Marcus Caldeira has been on an absolute tear since the end of Leagues Cup. He has a goal contribution in five of the six games Minnesota has played, including four goals in the last three games as Minnesota has suddenly found their offensive form.
In discussing Caldeira’s incredible emergence on The Daves I Know this week, I wondered aloud what Minnesota’s longest goal-scoring streak was and if Caldeira had reached it yet. That was far too good a research project to leave in the realm of unanswered questions, but it did prove to be stickier than I expected.
The chart below lists every player-season in Minnesota United’s MLS history with four goals or more — did I think Angelo Rodriguez rattled off a four-game run in 2018, then never scored again? Of course not, but rigor matters. — counting goals scored in MLS games only. It does include streaks that spanned both the regular season and playoffs.
| Year | Player | Goals | Longest Streak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Christian Ramirez | 14 | 2 |
| 2017 | Abu Danladi | 8 | 2 |
| 2017 | Kevin Molino | 7 | 2 |
| 2018 | Darwin Quintero | 11 | 3 |
| 2018 | Christian Ramirez | 7 | 2 |
| 2018 | Miguel Ibarra | 7 | 2 |
| 2018 | Angelo Rodriguez | 4 | 1 |
| 2019 | Darwin Quintero | 10 | 2 |
| 2019 | Ethan Finlay | 7 | 1 |
| 2019 | Mason Toye | 6 | 2 |
| 2019 | Angelo Rodriguez | 5 | 2 |
| 2019 | Hassani Dotson | 4 | 1 |
| 2020 | Kevin Molino | 9 | 3 |
| 2020 | Robin Lod | 7 | 2 |
| 2020 | Ethan Finlay | 4 | 1 |
| 2021 | Robin Lod | 9 | 2 |
| 2021 | Adrien Hunou | 7 | 2 |
| 2021 | Emanuel Reynoso | 5 | 1 |
| 2021 | Franco Fragapane | 5 | 2 |
| 2022 | Emanuel Reynoso | 10 | 2 |
| 2022 | Luis Amarilla | 9 | 2 |
| 2022 | Franco Fragapane | 7 | 2 |
| 2022 | Robin Lod | 6 | 3 |
| 2023 | Teemu Pukki | 10 | 3 |
| 2023 | Bongokuhle Hlongwane | 8 | 2 |
| 2023 | Emanuel Reynoso | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | Bongokuhle Hlongwane | 11 | 2 |
| 2024 | Tani Oluwaseyi | 8 | 3 |
| 2024 | Kelvin Yeboah | 7 | 4 |
| 2024 | Robin Lod | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | Sang-Bin Jeong | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | Hassani Dotson | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | Teemu Pukki | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | Tani Oluwaseyi | 10 | 3 |
| 2025 | Anthony Markanich | 9 | 2 |
| 2025 | Kelvin Yeboah | 9 | 2 |
| 2025 | Joaquin Pereyra | 6 | 2 |
| 2025 | Robin Lod | 5 | 2 |
| 2026 | Kelvin Yeboah | 11 | 3 |
| 2026 | Anthony Markanich | 7 | 2+ |
| 2026 | Marcus Caldeira | 4 | 3+ |
So for MLS games only, Kelvin Yeboah owns the longest streak in MNUFC history with four. He scored five goals during that stretch, a pair of which were penalties. His form has been so erratic over the last two seasons, it’s easy to forget how electric he was when he first arrived in the summer of 2024.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane also has a four-game scoring streak, but it came during the 2023 Leagues Cup. He scored a downright shocking seven goals in four games, no other Loon has gotten close to that achievement, and he deserves a huge amount of credit for that. Cup competitions don’t always feature a consistent level of competition, which is why I’d settled in my mind to only use MLS games, but Bongi certainly deserves recognition as well.
In 2024, Robin Lod had his own incredibly impressive streak when he became the first Loon to record assists in four straight games and even added a goal during that run. That isn’t even his most remarkable scoring streak, however. That honor belongs to his run in 2020 where he recorded either a goal or an assist in six straight appearances: the last three games of the MLS regular season, two UEFA Nations League matches with Finland, and the first game of the MLS playoffs.
Even if Caldeira doesn’t score against Dallas, this has been an impressive run, doubly so for a rookie. Just six other players have scored for Minnesota in three consecutive games: Darwin Quintero, Kelvin Yeboah, Kevin Molino, Robin Lod, Tani Oluwaseyi, and Teemu Pukki. Of those, only Yeboah and Oluwaseyi did it more than once.
Caldeira may have a ways to go before he tops Hlongwane’s run of seven goals in four games or Lod’s six game point streak that ran across three countries, but his future undoubtably looks bright!