The Union shift their focus to the regular season after pair of cup exits

Given the choice, anyone in the soccer world would rather win a trophy than be knocked out of two cup tournaments in a week. That certainly goes for the Union, since those tournaments were the Concacaf Champions League and U.S. Open Cup — the most prestigious cups in this country.

But it’s also clear that the Union are exhausted from having played 17 games already this year — half a regular season’s worth — in 2½ months. And they are now short of depth for a few weeks, with José Andrés Martínez out injured and Quinn Sullivan and Brandan Craig gone to the under-20 World Cup. Jack McGlynn will join the duo in Argentina after Saturday’s game.

» READ MORE: The Union’s Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan, and Brandan Craig make the U.S. under-20 World Cup team

So it’s understandable that manager Jim Curtin took a bigger-picture view this week, appreciating that an eight-game May schedule won’t have more games added to it.

“I know it hurts for our fans, but it’s the reality of things,” he said. “Now we have a singular focus on the league. That singular focus will be to take as many points before we lose Andre [Blake] for the Gold Cup [in mid-June].”

The third goal the Union conceded at Minnesota in the Open Cup was a symbol of their state. Coaches dislike watching their teams concede goals on corner kicks and free kicks, but they detest giving up goals on throw-ins. The Loons had a throw-in deep in Union territory, and the visitors’ defense barely touched Minnesota’s attackers.

“We have eight guys, literally eight guys, in the box — so we have enough guys to get it cleared,” Curtin said. “We want to deny balls even getting into that ‘red zone.’ … A lot of little details there that we can clean up and do better, and it’s really a silly goal to concede in that moment off a throw-in.”

» READ MORE: Union takeaways: Kai Wagner shouldn’t have had to save the Union twice against Minnesota

There are seven games from now until MLS pauses briefly for the Concacaf Nations League final four in the first weekend of June. The good news for the Union is that only the first and last of them, at San Jose (June 10), require major travel. The rest include four games at home and a short trip to New York City FC. Colorado, Saturday’s opponent, also has a long injury list at present, and has been upended by midfielder Max Alves’ suspension over allegations he’s involved in a Brazil-based match-fixing scandal.

The bad news is that while the Nations League break will give the Union some rest, Jamaica isn’t in the final four. The Reggae Boyz will likely take their A-squad to the Gold Cup, which means the Union will lose Blake and likely Damion Lowe. And don’t rule out the United States calling up McGlynn, since the Americans will likely take a B-squad of prospects ahead of next year’s Olympics.

“There’s little blocks to each season,” Curtin said, “and this is a block where we know we have to bank as many points as we can.”

» READ MORE: Former MLS star Miguel Almirón is excited to return to America with Newcastle United