Sporting Kansas City II (6-7-4, 24 points) suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of The Town FC (6-5-5, 25 points) on Sunday evening at Saint Mary's Stadium in Moraga, California. A goal on either side of halftime and five saves from goalkeeper David Sweeney was enough to lift The Town to their 11th straight home result.
Head coach Benny Feilhaber rolled out a starting XI with Academy goalkeeper Jacob Molinaro tending goal. Newcomer Carson Klein made his SKC II debut on the backline with Chris Rindov, Leo Christiano and Mason Visconti. Sebastian Cruz, Danny Flores and Jake Swallen started in the middle with Beto Avila, and Maouloune Goumballe joining Shane Donovan in the attack.
The match trudged along for the first 10 minutes as both teams felt each other out in the earlier stages. The first shot of the contest came in the 10th minute off the foot of Eduardo Blancas at the top of the box. Rindov put his body on the line to block the shot and in doing so, kept the ball in play.
Three minutes later, an active high press from Avila led to a quick counter for SKC II. Avila slid Donovan into space inside the 18 and the winger ripped a shot on target from close range. However, Sweeney charged at the right moment and was able to turn the shot aside, denying Donovan a dream professional debut.
Head coach of The Town Dan DeGeer was forced to go to his bench early, bringing on Sean Bilter for an injured Edwyn Mendoza a little over a quarter of an hour in. In the 18th, Molinaro made a pair of saves, first calmly falling on a trickling shot right at his near post before diving to snag a headed effort from Julian Donnery out of the air.
Right on the cusp of the half-hour mark Sporting ran a play from the training ground on a corner kick. Flores dropped the ball off short before immediately receiving a back pass along his path into the box. The first team loanee sent a cross in for Avila which he turned goalward where it was blocked in traffic and cleared. Five minutes later a solo run from Riley Lynch was tucked into the back of the net, giving the hosts a one-goal lead.
Kansas City looked to equalize in the 39th when Visconti sent a centering pass into the mix. An errant touch from a retreating Town defender bounced to Donovan who somehow poked the ball toward goal, inches past the post without breaking stride. The final attack of the first came from Goumballe whose skipping cross was smothered by Sweeney in the six.
No changes were made at the break. Flores and Rindov continued to throw their bodies in front of attackers, blocking a pair of dangerous-looking attempts within the first five minutes of the second half. Donnery found the target in the 52nd and doubled the host's lead giving the match its eventual final score of 2-0.
Immediately after the goal Avila almost cut into the deficit after a poor punch attempt from Sweeny. The striker acrobatically got to the loose ball, despite it being behind him, but his effort failed to find the back of the net and was eventually collected by the keeper. Sweeney was called into action again in the 59th and 66th, dashing off his line to deflect a Goumballe one-on-one shot away, and then stonewalling an Avila header.
Roberto Hategan entered as Feilhaber's first of three subs in the 60th. Kamron Habibullah followed suit in the 70th and Pau Vidal entered in the 80th. Before Vidal came on, Molinaro made another terrific save. The 17-year-old brilliantly cut down the angle to turn aside a shot attempt after a turnover in the SKC II defensive third.
The final SKC II shot attempt came off a free kick in the 90th minute when Rindov rose above the pack and redirected the ball off the right-hand post. The ball somehow bounced right into the goaltender's arms and the guests remained goalless on the night.
Sporting Kansas City II will now return home to take on rivals St. Louis CITY2 at Rock Chalk Park on Sunday, July 21 at 6 p.m. CT. Tickets are on sale at SeatGeek.com for just $10 and the match will stream live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Sunday marks the third and final meeting between SKC II and CITY2 in the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro regular season.
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
Sporting Kansas City II (6-7-4, 24 points) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Town FC (6-5-5, 25 points) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Sporting Kansas City II: Jacob Molinaro; Carson Klein, Chris Rindov, Leo Christiano, Mason Visconti (Pau Vidal 80'); Danny Flores, Jake Swallen (Kamron Habibullah 70'), Sebastian Cruz; Maouloune Goumballe, Beto Avila, Shane Donovan (Roberto Hategan 60')
Subs Not Used: Jack Kortkamp, Haris Alisah, Ethan Bryant, Deamarre Montoute, Johann Ortiz, Cielo Tschantret
The Town FC: David Sweeney; Ricardo Ibarra, Alejandro Cano (Wilson Eisner 86'), Casey Walls, Joel Garcia; Edwyn Mendoza (Sean Bilter 16'), Eduardo Blancas, Beau Leroux (Jermaine Spivey 74'); Will Richmond (Aaron Edwards 74'), Julian Donnery, Riley Lynch
Subs Not Used: Mathew Guerra, Oliver Hernandez Parra, Rohan Rajagopal, Roka Tsunehara
Scoring Summary:
TTFC – Riley Lynch 5 (unassisted) 34'
TTFC – Julian Donnery 4 (Casey Walls 2) 52'
Misconduct Summary:
TTFC – Beau Leroux (yellow card; tactical foul) 41'
SKC – Mason Visconti (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 55'
TTFC – Alejandro Cano (yellow card; delaying a restart) 83'
TTFC – Joel Garcia (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 90'
TTFC – Wilson Eisner (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 90+2'
Stat | SKC | TTFC |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 9 | 12 |
Shots on Goal | 6 | 6 |
Saves | 4 | 5 |
Fouls | 11 | 16 |
Offsides | 1 | 2 |
Corner Kicks | 8 | 1 |
Referee: Calin Radosav
Assistant Referee: Justin Fillmore
Assistant Referee: Ryan Jung
Fourth Official: Michael Zapata
