Sporting Kansas City II (2-16-4, 11 points) slipped 3-0 on the road against St. Louis CITY2 (16-4-3, 54 points) on Sunday night at Energizer Park. Miguel Perez netted two goals in the match on either side of halftime after a Sporting KC II own goal gave the home side the lead. With the defeat, SKC II is officially eliminated from MLS NEXT Pro playoff contention.
Interim head coach Ike Opara started Jacob Molinaro in goal and a back three of Gael Quintero, Pierre Lurot and Nati Clarke. A midfield five included two holding mids in Cielo Tschantret and Blaine Mabie. Shane Donovan and Beckham Uderitz played out wide while Johann Ortiz operated in the middle. Maouloune Goumballe and Medgy Alexandre began the match up top.
A war of attrition broke out for the first 20 minutes of the contest as neither side was able to offer any truly threatening chances. St. Louis' first goal of the evening came 21 minutes into the match when a free kick was headed goalward, bounced around in traffic and settled in SKC II's net.
A little over five minutes later, Brendan McSorley, who had eight shots and zero goals on the night, sent his first effort wide of a diving Molinaro, who had his goal covered. Just past the half-hour mark, the SKC Academy product made his first of three saves on the night.
Perez notched his first goal of the contest in the 34th, putting his body on the line to head the ball in on the doorstep and double St. Louis' lead. The home side had a pair of half-chances to close out the half, but nothing got past the SKC II defense this time.
Opara made no changes during the break. Two minutes into the second half, Matteo Kidd got played in behind the defense and somehow lifted his shot over the crossbar as Molinaro cut down the angle on the forward. A dangerous set piece from 19 yards out was blocked by a sturdy SKC II wall in the 50th, and Molinaro made a superb save moments later. This time, the keeper laid out to his left and trapped the ball against the ground with one outstretched arm.
Quintero ripped SKC II's first shot on target in the 56th. Lucas McPartlin was not ready for the pace and spilled the shot back into his area before his defender was able to clear the danger. Two minutes later, Ortiz was slipped into the 18 by Uderitz and, unluckily, fired a shot off the near post and out for a throw-in on the near side.
Molinaro's third save was a comfortable catch of a floating, headed effort. On the other end of the pitch, 65 minutes into the game, Alexandre tried his luck from a tight angle, surprising McPartlin. This time, the keeper was able to smack the shot down and scoop it off the ground himself.
SKC II's two substitutions came on in the 66th and 68th minutes. First, 16-year-old Kashan Hines came on for Quintero, and then Carter Derksen replaced Ortiz shortly thereafter. Hines and Uderitz made similar runs into the six, five minutes later, and Hines did well to leave the ball for Uderitz. The winger was unable to hit the ball cleanly with an outstretched left foot, and McPartlin was able to make the save.
Perez picked up his second goal of the night on the cusp of the 80th minute, and St. Louis was able to keep SKC II away from any dangerous attempts in the final moments of the match.
Sporting will return to Kansas City for back-to-back home matches in the next two weeks. First, they will host Colorado Rapids 2 on Sunday, August 31, at 12 p.m. CT at Children's Mercy Victory Field. Then, Real Monarchs comes to town on Sunday, September 6. Tickets for both games can be purchased for $10 on SeatGeek.com.
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
Sporting Kansas City II (2-16-4, 11 points) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
St. Louis CITY2 (16-4-3, 54 points) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Sporting Kansas City II: Jacob Molinaro; Gael Quintero (Kashan Hines 66'), Pierre Lurot, Nati Clarke; Cielo Tschantret, Blaine Mabie, Shane Donovan, Johann Ortiz (Carter Derksen 68'), Beckham Uderitz; Maouloune Goumballe, Medgy Alexandre
Subs Not Used: Kael Taylor, Bryan Arellano, Luis Cruz-Ayala, Anthony Samways, Zane Wantland
St. Louis CITY2: Lucas McPartlin; Tyson Pearce (Joey Zalinsky 46'), Kyle Hiebert, Cam Cilley (Gabriel Mikina 46'), Jayden Reid (Emiliano Chavez 75'); Miguel Perez, Seth Antwi, Brendan McSorley, Wan Kuzain (Trip Clancy 82'), Matteo Kidd; Emil Jaaskelainen (Caden Glover 46')
Subs Not Used: Colin Welsh, Lucas Demitra
Scoring Summary:
STL -- Own Goal (Maouloune Goumballe) 21'
STL -- Miguel Perez 7 (Brendan McSorley 6) 34'
STL -- Miguel Perez 8 (Matteo Kidd 3) 78'
Misconduct Summary:
SKC -- Pierre Lurot (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 45'
SKC -- Johann Ortiz (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 45+1'
SKC -- Cielo Tschantret (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 49'
SKC -- Nati Clarke (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 63'
STL -- Trip Clancy (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 88'
Stat | SKC | STL |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 6 | 19 |
Shots on Goal | 3 | 5 |
Saves | 3 | 3 |
Fouls | 16 | 18 |
Offsides | 1 | 1 |
Corner Kicks | 3 | 5 |
Referee: Laith Dahhan
Assistant Referee: Jake Brochu
Assistant Referee: Fermin Sanchez
Fourth Official: Velimir Stefanovic
