Sporting Kansas City II (9-12-5, 34 points) is set to face North Texas SC (15-4-7, 57 points) in their penultimate match of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro regular season on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT. Children's Mercy Victory Field at Swope Soccer Village will serve as the backdrop for the crucial final fixture between Sporting KC II and North Texas with tickets on sale for just $10 at SeatGeek.com. The match can be streamed for free at MLSNEXTPro.com.
While North Texas SC has wrapped up the top spot in the Western Conference, SKC II is in win-now mode. The group currently sits two points off the playoff line and a loss, plus a Dynamo Dos or Timbers 2 win, will end their playoff hopes. Head coach Benny Feilhaber will look to get more production out of his man in the middle Kamron Habibullah. The former Whitecaps player has 11 goals and three assists this season, finding his 11th finish of the season last Sunday in terrific fashion against MNUFC 2.
Playing in front of Habibullah and ranking third on the team in scoring is forward Beto Avila. The Texas native has eight goals and earned his third assist of the campaign against Minnesota. Fellow Texan Ethan Bryant, in his second season in Kansas City, sits atop the assists charts with five. He is joined by Sporting Kansas City Academy product Sebastian Cruz who has four goals to go with his five assists.
Defender Chris Rindov has been the focal point of the SKC II backline ranking first among defenders in games played (23), starts (22) and minutes (2025). Newcomer Carson Klein has been a mainstay in defense since joining the club in July. He has amassed eight starts in 10 appearances, playing a total of 766 minutes. SKC Academy product and rookie defender Nati Clarke, who had been out since June 30 with a leg injury, made his second straight appearance last week after closing out the team's 1-0 win at Rapids 2 on September 15.
Academy amateur Leo Christiano has also cemented his role with the team playing over 1000 minutes in his first full season. He made his debut in the 2023 season opener, however, after a few knocks he was unable to make it back on the pitch for SKC II. This year he has 11 starts, 14 appearances and 10 clearances.
Another key youngster in the group is Maouloune Goumballe, a 23-year-old forward out of Indiana University. Goumballe has nine goals and two assists and is the only SKC II player to appear in 25 matches so far. He scored his ninth of the season against MNUFC 2 in front of the home fans a week ago.
North Texas SC is led by interim head coach Michel Garbini, who has been at the helm since June 11. His group clinched the number one seed in the West in their 2-1 win over Austin FC II a week ago. Their stout defense has conceded the fewest goals in the conference, highlighted by goalkeeper Michael Collodi's six clean sheets, most in MLS NEXT Pro.
On the offensive side of things, 27-year-old forward Pedro Fonseca and 19-year-old Tarik Scott each have nine goals. Fonseca has four assists to Scott's three. Midfielder Diego Garcia has the most minutes played for the FC Dallas second team, playing 1825 minutes in 24 appearances.
Match Information:
MLS NEXT Pro: Match 27
Date: Sunday, September 29, 2024
Kickoff: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Children's Mercy Victory Field (Kansas City, MO)
Watch: MLSNEXTPro.com
Tickets: SeatGeek.com
SOCIAL TAGS:
Match-specific hashtag: #SKCvNTX
X: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
X: @NorthTexasSC
Instagram: @northtexassc
