Minnesota
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.
Minnesota
Utah Mammoth take down Minnesota 5-2 to end the Wild’s winning streak at 6
The Wild were taken down by the Utah Mammoth 5-2 on Friday night to end Minnesota’s winning streak at six games.
Lawson Crouse scored twice and U.S. Olympian Clayton Keller had a goal and two assists for Utah.
Logan Cooley and Barrett Hayton also scored and Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves to help the Mammoth rebound from a 4-2 home loss to NHL-leading Colorado on Wednesday night in their return from the Olympic break. Utah began the night in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
U.S. Olympian Matt Boldy scored and assisted on Kirill Kaprizov’s goal for Minnesota. Second behind Central Division-rival Colorado in the West, the Wild are 9-2-1 in their last 12. They beat the Avalanche 5-2 on Thursday night in Denver.
Cooley opened the scoring with a short-handed goal with 6:37 left in the first period. The former University of Minnesota star got the puck on the right side off a deflection and put a shot between Wallstedt’s legs for his 15th goal.
Keller scored his 18th at 4:26 of the second. Nick Schmaltz forced a turnover on a forecheck and fed Keller on the right side.
Crouse made it 3-0 at 7:49 of the second. He came down the middle, took a pass from Keller and beat Wallstedt with a backhander.
Kaprizov countered for Minnesota on a power play with 5:57 left in the second. He has 33 goals this season.
Hayton made it 4-1 on a power play at 1:19 of the third, and Crouse added his 16th of the season on a tip with 7:12 to go.
Boldy got his 35th of the season with 5:57 remaining.
Up next
Wild: Host St. Louis on Sunday.
Mammoth: Host Chicago on Sunday.
Minnesota
Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.
Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.
Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.
Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.
The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.
The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.
The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.
The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.
Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.
Minnesota
Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters
A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.
The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.
In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.
Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”
The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.
“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.
All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”
Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.
This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.
The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”
Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.
Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”
Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.
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