When Minnesota United started its current seven-game run, including six on the road, in late July, Loons sporting director Manny Lagos said least 10 points in the stretch would be considered a success.

Through five games, the Loons have one point — with the chance of up to seven total, if they beat both D.C. United on the road Wednesday and Real Salt Lake in Utah on Sept. 15.

With eight games remaining this season, coach Adrian Heath figured Saturday his team would have to win at least five to have an outside shot at a Western Conference playoff spot.

“… to have any chance,” Heath qualified. “Forty-six points made it last year; that ain’t going to make it this year.”

As of Saturday afternoon, Portland sits in the sixth and final playoff spot with 41 points and is on pace for 54. If Minnesota, which has 29 points, goes 5-3-0 down the stretch, it would finish with 44 points. To achieve that, the Loons would be on a 1.87 points-per-game pace, up from the 1.12 pace they have through 26 games.

FifeThirtyEight.com doesn’t see Minnesota making the playoffs in its second MLS season. They peg the Loons’ playoff probability at less than 1 percent.

MARTIN’S EVENT

Midfielder Collin Martin, who became in June the only publicly gay player in the five major U.S. sports, will host an LGBTQ fundraiser Sunday for Tim Walz, the DFL candidate running to be Minnesota’s governor. About 125 people are expected come to the roof deck of Martin’s apartment building in Minneapolis.

“It will be fun to get a bunch of people together,” Martin said Saturday. “… Hopefully we will have an elected governor that supports our community.”

QUINTERO’S COMPANY

The Loons’ top player, Darwin Quintero, returned to training this week after a calf injury cost him the previous two games, both 2-0 losses.

The midfielder has 10 goals and nine assists in 19 games this year, and if he registers one more assists, the Colombian will join elite company in an MLS 10-10 club. Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco (10 goals, 14 assists) is the only one to have done it so far this year.

Only four players had double-digit goals and assists last season — Portland’s Diego Valeri, Atlanta’s Hector Villalba, L.A. Galaxy’s Romain Alessandrini and New England’s Lee Nguyen.

MAXI’S MOMENT

The clock is ticking on United’s yearlong loans of Alexi Gomez and Maximiano. Gomez was a wingback in the Loons run of good results earlier this season, while Maximiano, a defensive midfielder, has played only 147 minutes across six games as he has rehabbed from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his knee. Related Articles Loons’ late rally falls short in 2-1 loss to Columbus Crew

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“It’s been a little bit stop and start, but he actually feels the best he’s felt since he’s been here, so he’ll probably get an opportunity to start (a game) in the next few weeks,” Heath said.

Heath said Minnesota’s sporting staff will wait until the end of the year to make decisions on the purchase options for Gomez and Maximiano. That decision will weigh their play in Minnesota as well as other options on the transfer market.

BRIEFLY

United has sold more than 37,000 tickets for its home game on Oct. 21, the final one at TCF Bank Stadium before moving to Allianz Field in St. Paul next April. The club is attempting to break the Minnesota attendance record for a soccer game, which was set with 49,752 fans at Met Stadium in 1976.