Sporting Kansas City II (3-2-1, 10 points) meets Minnesota United FC 2 (1-2-0, 3 points) at Rock Chalk Park on Sunday, April 28 in the first of three MLS NEXT Pro regular season meetings. the two sides faced off twice a season ago, splitting the series. The match will kickoff at 4 p.m. CT and can be watched live on either MLSNEXTPro.com or the MLS YouTube channel.
Tickets are on sale at SeatGeek.com for just $10 and children under 12 receive free admission.
Entering Sunday, Sporting KC II has earned three straight results after suffering back-to-back home defeats to close out the month of March. Their offense has come to life in the month of April, tallying 10 goals in just three matches this month. Their 14 goals scored rank second in MLS NEXT Pro and the 14 assists from the group rank third. Minnesota comes into the match having only played three all season.
In the team's last outing, SKC II picked up a road point against Western Conference front-runners Ventura County FC at Dignity Health Sports Park. After taking a lead on Chris Rindov's first-ever professional goal, Ventura found the back of the net in second half stoppage time to put the match into kicks from the spot. After 11 rounds, the hosts prevailed to take the extra point.
Rindov's goal made him the seventh different goal scorer for SKC II this season. Nobody has more goals for the group than midfielder Kamron Habibullah and his four strikes. The Canadian midfielder gathered three of his goals against Colorado back on April 7 in a showing worthy of MLS NEXT Pro Player of Matchweek Four honors. Forward Beto Avila has three finishes so far this season. The former Houston Dynamo man also has one assist and has started in five of six appearances.
Leading the assists category this season are a pair of returning midfielder, Ethan Bryant and Sebastian Cruz. The Texas native Bryant has three assists in three starts while SKC Academy product Cruz has one goal and three assists in five starts. The duo's three assists are tied for third in the league. Rookie Jake Swallen teed up Rindov's finish last Saturday for his first pro goal contribution.
Goalkeeper Ryan Schewe is one of two players to start all six matches this season. He made a monumental save in regulation against Ventura to keep the contest goalless. He followed that up with a clutch save in penalties to extend the shootout. Defender Nati Clarke is the only other SKC II player to start every match. The Sporting KC Academy product has played on both the left and right side of the defense, showing his versatility on the backline.
Minnesota earned their first win in their last outing, taking down Timbers2 at Providence Park in a riveting 4-3 battle. Carlos Miguel Harvey Cesneros secured MLS NEXT Pro Player of Matchweek 6 honors for his hat trick performance and helped guide the Loons' second team to victory. His three goals rank first on MNUFC2. Three other players have scored one goal this season.
Led by first-year head coach Jeremy Hall, Minnesota has yet to play a home match this season. A year ago, when the two sides met at Rock Chalk Park, SKC II claimed a 1-0 win with the lone score coming from future Sporting Kansas City forward Alenis Vargas. Minnesota exacted revenge a month later, taking a 3-2 win at home. The two Frontier Division teams will face each other on June 2 in Minnesota and again on September 22.
Match Information:
MLS NEXT Pro: Matchweek 7
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2024
Kickoff: 4 p.m. CT
Location: Rock Chalk Park (Lawrence, KS)
Watch: MLSNEXTPro.com
Tickets: SeatGeek.com
SOCIAL TAGS:
Match-specific hashtag: #SKCvMIN
X: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
