Sporting Kansas City II (6-6-4, 24 points) puts a bow on a two-match road trip with a visit to the Bay Area to take on The Town FC (5-5-5, 22 points) at Saint Mary's Stadium on Sunday night. The contest can be viewed on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. CT.
Sunday marks the only meeting between Sporting KC II and the San Jose Earthquakes MLS NEXT Pro affiliate in the 2024 regular season.
Sporting KC II will look to get back to their winning ways on Sunday after picking up two results, both shootout wins, in their last five matches. Their most recent outing saw them suffer a 4-3 defeat at Tacoma Defiance last Sunday, seven days after besting Austin FC II in kicks from the spot at Rock Chalk Park.
In the shootout victory, forward Beto Avila tallied twice, giving him three braces on the season. The Texas native has eight goals on the campaign, the most on the team, while contributing two assists as well. Rookie winger Maouloune Goumballe struck two times against Tacoma a week ago, bringing his goal total to six. The Indiana Hoosier has appeared in 15 matches and ranks second amongst his teammates with 1199 minutes played.
Defender and first-team loanee Chris Rindov paces SKC II in minutes played, notching 1215 in 14 appearances. Rindov, alongside goalkeeper Ryan Schewe, is the most frequent first-team member to appear with SKC II this season.
Sporting Kansas City's Academy has stepped up massively for head coach Benny Feilhaber's side in 2024. Academy alums such as Sebastian Cruz, Mason Visconti and Cielo Tschantret have been key contributors as of late. Cruz ranks second in the league with eight assists and has three goals to his name. Visconti has started four of the last five matches after returning from an injury he suffered in preseason. Tschantret, the latest Academy player to sign a pro contract has started eight of 12 appearances in his first season as a pro.
The Town are led by head coach Dan DeGeer in his second season in San Jose. Last season, the DeGeer-led Quakes II defeated St. Louis CITY2 in the Western Conference Quarterfinals before bowing out to Colorado Rapids 2 in the Conference semis. They currently sit one spot back of Sporting KC II in the standings in eighth making Sunday a consequential match as the MLS NEXT Pro season enters its second half.
On the pitch, The Town is highlighted by Eduardo Blancas Maravilla and his four goals and two assists. The third-year MLS NEXT Pro vet has 22 goals and nine assists in his career, tallying 12 last year. Defender Aaron Edwards and forward Riley Lynch each rank second on the team with three goals. Both players have added two assists as well.
Match Information:
MLS NEXT Pro: Match 17
Date: Sunday, July 14, 2024
Kickoff: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Saint Mary's Stadium
SOCIAL TAGS:
Match-specific hashtag: #TTFCvSKC
X: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
Twitter: @TheTown_FC
Instagram: @TheTown_FC
