Recap: Sporting KC II earns second straight win, defeats North Texas SC 2-1 on the road

Sporting Kansas City II (8-5-5, 32 points) knocked off North Texas SC (5-9-6, 22 points) by way of a 2-1 scoreline at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, TX on Saturday night. After conceding in the 11th minute, Sebastian Cruz and Josh Coan scored late in the first half to give Sporting KC II the lead, which they held onto in the second thanks to some superb defending.

The win propels SKC II into fourth place in the Western Conference and is their seventh result in eight matches. Cruz's goal gives him three on the season and marks two straight matches in which he has found the back of the net. Coan's conversation from the spot also gives him three goals as he captained the team to victory.

Head Coach Benny Feilhaber's starting XI featured Ethan Bandre in goal where the Salina native earned his fifth win of the campaign. Lucas Rosa, Jahon Rad and Nassim Mekediche made up three-fourths of the backline and were joined by the lone first-team loanee starter Chris Rindov. Coan, Vitor Dias and Enzo Mauriz held down the midfield with Cruz, Andrew Draper and Keny Martinez up top.

North Texas came out quickly from the opening kickoff, pressing high and controlling the flow of the match in the early going. A turnover in the attacking third produced their first chance of the evening, a long-range effort that floated well above the goal. Coan and Draper combined well on the other end of the pitch to create the first chance for the visiting side. Draper got onto Coan's through ball but had his shot blocked and cleared. A moment later, Coan cracked one on target which Antonio Carrera caught in the middle of his goal.

In the 11th minute, NTX took the lead after Jose Mulato flicked a cross from Hope Avayevu into the net from close range. Despite starting the match hot, the goal came against the run of play as SKC II settled into the contest and was applying pressure on the North Texas goal.

Rad and Rindov, the Kansas City centerback pairing worked incredibly well together all evening and made their first impact play in the 21st. The tandem closed the space on a North Texas advance well enough for Rad to deflect the shot out wide where an offside North Texas player forced the AR to raise his flag. 

Mekideche joined the attacking fold on numerous occasions, straying from his usual centerback spot and starting on the left side of the defense. His first venture came in the 24th minute in the form of a cross from in deep to Cruz on the back post where the winger was just barely beaten to the ball. Ten minutes later the Algerian cut a ball back for Draper at the top of the box. The winger hit one destined for the back of the net, however, Martinez, who was finishing his run, blocked the shot away as the offside flag came up. 

The leveler came for Sporting KC II in the 41st starting from a dime from Draper. The chipped-through ball, paired perfectly with Cruz's well-timed run and the Sporting KC Academy products, cheekily chipped volley burned the keeper who was glued to his line.

With the contest, freshly tied, North Texas went back on the attack. A run through the midfield with numbers posed a threat to Sporting KC II's newfound life, but Rad was up to the task. The defender stepped up, slid in and won the ball back for SKC II in the most crucial of moments before a shot could be taken. 

Mekideche's third attempt of the half saw him take a shot at Carrera's near post where he saved the shot. In stoppage time of the first half, a cross took an awkward bounce inside the 18 and ricocheted off the hand of a North Texas defender. Captain Coan immediately grabbed the ball and stood over the spot looking like a man on a mission. His mission proved successful when he sent the keeper the wrong way and gave SKC II the lead.

Coming out of the halftime break Pau Vidal subbed on for Martinez as SKC II set out to hold the lead. Mekideche was shown the match's first yellow when he inadvertently collided with a runner near midfield. North Texas earned a restart at the top of the box and sent it right into Dias' body as he stood his ground. Rad then stepped up and blasted the ball downfield.

In the 51st, Bandre got rocked while going up to catch a corner kick, earning Henri Santos NTX’s first and only yellow card of the competition. On the other end of the pitch, Coan sat a defender down and won a free kick after trying to combine with Mauriz. Rosa took the restart and hit the wall.

The hosts nearly had the equalizer in the 55th when a one-time shot taken from across the attacker’s body rolled inches past the far post. Vidal almost had his 11th goal of the season on a Cruz cross, but saw the pass cleared off the goal line.

In the 51st, Bandre got rocked while going up to catch a corner kick, earning Henri Santos NTX’s first and only yellow card of the competition. On the other end of the pitch, Coan sat a defender down and won a free kick after trying to combine with Mauriz. Rosa took the restart and hit the wall.

The hosts nearly had the equalizer in the 55th when a one-time shot taken from across the attacker’s body rolled inches past the far post. Vidal almost had his 11th goal of the season on a Cruz cross, but saw the pass cleared off the goal line. Cam Duke and Alenis Vargas entered for Mauriz and Draper in the 62nd. Bandre made his first and only save of the night in the 68th, securing a long-range shot easily.

In the 70th Rindov blocked a free kick before Bandre bravely dove into traffic to spear a line-drive cross. Coan nearly had a second in the 74th on another terrific Cruz cross, however, his shot took off on him over the crossbar. Rad continued his incredible night of defending in the 79th, tracking back to win the ball off Yeicar Perlaza who initially got in behind the back line. Texas native Ethan Bryant came on in the 80th for Josh Coan, looking to close out the match with North Texas.

A headed effort drifted just past Bandre's post in the 85th and Rindov headed cross back into the arms of Bandre two minutes later. Ozzie Cisneros entered for Cruz and some clinical play on all three lines saw the remainder of the match out.

Sporting Kansas City II will return home next Sunday, July 30 to take on Western Conference front runners Colorado Rapids 2 at Rock Chalk Park. Tickets are on sale at Seatgeek.com and fans can watch all the action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Sporting Kansas City II: Ethan Bandre; Lucas Rosa, Chris Rindov, Jahon Rad, Nassim Mekideche; Vitor Dias, Josh Coan (Ethan Bryant 80'), Enzo Mauriz (Cam Duke 62'); Sebastian Cruz, Keny Martinez (Pau Vidal 46'), Andrew Draper (Alenis Vargas 62')
Subs Not Used: Carlito Saylon, Ozzie Cisneros, Nati Clarke, Mikey Lenis, Amadou Traore

North Texas SC: Antonio Carrera; Nolan Norris (Diego Pepi 86'), Henri Santos, Herbert Endeley, Tyshawn Rose; Theo Enrique (Diego Garcia 82'), Andre Luque (Alejandro Araneda 81'), Carl Sainte; Tomas Pondeca (Yeicar Perlaza 72'), Jose Mulato (Pablo Torre 81'), Hope Avayevu
Subs Not Used: Michael Webber, Manuel Caicedo, Diego Pepi, Jared Salazar, Nayrobi Vargas

Scoring Summary:

NTX – Jose Mulato 4 (Hope Avayevu 3) 11'
SKC – Sebastian Cruz 3 (Andrew Draper 4) 41'
SKC – Josh Coan 3 (penalty kick) 45+2'

Misconduct Summary:

SKC – Nassim Mekideche (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 48'
NTX – Henri Santos (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 51'
SKC – Jahon Rad (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 84'
SKC – Cam Duke (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 90+3'

Referee: Luis Arroyo
Assistant Referee: William Aten
Assistant Referee: Justin Mack
Fourth Official: Lorenzo Hernandez