Recap: Sporting KC II blanks Rapids 2 4-0 following two-hour rain delay

Sporting Kansas City II (9-5-5, 35 points) kept Colorado Rapids 2 (12-2-5, 45 points) off the scoreboard in a 4-0 victory Sunday night at Rock Chalk Park after the match was stopped for a two-hour rain delay. The win gives Sporting KC II three straight wins and cements their spot in fourth place in the Western Conference.

Sebastian Cruz scored his third goal in as many matches and his fourth of the campaign before Alenis Vargas buried a beautiful scissor-kick volley from the top of the box. Nassim Mekideche and Felipe Hernandez stamped their names on the scorer's sheet in the second, both scoring on Ethan Bryant assists.

Head coach Benny Feilhaber rolled out a starting XI with Ethan Bandre making his second straight start after earning a 2-1 win at North Texas SC last Saturday. Mekideche, Lucas Rosa, Chris Rindov and Nati Clarke played on the back four while Bryant, Danny Flores and Ozzie Cisneros patrolled the midfield. Cruz and Vargas were joined by Stephen Afrifa up top.

The visitors took the first chance of the contest in the third minute when Oliver Larraz curled one high and wide of Bandre's goal. From that moment on it was all Sporting KC II in the first half. The first nervy moment for Rapids 2 came off some high pressure from Vargas. Goalkeeper Adam Beaurdy's errant pass was intercepted by Bryant and rolled into the box for Cruz. The winger rushed his shot and whistled it just wide of the far post.

A minute later Afrifa neatly chested a pass down and ripped a shot off the volley off the foot of a defender and into the keeper. The match settled in until Cisneros clipped a ball to Vargas on the endline in the 13th. The eventual goalscorer took a chance, ripping one right into Beaudry's path where the keeper blocked the shot down, smothering it off the bounce.

Vargas and Cruz nearly combined for a scoring opportunity in the 15th when another forced turnover by the Honduran led to a golden chance. Cruz hit the shot on one touch and barely missed the near post, putting the ball into the side netting. The Sporting KC Academy product would make up for this just three minutes later.

Again, Vargas sparked the attack with his speed, dashing through the midfield and into the attacking third before laying the ball off to Afrifa. The striker's shot deflected off a defender, rolled toward the endline and then was redirected back into the empty net by Cruz. Sporting KC II's pressure had finally paid off in the form of the first goal of the match.

Bryant took the first corner of the night in the 22nd, finding the head of the sprinting Flores. The first teamer's redirect skipped too far behind and was eventually gathered up by Rapids 2. Cruz nearly had a second in the 28th, missing out on the brace due to a well-positioned Beaudry on the goal line.

A minute after that, Vargas scored a potential MLS NEXT Pro goal of the year contender. Afrifa got into the attacking fold once more, trying to ping a cross to the top of the box after being played through on the overlap by Bryant. The cross deflected off a defender and floated to Vargas at the top of the box.

The winger positioned himself underneath the ball, leaped into the air and struck the ball cleanly with his left foot, firing the ball past the keeper and into the upper-90 of the goal. Almost in shock after the strike, Vargas jumped to his feet and ran to the corner to celebrate the jaw-dropping finish with his parents.

The match settled down for the remainder of the half. Rindov did well to put Remi Cabral off in the area, however, conceding a corner in the process. The SKC II defense held on the corner, clearing the ball upfield. Cabral then put one over the crossbar from range and Bandre got involved, gliding gracefully on the turf to win the ball before Rapids 2 could connect on a through ball.

The halftime whistle came with SKC II hanging on to their two-goal advantage. Coming out of the break, five minutes of soccer were played before both teams had to go to the locker room for a two-hour rain delay. Both sides came out of the break with play resuming at 9:35 p.m. CT in the 50th minute.

Coming out of the delay, Colorado tried to get themselves back into the match, throwing everything they had at Bandre. Yosuke Hanya had the first advancement for the guests, sprinting at the back four before having a go fail to hit the target. In the next attack, Hanya ripped a shot into Mekideche's leg.

Bandre made his first save in the 58th in the form of a body-sacrificing one-on-one save. The keeper got off his line as quickly as he could, after a ball slipped through the defense, dove in head-first and blocked the shot with an outstretched hand. The keeper got an added insurance goal a minute later as SKC II marched down the field and earned a corner kick immediately after the attack.

Bryant strolled to the ball and placed a pass on the near post where Mekideche lept above the crowd to thunder the headed attempt into the back of the net. Mekideche now has two goals on the season, leading all SKC II defenders.

In the 65th, coach Feilhaber went to his bench for the first time bringing on Andrew Draper and Felipe Hernandez for Afrifa and Flores. After entering, the two witnessed Bandre make a second superb save when the keeper dropped to his left to deny a close-range half-volley. The netminder was able to prevent a rebound, spinning the shot over the endline. The ensuing corner was then headed past his upper left-hand corner.

Sporting KC Academy player Nati Clarke, back with the team after helping the West to an MLS NEXT All-Star Game Victory, had a clever moment, restarting play quickly with a chip to Draper. The winger combined brilliantly with Bryant who found Cruz in the 18. A back pass to Bryant was then lofted just over the top of the crossbar.

Three minutes later Bryant picked up his second assist thanks to the intelligence and agility of Hernandez. Bryant found the Academy product with a well-timed through ball past a sliding defender. Hernandez turned, sliced, diced and generated space for a shot which he hammered into the back of the net for SKC II's fourth of the night.

Refusing to let off the gas Vargas almost had a second after being played into the 18 on a lustrous cross from Cruz. His shot took off and missed the mark high. Colorado saw another attack come up empty in the 76th when form Sporting KC II defender Dillon Serna failed to hit the target. 

Bandre made his third clutch save of the half in the 79th, again falling to the ground quickly to block a shot from up close. Enzo Mauriz and Amadou Traore came on for Bryant and Cruz in the 84th and Josh Coan entered for Cisneros in the 90th. SKC II saw the remainder of the match out without a Rapids 2 whiff of the goal. 

With the win tonight, SKC II moves seven points clear of the playoff line with just eight matches to go in the MLS NEXT Pro season. They handed Rapids 2 both their second loss and second time being shutout in the 2023 campaign. The boys will look to keep the momentum going next Sunday, Aug. 6 when they travel to take on Houston Dynamo 2 at SaberCats Stadium in Houston Texas. The match will stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and fans can follow all the action by following @SportingKC on Twitter.

Sporting Kansas City II: Ethan Bandre; Lucas Rosa, Chris Rindov, Nassim Mekideche, Nati Clarke; Danny Flores (Felipe Hernandez 66'), Ozzie Cisneros (Josh Coan 90'), Ethan Bryant (Enzo Mauriz 84'); Sebastian Cruz (Amadou Traore 84'), Stephen Afrifa (Andrew Draper 66'), Alenis Vargas
Subs Not Used: Carlito Saylon, Vitor Dias, Keny Martinez, Jahon Rad

Colorado Rapids 2: Adam Beaudry, Logan Batiste (Caique 71'), Daniel Garcia, Blake Malone, Jackson Travis (Keith Chavarria 84'); Daouda Amadou (Dillon Serna 50'), Oliver Larraz, Robinson Aguirre (Jackson Walti 71'); Yosuke Hanya, Remi Cabral (Pariss Mitchell 84') , Marlon Vargas
Subs Not Used: Leonardo Medina

Scoring Summary:

SKC – Sebastian Cruz 4 (unassisted) 17'
SKC – Alenis Vargas 2 (unassisted) 28'
SKC – Nassim Mekideche 2 (Ethan Bryant 1) 59'
SKC – Felipe Hernandez 2 (Ethan Bryant 2) 72'

Misconduct Summary:

SKC – Stephen Afrifa (yellow card; reckless offense) 39'
COL – Daouda Amadou (yellow card; reckless offense) 43'
COL – Marlon Vargas (yellow card; reckless offense) 45+3'
COL – Dillon Serna (yellow card; reckless offense) 68'

Referee: DeShun Beard
Assistant Referee: Colin Ashley
Assistant Referee: Noah Matos
Fourth Official: Tim Wagner