April 24, 2022 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro) – Sporting Kansas City II News Release
Sporting Kansas City II (1-3-1, 4 points) suffered a 4-1 road defeat to Whitecaps FC 2 (2-1-2, 9 points) Sunday evening at Swangard Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. SKC II applied pressure early, however, two goals in quick succession from the Whitecaps could not be overcome.
First-year head coach Benny Feilhaber rotated the squad as five new players who did not start against St Louis City2 entered the starting XI against WFC2. Sporting KC Academy products played major roles in the match. Guy Michaeli made his professional debut after signing an amateur contract with SKC II earlier in the week, and Mikey Lenis scored his first professional goal in the 72nd minute.
Michaeli nearly got onto the scorer’s sheet in the eighth minute, pinging a shot off the crossbar, and back off the turf right on the line. Protests and shouts from SKC II players claiming that the ball went in went unheard as they were only awarded a corner after a Whitecaps defender cleared the ball away. The ensuing corner was headed goalbound but cut-off and cleared by another defender.
Sporting KC first-team loanee Jake Daivs unleashed a shot from 40-yards out that floated over the crossbar following that up moments later with a chopped shot that was snared by WFC2 keeper Ben Alexander. Winger Julian Vazquez, who had five total shots in the match, fired his first attempt in the form of a curling shot that dipped a second too late, drifting out of bounds in the process.
The Whitecaps had a handful of dangerous attacks, but it was SKC II who appeared to be the most threatening team before WFC2’s first goal. After the SKC II wall blocked a free-kick from 19-yards out, in the middle of the pitch, a corner kick fell to defender Simone Masi who tapped the ball in on the doorstep. A little over a minute later, a quick-hitter counter saw WFC2 grab their second goal off Jay Joshua Herdman’s foot.
SKC II finished out the first…
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