Sporting Kansas City II (0-1-0, 0 points) suffered a 3-1 defeat against Houston Dynamo 2 (1-0-0, 3 points) at SaberCats Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday night in the opening match of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season. Beckham Uderitz netted his first pro goal and the first goal of the season for SKC II, however, it came too late as Houston had built a three-goal lead with a first half score and a pair of quick goals in the 71st and 76th.
First-year head coach Istvan Urbanyi rolled out a starting eleven with an abundance of Academy talent, including five Academy products and two players on amateur agreements. Homegrown first team goalkeeper Jack Kortkamp and Homegrown first team center back Ian James started in defense with Nati Clarke, Leo Christiano and Anthony Samways. Cielo Tschantret captained the team as the holding midfielder with Shane Donovan and Johann Ortiz in front of him. Maouloune Goumballe started as the nine with Medgy Alexandre and first teamer Stephen Afrifa split out wide.
Urbanyi deployed a high press right from the opening kick and had Houston scrambling for the first portion of the match. Less than a minute into the contest, goalkeeper Pedro Cruz was called on to make his first of seven saves, scooping up a skipping shot from Ortiz from beyond the 18 after Afrifa had a shot blocked out to the midfielder. Moments later, Afrifa turned Houston over in their defensive third before crossing to Tschantret whose shot was deflected wide.
The fifth minute saw Goumballe win a corner that resulted in Alexandre tucking the ball into the back of the net right on the doorstep. The celebration was short-lived as the near-side assistant ref's flag was raised and the goal was wiped off. A nervous moment occurred on the other end as an errant Houston cross drifted dangerously close to the goal and pinged off the crossbar. A follow-up shot wound up in Kortkamp's arms as he dove to the ground to make the save.
The two sides traded shot attempts before Goumballe broke free in the 22nd, dashed into the box and forced Cruz into a tough save which he somehow made. The following minute, the hosts took the lead off a deflected cross from inside the six. Neither side had any clear-cut opportunities for the remainder of the half and Houston took that lead into the break.
No changes were made by either side coming out of the locker rooms and SKC II resumed their high press. Aside from Uderitz's finish in the 83rd, the best chance of the night fell to Donovan in the 49th when Alexandre picked out his run in front of goal. The newly signed Academy product's touch fell right in front of him before Cruz somehow dove into the shot's path and then wrestled the ball off the foot of the midfielder on the goalline. Cruz denied Donovan again just five minutes later.
The first swaps of the night came in the 57th when Gael Quintero and Uderitz made their debuts, replacing Ortiz and Alexandre. A pair of half chances from SKC II were denied by Dynamo Dos before they doubled their lead off a goal from Mattheo Dimareli in the 71st. Sebastian Rodriguez, who assisted Dimareli's goal, then scored one for himself in the 75th.
SKC II refused to quit and continued to attack, finally finding a score in the 83rd when Afrifa connected with Uderitz. The comeback came up just short as Houston held onto the 3-1 scoreline for the remainder of the match.
Sporting KC II's attention now turns to Friday, March 14th and the 2025 Home Opener against St. Louis CITY2 at Children's Mercy Victory Field. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT and the match will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Tickets are on sale for just $10 at SeatGeek.com and can be redeemed for free by all Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members by just calling your Season Ticket Reps.
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
Sporting Kansas City II (0-1-0, 0 points) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Houston Dynamo 2 (1-0-0, 3 points) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Sporting Kansas City II: Jack Kortkamp; Anthony Samways, Ian James, Nati Clarke, Leo Christiano; Cielo Tschantret, Shane Donovan (Carter Derksen 80'), Johann Ortiz (Gael Quintero 57'); Stephen Afrifa, Maouloune Goumballe, Medgy Alexandre (Beckham Uderitz 57')
Subs Not Used: Jacob Molinaro, Zane Wantland, Nate Young
Houston Dynamo 2: Pedro Cruz; Micah Harris (Gavin Wolff 80'), Isaac Mwakatuya, Daniel Barrett; Sebastian Rodriguez, Felipe Andrade, Lukas Bruegmann (Jayden Puna 88'), Diego Gonzalez (c) (Omar Bolanos 88'); Mattheo Dimareli, Fadel Kone, Andy Batioja (Noah Betancourt 66')
Subs Not Used: Blake Gillingham, Faraji Ramani
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Own Goal (Ian James) 23'
HOU -- Mattheo Dimareli 1 (Sebastian Rodriguez 1) 71'
HOU -- Sebastian Rodriguez 1 (unassisted) 76'
SKC -- Beckham Uderitz (Stephen Afrifa 1) 83'
Misconduct Summary:
HOU -- Daniel Barrett (yellow card; tactical foul) 28'
SKC -- Nati Clarke (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 37'
HOU -- Sebastian Rodriguez (yellow card; tactical foul) 69'
HOU -- Pedro Cruz (yellow card; time wasting) 90+1'
SKC -- Anthony Samways (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 90+2'
Stat | SKC | HOU |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 16 | 14 |
Shots on Goal | 7 | 5 |
Saves | 3 | 7 |
Fouls | 12 | 11 |
Offsides | 1 | 2 |
Corner Kicks | 10 | 2 |
Referee: Sean Caouette
Assistant Referee: Seth Barton
Assistant Referee: Rebecca Luther
Fourth Official: Emmy Nonso-Anyakwo
