Recap: SKC II suffers 4-1 defeat to Earthquakes II at Swope Soccer Village 

Sporting KC II (8-12-2, 26 points) suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Earthquakes II (10-8-3, 34 points), Sunday afternoon at Children's Mercy Victory Field in Kansas City, MO. Bakary Bagayoko trimmed a two-goal deficit in half in the 55th after two Earthquakes II first half goals, but a pair of scores brought the final tally to 4-1 in favor of San Jose.

Head coach Benny Feilhaber and SKC II's starting XI were accompanied by four Sporting Kansas City first-teamers including defenders Kayden Pierre and Jahon Rad, along with midfielders Cam Duke and Jake Davis. Ethan Bandre earned his fourth consecutive start and tied the SKC II season high with nine saves, set previously by himself on July 31.

Defender Coby Jones, plus forwards Julian Vazquez and Bakary Bagayoko rejoined the starting XI, linking up with defender Jahon Rad midfielder Curtez Kellman and forward Josh Coan. J. Rad donned the captain's armband for the first time this season.

Right off the opening kick, Bagayoko went ariel in the attacking third before getting ripped down giving SKC II their first free kick of the contest. Coan stepped up and doinked a shot off the top of the Earthquakes II wall. Three minutes later the first attack from the visitors fizzled out after a cross sailed too high for William Richmond on the back post. That sequence wound up a San Jose corner that was punched upfield by Bandre.

In the eighth minute, SKC II's backline took some air out of the ball, working it around the back nicely. This freed up room for Jones to enter the final third before slipping a through ball to Vazquez. As the winger cut the ball back to Bagayoko, the offside flag went up, ending that run of play.

In that same minute, Earthquakes II scored on Rodolfo Castro's first of two goals. A run into the right side of the box was chopped back to Castro and he wasted no time placing it into the empty backdoor of the goal. In the twelfth Bandre made a solid save, reaching up to touch a ball onto the crossbar and over the goal. This would not be the last time the woodwork got involved in this one.

Castro went for a second goal in the 16th minute but was denied by the SKC II keeper in the middle of the goal when he dropped down to smack the shot away. Despite the quick reaction save the offside flag had gone up. SKC II put a shot on goal with Vazquez forcing Eric De La Cerda into a tough one-handed save after Coan torched his man at midfield.

Bandre made another save in the 20th and denied Castro in the 23rd. The Earthquakes II leading scorer put a one-touch volley into the net from close range for his brace a minute later.

The most dangerous attempt from SKC II to that point came in the 38th when Davis flicked the ball over his defender's head and slid Pierre through. The defender found Coan who rifled a shot destined for the upper-90 that was turned aside by the outstretched paw of De La Cerda. San Jose would retain their two-goal lead, taking it into the half.

Feilhaber made a trio of changes, swapping Esai Easley, Nati Clarke and TJ Fatah for J. Rad, Jones and Vazquez. A little over 10 minutes into the second, Bagayoko cut into San Jose's advantage. After Earthquakes II cleared a corner, Easley stuck in the box, got back onside and received a through ball. He held up play brilliantly, rounded the keeper and dropped a dime of a cross onto Bagayoko's foot. The striker thundered the ball home with authority, putting SKC II right back in the match.

Five minutes later the frame came back into play after Duke intercepted a pass and made a beeline for goal. No defender stepped up and the first team loanee struck a beautiful shot that drifted barely too far wide, colliding off the far post and bouncing over the endline. Two minutes later SKC II asked further questions of the defense with Coan stealing the ball and dropping a cross for Fatah that was snagged at the final moment by the keeper.

In the 68th, Bandre palmed away another shot on target with two hands. Coan went for another cross towards Fatah but again, had it caught by the intervening keeper. Earthquakes II recaptured their two-goal lead in the 72nd after a corner stuck around the six for too long and was hit into the net.

The goalscorer Bagayoko's day came to a close with a little under a quarter of an hour left, making way for Ryan Reid to come on. A few ticks later Edgar Bazan entered for Kellman. Reid would get a shot off, firing high with one touch from distance as SKC II went wanting on their final chances. San Jose added a fourth with the final kick of the game after Eduardo Blancas stole the ball and slotted in a one-v-one.

Following this one, SKC II will have two more matches in the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season. The first of which is the final home game, next Monday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. CT against Rapids 2 at Children's Mercy Victory Field. The season concludes with a grudge match at St Louis City2 on Sunday, Sept 18. Tickets for the home finale are on sale at SeatGeek.com and all SKC II matches can be streamed for free at MLSNEXTPro.com.

2022 MLS NEXT Pro | Match 22
Children's Mercy Victory Field | Kansas City, MO
Weather: 88 degrees

Sporting Kansas City II: Ethan Bandre; Kayden Pierre, Kaveh Rad, Jahon Rad (Esai Easley 45'), Coby Jones (Nati Clarke 45'); Curtez Kellman (Edgar Bazan 83'), Jake Davis, Cam Duke; Josh Coan, Bakary Bagayoko (Ryan Reid 76'), Julian Vazquez (TJ Fatah 45')
Subs Not Used: Matthew Hudson, Collin Fernandez, Mikey Lenis, Guy Michaeli

Earthquakes II: Eric De La Cerda; Omar Lemus, Israel Carrillo, Alejandro Cano, Erick Reyes (Giancarlo Mota Morfin 45'); Nathan Scott, Cruz Medina (George Asomani 61'), Niko Tsakiris (Eduardo Blancas 45'); Maximilian Arfsten (Joaquin Eisenberg 89'), Rodolfo Castro, William Richmond (Miles Robinson 81')
Subs Not Used: Emmanuel Ochoa, Alex Chow, Siad Haji, Ethan Kohler

Scoring Summary:
SJ – Rodolfo Castro 9 (Maximilian Arfsten 5) 8'
SJ – Rodolfo Castro 10 (Cruz Medina 1) 24'
SKC – Bakary Bagayoko 2 (Esai Easley 2) 55'
SJ – Maximilian Arfsten 5 (unassisted) 72'
SJ – Eduardo Blancas 6 (unassisted) 90+6'

Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Cruz Medina (unsporting conduct; yellow card) 44'
SJ – Eduardo Blancas (time wasting; yellow card) 57'
SKC – Jake Davis (unsporting conduct; yellow card) 69'
SJ – Israel Carillo (unsporting conduct; yellow card) 84'

Referee: Nabil Bensalah
Assistant Referee: Eric Wood
Assistant Referee: Robert Kosinski
Fourth Official: Velimir Stefanovic