Recap: Sporting KC II falls 3-1 on the road at Houston Dynamo 2

Sporting Kansas City II (9-6-5, 35 points) was unable to overcome an early two-goal deficit on Sunday night against Houston Dynamo 2 (9-8-3, 32 points), suffering a 3-1 defeat at SaberCats Stadium.

The hosts took an early lead, scoring in the ninth minute on Papa Ndoye's first goal of the match and ninth of the season. They doubled their lead two minutes later on a penalty conversation from Ndoye and he would add another one in second half stoppage time. Josh Coan netted his fourth penalty of the season to half the deficit, but against their best efforts, SKC II was unable to draw level. 

Head coach Benny Feilhaber trotted out a rather similar starting XI to the one that defeated Rapids 2 4-0 at Rock Chalk Park last Sunday. Ethan Bandre was in net with Lucas Rosa, Chris Rindov, Nassim Mekideche and Nati Clarke starting in front of him on the backline. Ethan Bryant, Ozzie Cisneros and Danny Flores started in the midfield while Stephen Afrifa, Amadou Traore and Aleins Vargas began the match up top.

The hosts came out hot, controlling possession in the Sporting KC II defensive third for the majority of the first 15 minutes. Their first movements toward the goal came in the seventh minute in the form of one cross and two corners. The first was sent across the six-yard box and cleared away by Rosa. The second was blocked out over the endline by Mekideche before Flores was fouled on a corner. 

In the ninth minute, Ndoye found himself open on the backdoor and touched a cross which Bandre punched out to him into the net. Just a minute later, Rindov was whistled for a foul inside the 18 after minimal contact giving Dynamo Dos a penalty kick which Ndoye converted for his 10th goal of the season.

In the 15th Bandre made his first save of the match, making a kick save on his near post to keep the deficit at two. SKC II went onto the attack for the first time in the 19th and nearly found the back of the net on the first corner of the match. Bryant connected with Rindov in the six and the defender redirected the ball with authority, pinging it off the crossbar. The ball hung around but was eventually played out for a Dynamo Dos goalkick. 

Five minutes later, Rindov and Bryant paired up on a corner once more. This attempt was floated high into the air and grabbed by Xavier Valdez out of the air. In the 28th, SKC II had their best-looking attack of the half other than the corner. A brilliant quick restart from Bandre threw Traore into the attacking fold. The winger sat a defender down, cut inside the 18 and hit a shot inches past the far post. Four minutes after that Traore saw another curling effort snagged out of the air at full extension by Valdez.

With the second hydration break of the first half, Feilhaber went to his bench, bringing on Andrew Draper for Afrifa. The substitute nearly etched his name into the scorer's sheet just seven minutes after entering the match. Cutting inside onto this left Draper tried to pick out the far corner of the goal but pulled his shot barely wide. 

SKC II had three corners to end the half and all three were either caught by Valdez or played out for a Houston goal kick. Future goal scorer Coan entered at halftime, taking off Traore and playing in the front three. Mekideche made an unreal defensive stop in the 54th, diving in front of an attacker on the doorstep and blocking the shot away.

The attacking efforts from the visitors finally paid off in the 56th when Vargas won SKC II a penalty. The winger intercepted a poor back pass and was hammered down by Valdez inside the box. Coan, SKC II's designated penalty taker, strode to the spot and buried the kick for his fourth goal of the season. The deficit was now halved as SKC II looked to find the leveler in the final 30-plus minutes.

Bandre made another super save, denying Ndoye his hat trick, but the offside flag went up, negating any statistical achievement for Bandre. Coan looked to add a second, ripping a shot from a tight angle that Valdez saved. In the 69th minute, Clarke nearly found Vargas with a terrific diagonal ball, but the ball skipped just out of reach. Pau Vidal, SKC II's top scorer entered for Cisneros in the 70th but was unable to bag his 11th goal of the season. 

The match opened up in the 73rd after Valdez caught a Vargas cross. The hosts marched down the field and sent a rolled cross into the area that was flicked just past the post in a backheeled effort. A corner won by Draper in the 80th fell inside the box but was promptly blasted away from goal. Bryant then sent a set piece over the heads of the runners after Coan earned the free kick with a bit of skill at the top of the box. 

In SKC II's final substitution opportunity, Enzo Mauriz replaced Bryant. Coan won a corner but nothing came from it in SKC II's final attack of the evening. Even after Jathan Juarez picked up his second yellow for a poor challenge in the midfield, Houston was able to clear all entry passes and kill the match out. Ndoye sank a penalty in the final moments of the match and Houston claimed all three points.

Sporting KC II's busy week continues Wednesday when they travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on Tacoma Defiance. Kickoff for the midweek matchup is set for 9 p.m. CT on MLSNEXTPro.com and the MLS YouTube Channel. Following the Wednesday clash, SKC II returns to Rock Chalk Park to host Timbers2 on Sunday, Aug. 13. Tickets for the 7 p.m. CT kick are on sale at SeatGeek.com and the match will stream for free on MLSNEXTPro.com as well.

Sporting Kansas City II: Ethan Bandre; Lucas Rosa, Nassim Mekideche, Chris Rindov, Nati Clarke; Danny Flores, Ozzie Cisneros (Pau Vidal 70), Ethan Bryant (Enzo Mauriz 85'); Amadou Traore (Josh Coan 46'), Stephen Afrifa (Andrew Draper 35'), Alenis Vargas
Subs Not Used: Carlito Saylon, Sebastian Cruz, Vitor Dias, Mikey Lenis, Jahon Rad

Houston Dynamo 2: Xavier Valdez; Mujeeb Murana, Tate Lampman (Omar Grey 76'), Talen Maples, Isaiah LeFlore (Jathan Juarez 76'); Charles Auguste (Jesus Orejuela 85'), Brooklyn Raines (Yair Gonzalez 46'), Diego Gonzalez; Papa Ndoye, Isaiah Reid (Ezekiel Soto 76'), Jacob Evans
Subs Not Used: Andrew Pannenberg, Paolo Rios, Sebastian Rodriguez, Ifeanyi Udanoh

Scoring Summary:

HOU – Papa Ndoye 9 (unassisted) 9'
HOU – Papa Ndoye 10 (penalty kick) 12'
SKC – Josh Coan 4 (penalty kick) 57'
HOU – Papa Ndoye 11 (penalty kick) 90+6'

Misconduct Summary:

SKC – Ozzie Cisneros (yellow card; tactical foul) 21'HOU – Xavier Valdez (yellow card; reckless offense) 56'HOU – Jathan Juarez (yellow card; reckless offense) 81'HOU – Ezekiel Soto (yellow card; reckless offense) 90'HOU – Jathan Juarez (red card; second yellow; reckless offense) 90+2'

Referee: Laura Rodriguez
Assistant Referee: Jennifer Garner
Assistant Referee: Samuel Zamora
Fourth Official: William Hale