Sporting Kansas City II (8-10-5, 31 points) will play their second straight road match when they face LAFC 2 on Sunday at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, California. The first meeting of these two teams in a one-month span is set to kick off at 3 p.m. CT with a live stream available at MLSNEXTPro.com.
In 2023, LAFC 2's inaugural season in MLS NEXT Pro, Sporting KC II took them down 2-1 at Rock Chalk Park and 2-0 at Titan Stadium later in the year. In the 2024 campaign, SKC II got off to a hot start but currently finds themselves one point back of the playoffs. LAFC 2 sits in fifth place, tied with Tacoma Defiance and Town FC on 39 points. With just five matches to go Sunday puts a massive three points on the line for both SKC II and LAFC 2.
Last week, midfielder Kamron Habibullah got back into the scorer's column with a pair of goals against his former team, WFC 2. Habibullah now has 10 goals on the season and has contributed three assists on top of that. Beto Avila ranks second on SKC II in goals scored with eight tallies so far this year. He was joined up top by Alenis Vargas who notched 11 goal contributions in 2023 before signing with the Sporting Kansas City first team. Vargas picked up right where he left off, finding the back of the net in his 2024 MLS NEXT Pro debut.
Defender Jonathan Robinson, who came in as a second-half substitute, buried his first professional goal. The Western Michigan alum has started eight of 11 appearances in his rookie campaign. Fellow rookie and Sporting KC Academy product Mason Visconti has started all 10 of his appearances but did not play against Vancouver. This was the first match he has missed since June 12 at Real Monarchs, making him one of head coach Benny Feilhaber's most frequent starters.
Another key contributor to Feilhaber, Sporting KC's newest Sporting Legend, is California native Sebastian Cruz. The former Cal State Fullerton midfielder will return to his alma mater's stadium on Sunday having 1675 minutes under his belt this season. He also leads the team with10 total assists (five primary, five secondary). He has also added four goals in his 17 starts.
LAFC 2 head coach Junior Gonzalez is in year one with the California club. In their second season in MLS NEXT Pro they boast a record of 10-7-6, occupying third place in the Pacific Division. They are a balanced group, scoring 43 times and allowing 43 goals in 23 matches played. Their last win came on August 11 in a California Clasico matchup with Ventura County FC.
A two-pronged attack headlines their offense as Adrian Wibowo and Luis Miller man the attack. Wibowo, an 18-year-old forward has nine goals and four assists, both the most on the team, in 18 starts. Muller has eight goals and two assists in just 13 matches played.
After the meeting in the Sunshine State, SKC II will be back on the road to take on Colorado Rapids 2 on the following Sunday. They will follow that up with three contests at Children’s Mercy Victory Field to end the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro regular season. Tickets for all of SKC II’s remaining home contests are on sale at SeatGeek.com for just $10.
Match Information:
MLS NEXT Pro: Match 24
Date: Sunday, September 8, 2024
Kickoff: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Titan Stadium (Fullerton, CA)
Watch: MLSNEXTPro.com
SOCIAL TAGS:
Match-specific hashtag: #LAFCvSKC
X: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
