Sporting Kansas City II (6-5-4, 24 points) sank Austin FC II (2-4-7, 15 points) in kicks from the spot on Sunday night at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas after the two sides played to a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes. Beto Avila tallied his third brace of the season off a pair of Sebastian Cruz assists.
Head coach Benny Feilhaber trotted out a starting XI with a pair of SKC II loanees and four Sporting Kansas City Academy products. Ryan Schewe made his 11th start of the season and picked up his eighth result. Nati Clarke played on the right side of the back four with Haris Alisah, Chris Rindov and Mason Visconti joining him.
Cruz played in the midfield with MLS NEXT Pro Midseason Best Player Kamron Habibullah and Cielo Tschantret. Two-time goal scorer Avila played in the center with Maouloune Goumballe and Ethan Bryant split out wide.
The contest kicked off right away with Goumballe winning the first corner kick of the night in the first minute. Bryant played a good ball into the near post that was redirected out of the air by Habibullah, past the target and out for a goal kick. Habibullah took another crack at goal in the 10th minute, curling an effort over the wall but just wide of the net.
Austin had their first look in the 13th minute, harmlessly blasting a shot over the goal and onto the berm behind the field. Goumballe forced the first save in the 14th, squeaking a shot through a defender's legs and into the arms of Marcus Alstrup. Avila's first of three shot attempts was the lone one to not find the back of the net. He whipped one toward goal with the inside of his foot, sending it just over the top of the crossbar.
Habibullah had another attempt blocked off a corner in the 17th. Visconti got on the end of the loose ball and blasted it back on target, forcing a tough save from Alstrup. The keeper was able to push the shot aside, leading to another SKC II corner. The service from Bryant nearly found the head of Rindov but was cleared out of the box and up the field by Austin.
Schewe's first time using his hands came in the 23rd when he secured a cross from the endline against his chest on the near post. Two minutes later, Avila broke the deadlock.
Goumballe sparked the attack with an outside-the-foot ball to Avila in the middle of the attacking third. The eventual goal scorer dropped the ball off to Cruz who played it right back into his path inside the 18. Two touches were all that was needed as Avila settled the ball and thundered the ball into the goal off the half-volley.
Immediately after the celebrations, the visitors marched down the field and played a ball back across the face of goal. Alisah was unlucky as he deflected the ball off his foot and into an empty net. With the score now level, Austin remained on the attack, with another cross from Cj Fodrey nearly finding his intended receiver. Schewe skillfully got a touch on the ball and Cruz slid in to pick up the pieces and prevent a shot.
Goumballe continued a brilliant night of passing when he played Habibullah in on goal in the 32nd. Alstrup was somehow able to scamper across his goalline and layout to block the Canadian international's shot right on the doorstep. On the other end of the pitch, a tumultuous situation broke out in Schewe's 18 when a deflected shot pinged off the far post. Several players swarmed the ball and SKC II escaped unharmed.
In the final minute of stoppage time of the first half, Avila bagged his brace, receiving a pass from Cruz once more. Again, Goumballe started the attack, outworking his man to win a header in the defensive half. Cruz got onto the ball and played Avila through, over the top of the backline. The Austin native ran onto the ball and burned the keeper again to give SKC II the lead going into the half.
No changes were made coming out of the break, however, an injury to Nati Clarke in the 58th forced him off for Jake Swallen. Tschantret moved back into the right-back position and Avila's day came to a close with Pau Vidal entering for him alongside Swallen.
While the first half was wide open with several chances for both teams, the pace of the second half slowed a tad. Vidal showed some skill along the left sideline before winning an SKC II corner in the 68th as the first true chance for the home side since Avila's goal. Cruz attempted an ambitious half-volley but caught the ball wrong, putting it off frame.
Leo Christiano and Danny Flores came on in the 71st, replacing Tschantret and Bryant. Schewe was called into action in the 77th and was up to the task, pawing the ball away from his goal. Vidal got on the end of a centering pass and flicked the ball at the net with a nifty, shot through the legs. An Austin marker was wise to it, deflecting it out for a corner. Johann Ortiz came on for Habiibullah in the 81st as Feilhaber's last change of the evening.
The Black and Verde almost had the leveler in the 89th but a mistimed run from Fodrey kept SKC II out in front for a little while longer. They did even the score in stoppage time of the second half off the foot of Cheick Toure when an outside-the-box shot deflected off Rindov and found its way over the goalline.
SKC II rebounded from the late equalizer against them and stepped up in the shootout. Vidal, Flores, Rindov, Ortiz and Goumballe all confidently strode to the spot and sank their kicks. Alonso Ramirez, the Austin captain, dinked his kick off the post on attempt number three and that was all Sporting needed, taking the extra point 5-3 in kicks from the spot.
Sporting and Austin, who have now each taken two points off each other in their first two meetings of 2024 will meet once more, on August 18 at Rock Chalk Park. Before that SKC II will travel to take on Tacoma Defiance at Starfire Stadium in Tacoma, Washington this upcoming Sunday. The match can be streamed for free at MLSNEXTPro.com.
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
Sporting Kansas City II (6-5-4, 24 points) | 1 | 1 | 2(5) |
Austin FC II (2-4-7, 15 points) | 1 | 1 | 2(3) |
Sporting Kansas City II: Ryan Schewe; Nati Clarke (Jake Swallen 58'), Haris Alisah, Chris Rindov, Mason Visconti; Sebastian Cruz, Cielo Tschantret (Leo Christiano 71'), Kamron Habibullah (Johann Ortiz 81'); Maouloune Goumballe, Beto Avila (Pau Vidal 58'), Ethan Bryant (Danny Flores 71')
Subs Not Used: Jacob Molinaro, Medgy Alexandre, Demarre Montoute, Jonathan Robinson
Austin FC II: Marcus Alstrup; Cheick Toure, Antonio Gomez, Sal Mazzaferro, Ruben Bonachera; Ervin Torres (Steeve Louis Jean 65'), Alonso Ramirez, Bobosi Byaruhanga; Cj Fodrey, Sebastian Pineau (Micah Burton 79'), Jimmy Farkarlun (Diego Abarca 86')
Subs Not Used: Aaron Cervantes, Bryan Arellano, Anthony De Anda, Anthony Garcia, Mason Miller, Gavin Wolff
Scoring Summary:
SKC – Beto Avila 7 (Sebastian Cruz 6) 25'
ATX – Haris Alisah (own goal) 27'
SKC – Beto Avila 8 (Sebastian Cruz 7) 45+2'
ATX – Cheick Toure 1 (Cj Fodrey 1) 90+2'
Misconduct Summary:
SKC – Sebastian Cruz (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 12'
SKC – Mason Visconti (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 20'
ATX – Alonso Ramirez (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 43'
ATX – Cheick Toure (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 65'
SKC – Leo Christiano (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 75'
SKC – Jake Swallen (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 79'
Shootout Summary:
SKC – Pau Vidal (converted)
ATX – Cj Fodrey (converted)
SKC – Chris Rindov (converted)
ATX – Cheick Toure (converted)
SKC – Danny Flores (Converted)
ATX – Alonso Ramirez (missed)
SKC – Johann Ortiz (converted)
ATX – Ruben Bonachera (converted)
SKC – Maouloune Goumballe (converted)
Stat | SKC | ATX |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 15 | 8 |
Shots on Goal | 5 | 2 |
Saves | 1 | 3 |
Fouls | 11 | 15 |
Offsides | 6 | 1 |
Corner Kicks | 7 | 2 |
Referee: Alexandra Billeter
Assistant Referee: Justin Mack
Assistant Referee: Joseph Macht
Fourth Official: Jacob Larson
