League

Preview: Upstart Sporting KC II continues road trip Saturday at Indy Eleven

Riding high after a momentous win over Louisville City FC earlier this week, Sporting Kansas City II (1-3-0, 3 points) will continue the club's road trip Saturday with a visit to USL Championship Group E leaders Indy Eleven (5-1-0, 15 points) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT with a live stream on ESPN Plus and additional in-game updates available on Twitter at @SportingKCII.


Sporting KC II and Indy Eleven will both be three days removed from impressive victories when the sides clash on Saturday. Head coach Paulo Nagamuraā€™s men claimed their first triumph of the season on Wednesday, sinking Louisville City FC at the brand-new Lynn Family Stadium with goals on either side of halftime from strikers Dominik Resetar and Wilson Harris.


A 20-year-old product of the Sporting KC Academy, Harris now has 12 goals in his last 15 league appearances dating back to 2019. His dozen strikes over the last 12 months, during which time he has averaged a goal every 89.6 minutes, are the most in the USL Championship.


Indy Eleven, meanwhile, continued their hot start to the 2020 campaign with a convincing 4-1 defeat of Hartford Athletic. Nick Moon, Tyler Pasher, Drew Conner and Matt Watson all found the back of the net as Indy moved six points clear atop the Group E table. Pasher, a 26-year-old Canadian who played for Sporting KC II and Sporting Kansas City from 2016-2017, leads the USL Championship with six goals this year as an early candidate for league MVP.


Sporting KC II and Indy met just two weeks ago on July 18, with the hosts posting a 2-1 victory behind Pasherā€™s first-half strike and a second-half game-winner from Paddy Barrett. Harris scored for the visitors in a closely contested match that marked Sporting KC IIā€™s return to USL Championship action after a four-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


The revamped 2020 USL Championship season has divided 35 clubs into eight groups, including four in each conference. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the 16-team, single-elimination playoffs beginning in October. The formidable Group E consists of Sporting II, Indy, Louisville and Saint Louis FC. Sporting II will visit all three opponents four times each over the course of the season, with their lone remaining home game scheduled for Aug. 22 against OKC Energy FC at Swope Soccer Village.


Match Information


USL Championship: Match 5 of 16
Date: Saturday, Aug. 1
Kickoff: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Live Stream: ESPN Plus

Sporting Kansas City II: 1-3-0, 3 points (4th place in Group E)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City


Indy Eleven: 5-1-0, 15 points (1st place in Group E)
MLS Affiliate: None


ESPN+ Live Stream Link: Click here
USL Championship MatchCenter: Click here
Match Notes: Click here


SOCIAL TAGS

Match-specific hashtag: #INDvSKC

Sporting KC II
Twitter@SportingKCII
Instagram@SportingKCII

Indy Eleven
Twitter@IndyEleven
Instagram@indyeleven