Sporting KC II Takes a Point in Draw Against Whitecaps FC 2 at Rock Chalk Park

August 2, 2024 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Sporting Kansas City II News Release

Sporting Kansas City II (7-8-5, 28 points) picked up a point at home against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (9-5-5, 34 points) in a 4-5 defeat in kicks from the spot after a 1-1 end to regulation at Rock Chalk Park. The Friday night fight saw Maouloune Goumballe tally the seventh goal of his rookie campaign before a controversial call in stoppage time gave WFC 2 a penalty.

A starting XI featuring six players affiliated with the Sporting KC Academy saw 17-year-old Jacob Molinaro start in goal and make three clutch saves. Carson Klein, Chris Rindov, Leo Christiano and Mason Visconti comprised a back four that kept Vancouver at bay for most of the 90 minutes. Cielo Tschantret played in the middle with Sebastian Cruz and Kamron Habibullah while Shane Donovan and Beto Avila played in the front three alongside Goumballe.

In kicks from the spot, Molinaro denied Vancouver’s third kicktaker following a Kansas City miss, however, the Whitecaps took the extra point in one round of sudden death penalties.

Habibullah, squaring off with his former club, took on the defense for the first box entry of the night in the third minute. After briefly losing possession, he found Tschantret at the top of the box where he pushed the shot wide of the goal. Vancouver’s first attack came after several lucky bounces inside the 18, however, the attack fizzled in the form of a poor cross through the box.

On several occasions, the post proved to be in opposition to Sporting KC II, first denying Rindov in the ninth and then rearing its ugly head in the shootout later in the evening. Rindov rose to meet the cross off a Habibullah set piece and redirected right into the right post where it bounced away from goal.

In the 13th and 14th, a pair of WFC 2 shots went wide as they launched a series of attacks. A foul outside the SKC II box gave them a golden look, but Donovan stood tall and blocked the free kick before clearing it up the field. Goumballe saw several chances barely miss the target, first poking a shot off frame in the 23rd and then again in the second half.

Goalkeeper Max Anchor had to deny his own teammate in the middle of his net after an errant clearance drifted too close to his net in the 26th. Eleven minutes later, Habibullah tested Anchor with a skipping, one-time shot which the keeper saved. The 40th minute produced Sporting’s lone goal on the night after Avila was hammered down inside the 18. Goumballe…