Sporting Kansas City II (1-2-0, 3 points) is back on the road this weekend when they head west to duel with Colorado Rapids 2 (1-1-1, 4 points) at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Sunday night. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. CT with a free live stream provided on MLSNEXTPro.com and the MLS YouTube page.
Last season, Colorado took home the MLS NEXT Pro Supporters Shield with 66 points and a league-best plus-33 goal differential. Sporting KC II faced Rapids2 twice, dropping the season opener on the road before demolishing the Frontier Division foes 4-0 at Rock Chalk Park on July 30.
Sporting KC II enters Sunday on the heels of back-to-back losses at home. First to current, MLS NEXT Pro Supporters Shield leaders Ventura County and then to St. Louis CITY2 after being dealt a controversial straight red card in the first half. The match with Colorado will be the second road match for head coach Benny Feilhaber's side. In their first road test, SKC II battled back to claim all three points at Houston Dynamo 2.
Leading the offensive charge this season has been forward Pau Vidal. The second-year MLS NEXT Pro player leads the team with two goals scored, striking against Houston and Ventura so far this season. The Spaniard's score against Houston proved to be the difference in the contest as SKC II claimed a 2-1 win.
Newcomer Beto Avila has one goal to his name this season. The former dynamic Dynamo Dos forward netted the leveler against his former club in the season opener and has appeared in all three of SKC II's matches this season. Rookie winger Maouloune Goumballe earned his first professional goal in last Sunday's match against St. Louis, giving a 10-man SKC II side a brief lead early in the second half.
Goumballe's goal came on 2024 MLS SuperDraft selection Jonathan Robinson's first professional assist. Robinson joins SKC II out of Western Michigan. Robinson has appeared in two of SKC II's three matches this season. Despite being just 23 years old, the defender is one of the older players on the team as Feilhaber's group has been rounded out with talented Academy players this season.
Leading the way have been defender Ian James, midfielder Johann Ortiz and holding mid Cielo Tschantret. James, a 15-year-old center back earned his first pro start against Ventura County while Ortiz tallied his first professional assist in the same match. James and Ortiz were not available for selection against St. Louis as they were in Bradenton, Florida helping Sporting's U-17s make the GA Cup Quarterfinals.
Tschantret has made nine career pro appearances, netting two goals and earning MLS NEXT Rising Star of Matchday 24 in 2023 and has appeared in all three MLS NEXT Pro matches. Topeka native Nati Clarke has played every minute thus far this season, starting at both left back and right back. The defender has been joined in the defensive third for all 270 minutes by first-teamers Chris Rindov and goalkeeper Ryan Schewe.
Colorado comes into Matchweek 4 with a win, a draw and a loss. Their win came on the road at St. Louis CITY2 in the form of a 2-1 triumph. They then suffered a 4-2 defeat at Tacoma Defiance and most recently lost in a shootout at home against LAFC2.
They are led by head coach Erik Bushey in his second season in charge. Colorado is highlighted by former SKC II goalkeeper Ethan Bandre as well as 2022 MLS NEXT Pro Best XI midfielder Marlon Vargas. The former Tacoma Defiance mid has 16 goals and six assists in NEXT Pro. Three of those goals have been scored this season.
Match Information:
MLS NEXT Pro: Matchweek 4
Date: Sunday, April 7, 2024
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. CT
Location: University of Denver Soccer Stadium (Denver, Colorado)
Watch: MLSNEXTPro.com
SOCIAL TAGS:
Match-specific hashtag: #COLvSKC
X: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
X: @Rapids_2
Instagram: @ColoradoRapids_2
