021, Lakeville South won 21 consecutive games, going back-to-back as state champions. They made the semifinals in 2022, along with trips to the final four in both 2019 and 2018.

Maple Grove had won 23 consecutive games before the loss, going 13-0 last year to win the 6A state championship. They finished 2023 with a record of 7-3 overall and also went a perfect 13-0 in 2022.

Since the start of the 2021 season, Maple Grove has posted a record of 55-9 overall.

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Minnesota

As deer season opens, CWD cases in Minnesota continue slow rise

Published

3 days ago

November 8, 2025

Press Room

As deer season opens, CWD cases in Minnesota continue slow rise

Chronic wasting disease, a neurodegenerative disease that affects deer and other hooved mammals like elk, causes lethargy and weight loss. It is always fatal.

Infected animals spread prions, the infectious agent, through saliva, urine, feces, blood, antler velvet and from the carcass after death, but the spread is not fully understood. Prions are resistant to heat, disinfectants and decomposition.

One recent study by Minnesota and Wisconsin researchers suggested that infected deer ticks swallowed by deer during social grooming may be one way that the disease jumps from animal to animal, according to a 2023 Minnesota Star Tribune report.

The first case of CWD in Minnesota was in a farmed elk in 2002 in Aitkin County. Incidents of the disease began appearing in wild whitetail deer in 2010.

The Minnesota DNR’s deer permit areas govern rules on tracking CWD into two types of zones, designed to track the progression of the disease in deer herds.

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