Sporting Kansas City II will take on St. Louis CITY2 in an MLS NEXT Pro clash at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Sunday, March 23rd. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. CT and the contest can be streamed on MLS Season Pass in the Apple TV App.
Sunday will mark the second of three meetings between the two rivals in MLS NEXT Pro regular season play with the first coming last Friday, March 14 at Children's Mercy Victory Field. St. Louis escaped with all three points after a 1-0 win, giving them two wins on the season. SKC II is still in search of their first win of 2025.
In the meeting prior to last Friday, SKC II defeated St. Louis CITY2 at Rock Chalk Park in July 2024. Team captain and SKC Academy product Cielo Tschantret fired home in the home win and was nominated for MLS NEXT Pro goal of the Matchday for his efforts.
Tschantret has donned the captain's armband in two regular season games and SKC II's first-round Lamar Hunt US Open Cup bout against Des Moines Menace on Wednesday. In 2024 he started 14 of 22 appearances, tallying one goal and one assist.
Fellow returnee Maouloune Goumballe is looking to get on the scorer's sheet in 2025. Last year he bagged nine goals and added three assists while playing in 27 matches, the most on the team. Beckham Uderitz has produced the offense for head coach Istvan Urbanyi this season. He scored the club's first goal of the campaign in the season opener at Houston Dynamo 2 and grabbed his first US Open Cup goal against Des Moines on Wednesday. Goumballe assisted on his finish against the Menace.
The SKC Academy has also seen an increased role early in the season. Seven players have signed amateur agreements and one, midfielder Shane Donovan, inked a professional contract. Leo Christiano has been a staple on the backline, playing every minute so far as an outside back. Johann Ortiz, who signed a professional contract on Friday, has played in both MLS NEXT Pro games this season after picking up two goals and three assists in 2024 as an Academy amateur.
St. Louis began their season with a 3-0 win at title holders North Texas SC before getting their second win against SKC II. They sit atop both the Frontier Division and Western Conference with six points, matched only by Chatanooga FC in the East.
Sporting KC II will remain on the road for the fourth gameday when they travel to Arlington, Texas to face North Texas SC on Friday, March 28 at Choctaw Stadium. Their next home match will come after their first bye week when they host MNUFC 2 at Children's Mercy Victory Field on Wednesday, April 9. Tickets for all SKC II home matches can be purchased for just $10 at SeatGeek.com
Match Information:
MLS NEXT Pro: Match 3
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2024
Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. CT
Location: Energizer Park (St. Louis, Missouri)
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
SOCIAL TAGS:
Match-specific hashtag: #STLvSKC
X: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
