Sporting Kansas City II (4-5-1, 13 points) picked up a second straight win against an Oklahoma opponent on Saturday, prevailing by a 2-1 scoreline over FC Tulsa (2-2-4, 10 points) at ONEOK Field in Tulsa. A week after defeating OKC Energy FC 3-0, Fredinho Mompremier and Wilson Harris bagged goals for Sporting II in the cross-conference victory as the team gained ground in pursuit of a playoff position in the USL Championship Group E standings.
Four days after Sporting KC fielded five Homegrown Players for the first time in team history, Sporting KC II started six SKC Academy products on Saturday.
The visitors weathered a spree of early chances from the hosts, including a close call at the seven-minute mark when 18-year-old goalkeeper Brooks Thompson was dispossessed by a sliding challenge from Dario Suarez. Thompson, making his fifth start of the season, scrambled to secure the loose ball to thwart the imminent danger.
FC Tulsa continued to create chances and twice threatened to take the lead in the 14th minute. Dillon Serna did well to block a shot from Marlon Santos to snuff out a promising attack and the ensuing corner was directed just wide of the near post.
Instead, it was Sporting KC II who opened the scoring in the 20th minute with Mompremier, who played for FC Tulsa in his rookie season a year ago, striking against his former side. Serna’s pinpoint pass from the left flank was nestled home with a side-footed volley by the 23-year-old Haitian for his first goal of the year.
In search of an equalizer, FC Tulsa nearly leveled the score on two well-taken free kicks mid-way through the first half. Suarez’s set piece from 20 yards out carried just over the crossbar in the 23rd minute and three minutes later, Thompson was called into action to tip Rodrigo Da Costa’s acutely-angled free kick over the bar.
The end-to-end action at ONEOK Field was on full display in the 28th minute as Wilson Harris broke behind the Tulsa backline and forced a save from Sean Lewis. Moments later, Suarez was 1v1 with Thompson on the other end and successfully rounded the goalkeeper only to see his shot toward the empty net knocked away with a superb defensive play by Kaveh Rad.
FC Tulsa would breakthrough 10 minutes later as club captain Ariel Martinez pounced on an under-hit backpass intended for Thompson and made no mistake with a confident first-time finish to even the score at 1-1 on the cusp of halftime.
FC Tulsa remained on the front foot at the start of the second half with an impressive buildup into the penalty area as Thompson was positioned to deny Da Costa in the 47th minute.
Sporting KC II then retook the lead with the game-winning goal in the 55th minute through the team's leading goal scorer. Christian Duke played Serna into space on the left side and the seven-year MLS veteran earned his second assist of the match with a cross delivered toward the near post, where Harris expertly re-directed the service into the back of the net with his first touch.
Harris has five goals on the season, including a brace in the team's 3-0 win over OKC Energy FC last Saturday, and the 20-year-old now has 20 career goals in the USL Championship.
Sporting II nearly doubled their advantage 10 minutes later as Mompremier cut the ball back invitingly for Serna. Racing forward from his left back position, Serna's shot was blocked at the final moment with a sliding stop by Matt Sheldon in the 65th minute.
Thompson was at his best to preserve the one-goal lead with a pair of saves in the final 20 minutes. He first dove low to his right to hold onto a header from Da Costa off a long-flighted throw-in from Sheldon in the 71st minute, then earned his fourth save of the night as he sprung to his left to push away the curling effort of Mdon Udoh in the 78th minute.
Between those two actions, Serna nearly set up a third goal with a floated ball that found Jake Davis near the penalty spot. The 18-year-old laced a volley into the ground that bounced beyond the crossbar.
The game's late stages featured a frantic finish as FC Tulsa thought they had rescued a result six minutes into stoppage time on a free kick taken by Vangjel Zguro and headed home by Suarez. The home crowd's exuberance turned to exasperation as the offside flag went up and the goal was disallowed.
Sporting KC II, now four points out of playoff position, will continue the team's seven-game road trip on Friday against cross-state rivals Saint Louis FC. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT at West Community Stadium with a live stream available on ESPN+.
2020 USL Championship
Match 10 of 16
ONEOK Field | Tulsa, Oklahoma
Attendance: 2,790
Weather: 82 degrees and partly cloudy
<strong>Score</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>F</strong> |
Sporting Kansas City II (4-5-1, 13 points) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
FC Tulsa (2-2-4, 10 points) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Sporting Kansas City II: Brooks Thompson; Camden Riley, Kaveh Rad, Danny Barbir, Dillon Serna; Petar Cuic (Duval Wapiwo 87), Jake Davis, Christian Duke (C); Fredinho Mompremier (Enoch Mushagalusa 86), Wilson Harris (Dominik Resetar 73), Tyler Freeman (Jaret Townsend 73)
Subs Not Used: Remi Prieur, Sam Raben, Kayden Pierre
FC Tulsa: Sean Lewis; Matt Sheldon, Bradley Bourgeois, Solomon Kwambe (Vangjel Zguro 69), Kevin Garcia; Raphael Ayagwa, Lebo Moloto (Mfon Udoh 69), Rodrigo Da Costa (Toby Uzo 78), Ariel Martinez (C); Dario Suarez, Marlon Santos (Cristhian Altamirano 80)
Subs Not Used: Bryan Byars, Callum Chapman-Page, Ciaran Winters
Scoring Summary:
SKC - Fredinho Mompremier 1 (Dillon Serna 2) 20'
TUL - Ariel Martinez 2 (unassisted) 39'
SKC - Wilson Harris 5 (Dillon Serna 3) 55'
Misconduct Summary:
SKC - Camden Riley (caution; unsporting behavior) 25'
TUL - Solomon Kwambe (caution; unsporting behavior) 36'
SKC - Fredinho Mompremier (caution; delaying restart) 86'
SKC - Christian Duke (caution; unsporting behavior) 90'
SKC - Jake Davis (caution; unsporting behavior) 94'
TUL - Vangjel Zguro (caution; dissent) 98'
<strong>Stat</strong> |
<strong>SKC</strong> |
<b>TUL</b> |
Shots |
9 |
25 |
Shots on Goal |
3 |
6 |
Saves |
4 |
1 |
Fouls |
18 |
15 |
Offsides |
2 |
2 |
Corner Kicks |
6 |
8 |
Referee: Chris Ruska
Assistant Referee: Shane Kennard
Assistant Referee: Seth Barton
Fourth Official: Jose Lara
