Sporting Kansas City II (9-12-6, 35 points) will put a bow on the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Regular Season on Sunday when they host LAFC 2 (12-9-6, 45 points) at Children's Mercy Victory Field in Kansas City, Missouri. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT with a live stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
With one game to go, Sporting KC II is on the outside looking in of the Western Conference playoff picture. The group has two possible routes to make the postseason as listed below.
- SKC II win + Real Monarchs 1 or fewer points + Houston Dynamo 2 2 or fewer points + Austin FC II 2 or fewer points
Or - SKC II Shootout Win + Real Monarchs Loss + Houston Dynamo 2 Loss + Austin FC II 1 or Fewer Points + Timbers 2 2 or Fewer Points
(SKC II Wins Tiebreaker over Real Monarch)
Tickets for the finale are on sale at SeatGeek.com for just $10.
Head coach Benny Feilhaber will turn to the potent offense that has fired home 49 goals this season. Leading the charge is midfielder Kamron Habibullah with 11 finishes. The former Vancouver Whitecap has added three assists and became the first player in team history with multiple hat tricks in a season. He last found the back of the net against MNUFC 2 on September 22 in front of the home fans, firing a free kick off the post and in.
Forwards Beto Avila and Maouloune Goumballe rank second on the team in goals with nine each. Avila put his name back in the scoring column last week against North Texas SC when SKC II claimed a point at home from the top overall seed in the league. Goumballe, a rookie out of Indiana University leads the team in games played (26) and starts (24). Only defender Chris Rindov has more minutes played, with the University of Maryland alum logging 2115 minutes.
Midfielder and Swiss Army Knife Sebastian Cruz has been crucial all season long. The SKC Acadmey product has started 20 of 25 appearances playing almost 2000 minutes, scoring four goals and adding a team-best five assists. Ethan Bryant also has a team-high five assists with the second-year SKC II player appearing in 24 matches this year.
The Sporting KC Academy has also seen a stepped-up role in the 2024 campaign. From 2023 to 2024 they contributed nearly double the starts, appearances, minutes, goals and assists exemplifying the commitment to playing the future of Sporting Kansas City. Leo Christiano leads all SKC Academy players in minutes, surpassing 1160 minutes at just 17 years old. Jacob Molinaro has started 10 matches in net, making 38 saves, keeping a clean sheet and earning five results. Midfielder Johann Ortiz played in 11 matches, scored two goals and notched three assists.
Defender Nati Clarke signed his first professional contract ahead of the 2024 season and made 12 starts in 17 appearances, playing both left and right back. He suffered an injury in July and made his return to the pitch late last month against MNUFC 2. Fellow rookie Academy player Cielo Tschantret signed a pro deal in the middle of the season. He has scored once this year, playing as the six in Feilhaber's system 21 times this season.
LAFC 2 has secured their spot in the 2024 postseason and can earn a home match in the first round as they sit in fifth place, just one point back of Tacoma Defiance who will face St. Louis CITY2 on the road. The California club is in their second season in MLS NEXT Pro and turned things around after earning just 28 points a year ago.
Head coach Junior Gonzalez, in his first year in charge, has led the revitalized Black and Gold second team from the technical area. They are headlined on the pitch by 18-year-old forward Adrian Wibowo who has 10 goals and four assists. Fellow forward Luis Muller has tallied nine goals to go along with the team's only double-digit scorer. Goalkeeper and former Real Salt Lake first-teamer David Ochoa has 19 appearances on the season, making 68 saves and keeping two clean sheets.
Match Information:
MLS NEXT Pro: Match 28
Date: Sunday, October 6, 2024
Kickoff: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Children's Mercy Victory Field (Kansas City, MO)
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Tickets: SeatGeek.com
SOCIAL TAGS:
Match-specific hashtag: #SKCvLAFC
X: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
