Sporting Kansas City II (3-13-7, 16 points) will conclude their five-game homestand on Saturday when Central Division rivals OKC Energy FC (7-7-8, 29 points) visit Children’s Mercy Park. The USL Championship clash will kick off at 4 p.m. CT on ESPN Plus, marking thei fourth and final time the familiar foes will meet this season.
Led by fourth-year head coach and former Sporting Kansas City great Paulo Nagamura, SKC II slipped to a narrow 1-0 home loss on Wednesday at the hands of second-place Birmingham Legion FC. Prosper Kasim’s brilliant long-range effort decided the contest in the 42nd minute, extending Sporting KC II’s winless run to nine matches.
The hosts went agonizingly close to equalizing on two occasions in the second half on Wednesday, with Christian Duke seeing his 12-yard effort cast aside off a clever feed from blossoming right back Kayden Pierre and forward Ropapa Mensah, returning after a two-month absence through injury, planting a header off the goal post in the 88th minute.
Energy FC have bounced back impressively under interim head coach Leigh Veidmann after opening the season with a 0-4-4 record. OKC have gone 7-3-4 since then, winning 2-1 over Rio Grande Valley FC on Sunday and 1-0 at Memphis 901 FC on Wednesday.
SKC II have taken two points from three previous meetings against OKC this year, with a 1-1 home draw on May 7 and a 0-0 road tie on July 24 bookending a 1-0 loss away on June 23.
Match Information
USL Championship: Match 24
Date: Saturday, Sept. 4
Kickoff: 4 p.m. CT
Location: Children's Mercy Park (Kansas City, KS)
Live Stream: ESPN Plus
Sporting Kansas City II: 3-13-7, 16 points (8th place in Central Division)
OKC Energy FC: 7-7-8, 29 points (4th place in Central Division)
ESPN+ Live Stream Link: Click here
USL Championship MatchCenter: Click here
Match Notes: Click here
SOCIAL TAGS
Match-specific hashtag: #SKCvOKC
Sporting KC II
Twitter: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
