Sporting Kansas City II capped off the 2024 Preseason presented by Central Bank with a 5-0 win over Central Methodist University at Swope Soccer Village on Saturday afternoon. The preseason finale featured a complete showing from head coach Benny Feilhaber's group, as Sporting KC II finished the preseason with a 3-1-1 record and one clean sheet.
A highly physical contest, the matchup between SKC II and CMU did not see a goal scored until the tail end of the first half when Ethan Bryant latched onto a ball at the top of the box and fired it into the upper right corner of the net. Trialist Maouloune Goumbale then matched the midfielder's strike with an upper-90 finish of his own to double the lead.
The second half was all Sporting KC II and all Beto Avila as the forward scored on three occasions. The first saw him calmly receive a pass in the 18 before slipping it past the keeper. His second goal came in the form of a penalty conversion which Marinos Tzionis secured. The third tally was a cooly-placed finish off a cutback from Medgy Alexandre. Newcomer Kamron Habibullah jump-started the attack with a sweet through ball he clipped to Alexandre from the cusp of the attacking third.
With the conclusion of the 2024 preseason presented by Central Bank, the attention turns to the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro regular seasoned and the opener at Houston Dynamo 2. The season begins Sunday, March 17 at AVEVA Stadium in Houston with kickoff set for 5 p.m. CT. Fans can stream the match for free on MLSNEXTPro.com or on the MLS YouTube channel.
Sporting KC II Lineup
Sporting KC: Ryan Schewe (Jacob Molinaro 60'); Nati Clarke (Ian James 60'), Chris Rindov, Damarre Montoute (Kamron Habibullah 75'), Jonathan Robinson (Haris Alisah 60'); Cielo Tschantret (Johann Ortiz 60'), Ethan Bryant (Ozzie Cisneros 60'), Jake Swallen (Danny Flores 30'); Marinos Tzionis (Medgy Alexandre 60'), Pau Vidal (Beto Avila 30'), Roberto Hategan (Maouloune Goumballe 30')
