Loons beat San Jose 3-1 but miss out on playoffs

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Nectarios Triantis scored two goals late in the second half as Minnesota United beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Saturday for their third straight victory.

Despite the loss, San Jose (14-10-10) clinched a top-four spot in the MLS Cup playoffs.

Minnesota (11-12-11) entered needing a win and some help to secure a wild card spot, but Seattle beat LAFC to keep the Loons out of the playoffs.

Tomás Chancalay tied it at 1-all in the 57th minute for Minnesota. Chancalay raced past the defense for a through ball from Joaquín Pereyra and rolled a breakaway shot inside the far post.

Minnesota took a 2-1 lead in the 82nd when Marcus Caldeira settled a ball at the back post and poked it to Triantis for a deflected shot that bounced off the post and in.

Triantis received a pass near the midfield circle and took four touches to get inside the 18-yard box for a shot throug...