During Wednesday’s scoreless match, Los Angeles Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic collected a chunk of sod he had just unearthed and fired it back into the void. Afterward, visiting goalkeeper David Bingham told the Los Angeles Times, “It was one of the worst grass fields we’ve played on in a long time.”

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Bingham has not played lately at Yankee Stadium, where grass fitted over the baseball infield has left hazardous conditions this spring. Philadelphia also has experienced problems.

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“We deal with field problems aplenty,” D.C. Coach Ben Olsen said. “I expect that. The weather [in Minnesota] in the spring is probably not a lot of fun for the groundskeepers, especially since it’s new sod. I’ve heard it’s not great, but we’ve played on not great before.”

That list includes D.C.'s main training field on the RFK Stadium campus. It has been slow to take hold this year, prompting the team to practice periodically at Audi Field and the St. James indoor complex in Springfield.

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“As much as I think I am a horticulturist, I don’t know how this stuff works,” Olsen said before quipping, “Ask [General Manager] Dave Kasper: He knows all about rye and Bermuda.”

The Twin Cities enjoyed sunny weather Thursday and Friday before cool, gray conditions returned on the weekend. The metro area dodged a band of cold rain and potential snow crossing the southern part of the state.

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MLS teams are accustomed to dodgy weather on a regular season calendar that kicks off in early March. To avoid problems, Montreal played its first six matches on the road (instead of staging a game or two indoors at Olympic Stadium, which sits adjacent to the Impact’s full-time, outdoor grass venue, Saputo Stadium).

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Field conditions aside, D.C. is aiming to remain unbeaten on the road after a 1-0 victory Wednesday at Columbus. For the third consecutive trip, United (3-0-1 away, 2-2-1 home) survived a harrowing second half to earn three points.

Both of the past two away victories have come with a new-look formation: three center backs and two wing backs instead of four defenders.

Given the team’s success and the rise of rookie center back Donovan Pines collaborating with veterans Steve Birnbaum and Federic Brillant, it’s hard to imagine Olsen reverting to the original alignment.

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“There are still moments within this new formation that we’re out of sorts, which is normal,” he said. “We just haven’t had enough time with it to get certain areas of it up to where it needs to be.”

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Another reason to stick with it: The top two options at left back in a traditional four-man set remain sidelined. Joseph Mora (broken jaw) probably will not return until June, and while Chris McCann (hamstring) is close to full health, D.C. did not want to risk a relapse this weekend.

Olsen will have 17 players, one short of the typical game-day pool, after Griffin Yow reported to U.S. under-17 national team training camp in Florida on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Olsen did not utilize his substitutes until the last few minutes, raising concerns about fatigue Sunday.

“I felt like our roles were clearly defined down the stretch and that group could hang on,” he said. “Sometimes a change or two disrupts the understanding of what the game needs to see it out.

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“In retrospect, could I have made one or two subs earlier? Sure. But we got away with it.”

Had United played Saturday, Olsen said, earlier substitutions would have been necessary. But that extra day between matches, he added, “makes a big difference.”

Notes: Stewart Mairs, the team’s analytics expert for three years, was promoted to technical director, replacing Dane Murphy, who left after a short tenure to pursue a position overseas . . .

The organization is close to finalizing a mini-tournament involving four French clubs this summer at Audi Field. United seems likely to play one of the visiting teams, as well.

D.C. United at Minnesota United

Where: Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn.

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When: 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

TV: FS1.

Records: D.C., 5-2-2, 17 points; Minnesota, 3-3-2, 11 points.

D.C. probable starters: GK Bill Hamid; Ds Leonardo Jara, Frederic Brillant, Donovan Pines, Steve Birnbaum, Lucas Rodriguez; MFs Paul Arriola, Junior Moreno, Chris Durkin, Luciano Acosta; F Wayne Rooney.