Sporting Kansas City II midfielder Cielo Tschantret's bending banger from the top of the box in Sunday's 3-1 win over St. Louis CITY2 has been nominated for MLS NEXT Pro Goal of Matchday 19. The goal, which proved to be the match-winner, will go up against scores from LAFC2's Eddy Berumen, Austin FC II's Bobosi Byaruhanga and FC Cincinnati 2's Yair Ramos in a fan vote on X which will be open for the next 24 hours.
The first-half stoppage time strike and first finish from Tschantret in 2024 proved decisive in SKC II's triumph over the Western Conference-leading St. Louis.
Sporting KC II snapped a two-match losing skid with a massive victory over their Western Conference rivals. A superb finish from Sebastian Cruz in the 32nd minute put the hosts on top before the guests evened things up two minutes later. On the cusp of halftime, Tschantret fired home his Goal of the Matchweek nominee to retake the lead.
After being played into space, forward Maouloune Goumballe galloped goalward before teeing Tschantret up at the top of the 18. The holding mid settled the pass with one touch before torching the keeper with an inside-the-foot finish into the right side of the goal.
Roberto Hategan would add an insurance goal in the 80th minute, wrapping things up nicely for SKC II.
A product of the Sporting Kansas City Academy, Tschantret inked his first professional contract in April after amassing 488 minutes for SKC II in nine appearances as an amateur player. In 2023, the Baltimore native scored two goals in three starts and earned MLS NEXT Rising Star of Matchday 24 after finding the back of the net against Austin FC II.
The son of Sporting KC Academy Coach Lee Tschantret, Cielo moved to Kansas City from Maryland in 2020 and represented the Academy at the U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels, helping the U-17s reach the 2023 GA Cup Knockouts and the 2023 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs. Balancing time with the second team and U-19s, he helped the Academy lift the 2023 Oklahoma-Arkansas UPSL regular season title.
Tschantret and Sporting KC II have a quick turnaround as they travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on Portland Timbers 2 on Thursday at 10 p.m. CT. The match can be found on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
