Elwin Fontaine opened the door to his small St. Paul apartment on Thursday morning and was greeted by Minnesota United midfielder Ethan Finlay delivering him hot and cold lunches from Meals on Wheels.

“So many of us need it,” Fontaine said. “It’s not only food, it’s cheer.”

An enthusiastic Finlay joined Loons mascot “PK” and Meals on Wheels reps in delivering fresh food to residents in the neighborhoods around Allianz Field, the club’s under-construction stadium set to open at Interstate 94 and Snelling Avenue in spring 2019.

In July of United’s debut Major League Soccer season, the Loons acquired the six-year Major League Soccer veteran from the Columbus Crew, who brought with him experience on the MLS Players Union’s Executive Board and the U.S. men’s national team.

It was a bit of a homecoming for Finlay, 27, who was born in Duluth and mostly raised in Wisconsin. Volunteering is familiar and familial. His father, Brent, has worked at the YMCA for more than 25 years, and his mother, Julie, has been active with women’s health care and other initiatives.

Before totting meals Thursday morning, Finlay spoke with the Pioneer Press:

Why is it important to you to give back?

So many reasons. I’ve grown up in a household where my parents call themselves ‘professional volunteers.’ … For me, I just think it’s part of our job. The community gives us so much. Related Articles Loons’ Adrian Heath, Kei Kamara believe they can strike simpatico partnership

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You participated in online commentary for MLSsoccer.com during the playoffs. Is a role in media something you want to pursue?

I think it’s an option. When I try to be prepared, I don’t plan on having more than six months of vacation after I finish this job in eight to 10 years. So, for me, I’m always trying things out. I wouldn’t say it’s one or two on my list, in all honesty. I would like to stay within the sport of soccer or in the sports industry. I think it was a great opportunity, and I would be open for more.

Your former team the Columbus Crew might relocate to Austin, Texas, for the 2019 season. What’s your view of that situation?

… I’m crushed. I think it’s really sad. … I’ve compared it — and it’s not quite the same — but it’s like taking the Green Bay Packers out of Green Bay and moving the Yankees out of New York. For our sport, for our league, they were the first team to commit the way that they did (in building a soccer-specific stadium), and they had a great following.

Now, if you take the passion out of it, I get that some of the business metrics make sense. There is an argument that can be made that a move might be necessary. It’s obviously an option on the table. They could stay if they get a new stadium. Regardless of what happens, a new facility is needed in Columbus to try to keep pace.

The MLS playoffs span more than six weeks, ending with the Cup final between Toronto and Seattle on Saturday. Plus, there’s a two-plus week international break in between. What can be done to fix the MLS playoff format?

What I would like to see is us try to go to more one-game-offs. I think the two-game … series of the conference semis and conference finals is a little bit too long. (The two game-format can encourage the higher-seeded road teams to play Game 1 to a defensive-focused draw, knowing they will play at home to finish the series in Game 2). I would like to see teams come out from the opening whistle and play open soccer and I think that (a one-game playoff) encourages it.

I think you go that route and start moving there, maybe you keep the conference final as the two-leg (format) if you really want, and then you have the MLS Cup. We can pack that into three or four weeks. That is what it should be. Can we have the pinnacle leading up to right around Thanksgiving? …

The counterargument is TV. We are losing games, people in the seats. That’s obviously important and that’s a money thing. I get that.

As a player, I would like us to continue the momentum. I’m a fan, as well. I’m seeing commercials, but I know that game is in two weeks. You forget about it. You have every other sport happening, and they are going every week. I think we lose that casual fan.

How sweet was it for you to have two goals and two assists in your first three games in Minnesota?

It validated the reason I wanted to leave (Columbus after six years). … A fresh start with a new group of guys and a new coaching staff. That was extremely important in wanting to move. I could have stayed in Columbus and been a part of this playoff push and not have been as big of a part as I wanted to be. I had too many aspirations for myself. Minnesota felt the same way. ‘We want you to be an integral part of our team,’ and that is what you want to be a part of, especially at this point in my career. …

Every player wants to be remembered wherever they go, and I thought I had an opportunity to come in here and maybe finish my career and take this team to heights they have never been to. … Hopefully that starts in 2018 with our first playoff appearance and then moving forward from there.

What does United need to get to the playoffs?

Player acquisitions … will be extremely important. I think from a staff perspective, we are in a pretty good place. We will obviously be adding at least one more staff member (a goalkeeper coach) on a sporting side. I think our scouting network is getting better and better. I think we’ve learned a lot. Obviously, the coaches have been abroad. …

I think as an organization we have a good idea. Hopefully we will see some (higher-priced Target Allocation Money) players, maybe a (highest-priced Designated Player) in the next 12 months. That will be important for our organization. Having the right signings and being the right fit for our community, our organization, all those things are extremely important. You can sign really good players, but they have to work here. Now that we know how we are going to play with our current personnel, what we need will be extremely important for us this offseason. Could it make or break our season? Maybe. I think what it will really dictate is how we start. I think last year, the reason for the slow start was we weren’t quite ready and we made some acquisitions through the summer … and the team got better. … I have high hopes, I really do. To me, the playoffs are very much achievable with the group that we have. We need to build around the talent.