SKC II Recap: Sporting KC II trounces Whitecaps FC 2 4-0 at Swangard Stadium

Sporting Kansas City II (7-10-5, 28 points) earned a massive three points on the road against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (9-7-6, 36 points) at Swangard Stadium on Saturday evening. Former Whitecaps player Kamron Habibullah struck twice in the contest for his ninth and 10th goals of the season while Jonathan Robinson and Alenis Vargas scored their firsts.

Goalkeeper Ryan Schewe earned his second professional shutout, blanking the hosts with five saves and some help from his back four.

Head coach and Sporting Legend Benny Feilhaber rolled out a starting XI with Schewe in goal and a new formation in front of him. Chris Rindov anchored the defense with Ian James and Leo Christiano on either side of him. Cielo Tschantret and Danny Flores held down the midfield while Medgy Alexandre, Kamron Habibullah and Sebastian Cruz roamed forward. Beto Avila started up top alongside Alenis Vargas, making his MLS NEXT Pro 2024 debut.

Marking his first appearance at Swangard Stadium since the 2023 season, Habibullah made it one to remember, giving SKC II the early lead in the fourth minute. After Flores forced a turnover in the attacking third, Habibullah entered the 18 and buried a shot in the back of the net past Alexander Milosevic.

The visitors remained on the attack when James sent in a cross to the six yard box toward Avila. The striker made an acrobatic move to get a foot on the ball, sending it just off target. Moments later, Vargas rolled the first of his four shots on target into the keeper's arms with a rolled effort.

Vancouver entered the attacking fold in the 11th with a long ball over the back four. Schewe was called into action, denying the initial attempt, but spilling a rebound in the process. The loose ball was ripped back across his body, ricocheting off the far post and out of the box on the opposite side of the attempt.

A 14th-minute corner, and the first of the night, was skipped through traffic toward Tschantret. A pair of shots were then destined for the back of the net, however, each were turned aside by a pair of defenders. Vargas then turned and fired one into the paws of Milosevic.

On the other end of the pitch, Rindov showed his defensive smarts with a superb clearance off the goalline. A Vancouver shot was then pushed wide and Schewe made a second, simple save before the match was turned on its head. A long ball over the top was picked up by Cruz and carried into the 18 where he was slammed to the ground by Dembo Saidykhan, earning him a red card and giving SKC II a kick from the spot. Milosevic was able to deny the kick from the spot and keep the match a one-score contest.

Halftime came after Habibullah and Tschantret were each defended well from close range. Following the 15-minute intermission Shane Donovan came on in place of Flores. A minute into the half Vargas was saved again as SKC II launched a 45-minute onslaught while playing with a man advantage.

Vancouver had several half chances, however with the first being slammed shut in the 49th minute off a brilliant Christiano tackle in the final third. Less than a minute later, Habibullah dipped a shot into the back of the net, giving him his 10th goal of the season and doubling SKC II's advantage.

The plucky Whitecaps did not go away and nearly cut into the deficit off the head of Darko Ilic but his redirection sailed high. An hour into the match Carson Klein and Jonathan Robinson came on in place of Tschantrert and Alexandre. Robinson made an instant impact, tallying his first professional goal, putting Sporting fully in the driver's seat.

Maouloune Goumballe entered for Avila in the 76th and Johann Ortiz replaced Habibullah four minutes later. Two minutes after that Vargas picked up right where he left off in 2023, scoring the fourth and final goal of the contest. Stoppage time produced another immaculate play from Christiano who slammed the door on a shot rolling to the back of the net.

SKC II will be back on the road next Sunday when they take on LAFC 2 at Titan Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on MLSNEXTPro.com.

Sporting Kansas City II: Ryan Schewe; Ian James, Chris Rindov, Leo Christiano; Sebastian Cruz, Cielo Tschantret (Carson Klein 60'), Danny Flores (Shane Donovan 48'), Medgy Alexandre (Jonathan Robinson 60'), Kamron Habibullah (Johann Ortiz 80'); Alenis Vargas, Beto Avila (Maouloune Goumballe 76')

Subs Not Used: Jacob Molinaro, Haris Alisah, Ethan Bryant, Demarre Montoute

Whitecaps FC 2: Alexander Milosevic; Joshue Ndakala, Finn Linder, Dembo Saidykhan; Darko Ilic (Antoine Coupland 58'), Malek Mehri, Jeevan Badwal (Malcolm Simmons 58'), Mihail Gherasimencov, Jay Herdman; Myles Morgan (Liam Mackenzie 46'), Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau (Rayan Elloumi 83')

Subs Not Used: Trystan Read, Immanuel Mathe, Trystan Read

Scoring Summary:

SKC – Kamron Habibullah 9 (Danny Flores 1) 4'
SKC – Kamron Habibullah 10 (Shane Donovan 1) 50'
SKC – Jonathan Robinson 1 (Alenis Vargas 1) 64'
SKC – Alenis Vargas 1 (Johann Ortiz 3) 82'

Misconduct Summary:

SKC – Cielo Tschantret (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 20'
VAN – Dembo Saidykhan (red card; denial of obvious goal-scoring opportunity) 36'
SKC – Beto Avila (yellow card; simulation) 45+1'
VAN – Joshue Ndakala (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 63'
SKC – Ian James (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 66'
VAN – Antoine Coupland (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 69'
VAN – Mihail Gherasimencov (yellow card; unsporting conduct) 78'

Referee: Amer Ramic
Assistant Referee: Chris Harrop
Assistant Referee: Eray DeMirtas
Fourth Official: Mo Mohseni