For a third game in a row, Minnesota United was left shorthanded because of international call-ups, injuries and what Eric Ramsay called “a perfect storm” of other issues.

Also among the things the Loons are missing in that three-game stretch is points.

FC Dallas striker Petar Musa had a hat trick, helping the home team to a 5-3 win over MNUFC on Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas. It was Minnesota’s second straight loss overall and its third defeat in a row on the road.

It was also the second time in 12 days the Loons dropped points against Dallas, statistically one of the worst teams in the MLS in 2024.

Minnesota fought back to tie the game twice but both times conceded another go-ahead goal within six minutes of scoring.

Musa had gone five games without a goal, but with some help from defensive errors by the Loons, the Croatian claimed his first hat trick in MLS. First, fullback Caden Clark was slow to step forward as part of Minnesota’s effort to trap Musa offside, leaving the Dallas striker able to run onto a long over-the-top pass from Paul Arriola and roll a shot past Loons goalkeeper Clint Irwin from a surprisingly acute angle to the goal.

After the Loons tied the game at 1 on a goal by Bongokuhle Hlongwane, an attempted cross went through the feet of center back Victor Eriksson, and Musa was able to poke the deflection past Irwin for his second of the half.

Hassani Dotson scored in the 57th minute to tie the game at 2-2, but Musa completed the hat trick after Dallas knocked down another over-the-top pass from Arriola, and Musa ran onto the loose ball and scored again.

Jesús Ferreira scored the fourth goal for Dallas in the 75th minute — once again, after the Loons’ attempt to trap a Dallas forward offside failed, leaving Ferreira to waltz in alone and beat Irwin. Logan Farrington made the scoreline even more embarrassing for Minnesota, adding a fifth in the 90th minute.

Hlongwane’s first-half goal came after one of the most up-and-down single minutes you’ll see from any player. First, the forward snuck in behind the Dallas defense but whiffed on an attempt to volley home a lofted pass. Minnesota won the ball back from the resulting goal kick, and the ball went straight to Hlongwane, who stung Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes’s palms with a rocket from outside the penalty area, winning a corner kick in the process. On the corner kick, Hlongwane rose in front of Paes to head home his first goal in seven games.

In the second half, Dotson simply repeated what he did 12 days ago against Dallas. In that game, he scored after picking up a loose ball from Hlongwane. In the 57th minute, he did it again — but this time, he added an extra trick. His blast went off Paes’ gloves, off the left-hand post, looped gently across the goal line, hit the right-hand post, and trickled into the net — a goal that both tied the game and seemingly defied the laws of physics.

Wil Trapp scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time to make the game 5-3 after a handball by Dallas in its own penalty area.

The Loons got Trapp back in the starting lineup after the defensive midfielder missed Saturday’s game with a family-related absence. Michael Boxall also started for the Loons, four days after leaving a game at halftime with an injured ankle.