Recap: 10-man SKC II survives chaotic second half to earn a draw at Dynamo Dos

Sporting Kansas City II (0-8-4, 5 points) survived playing down a man to earn a road point at Houston Dynamo 2 (5-4-3, 21 points) on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas. Bryan Arellano notched his first goal in Sporting Blue thanks to a nifty assist from Maouloune Goumballe, his team-best third assist.

Houston would go on to level the match in the second half before Anthony Samways was given his marching orders in the 58th minute. SKC II nearly took all three points but was denied on several occasions by Dynamo Dos keeper Pedro Cruz.
Jacob Molinaro made his fifth start in goal for Sporting KC II in 2025 as head coach Istvan Urbanyi shook up the backline, playing three center backs and two wing backs. Pierre Lurot, Cielo Tschantret and Nati Clarke played in the middle of the defense while Anthony Samways and Beckham Uderitz played outside.

Luis Cruz-Ayala made his first professional start alongside Gael Quintero in the midfield. Goumballe and Arellano comprised two-thirds of the front three beside Shane Donovan.

It was all Houston in the first portion of the match, but the SKC II defense outwilled the hosts, repelling corner after corner, eventually amounting to 14 corners in the 90-minute contest. The most nervous moment of the first 15 minutes came in the seventh when a late intervention at the top of the box sent the ball spinning inches past Molinaro's right-hand post.

A 16th-minute, glancing header also whistled past the post before SKC II gained their first entry into Houston's box. In a move very reminiscent of the upcoming goal, Goumballe took the ball from the Dynamo defense as they tried to build out of the back. The forward got to the endline where Cruz slid in to take possession. The keeper sprang a counterattack, but Lurot slid in with a crunching tackle to snuff out any danger.

Tomas Romero thought he opened the scoring 25 minutes into the game; however, he yanked Clarke down to win the ball, and the call was made by the referee, disallowing the goal. Molinaro was shown a yellow card in the 31st after sliding into an attacker just outside the box. He made up for conceding the free kick with a terrific, acrobatic save a few ticks later.

Samways was shown his first yellow in the 35th. Five minutes later, Arellano threw the guests out in front, finishing off a cross from Goumballe after the second-year player out of Indiana University stole the ball in the Dynamo Dos defensive third.

Four minutes following the goal, Arellano hit a wicked volley close to the target, but over the top of the goal. Stoppage time in the first half produced some action after Donovan got hammered down at midfield. The ref played advantage, SKC II earned a throw-in, and no yellow card was given for a rather hard slide tackle. A free kick moments later was whipped in by Donovan and headed by Lurot just off frame. Halftime came after Molinaro slid in to win a loose ball in the box, and SKC II earned their first halftime lead of the season.

SKC II made no changes after the break, but their opposition brought on Stephen Annor, who leveled the match in the 52nd minute after an initial shot from inside the 18 fell to him. His shot was redirected on its way to the goal and gave Molinaro no chance to save it. The second half sub almost gave his group the lead in the 55th, but his headed effort fell wide.

Samways was shown a second yellow in the 58th, and SKC II packed it in defensively for 32 minutes of regulation. The home side nearly gained the lead in the 62nd when a shot from inside the six was hit into the side netting on the near post. Andrew Johnson came on in place of Arellano as the first defensive-minded swap of the half. Leo Christiano entered with Johann Ortiz in the 69th, replacing Uderitz and Quintero.

Johnson ventured into the attack in the 75th and got ripped down in the final third, leading to an SKC II free kick. A bending service was hit a tad too high and glanced out of play. Lionel Gitau came on in the 77th and had a rather short appearance as he would be sent off in added time in the second half.

Exon Arzu, who scored in the season opener against SKC II, had a pair of chances before the clock wound into the 80th minute. His first offering sailed over the goal, and his second was denied by Molinaro in a brilliant one-on-one save at the top of the box. Gitau was given his first yellow in the 86th for a poo challenge.

Ortiz came so close to recapturing the lead in the 91st, but he was somehow denied by Cruz up close. Gitau was then given a second yellow card and sent off in the 95th minute. The free kick was defended by the Dynamo and both sides, down a man, came away with at least one point.

Houston outlasted Sporting in the shootout and took the extra point from the game. Sporting KC II will now enter a 20-day break before returning to Texas to take on Austin FC II on Friday, June 27th. Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game can be found on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Sporting Kansas City II: Jacob Molinaro; Pierre Lurot, Cielo Tschantret, Nati Clarke (Massud Habibullah 90+6'); Anthony Samways, Luis Cruz-Ayala, Gael Quintero (Johann Ortiz 69'), Beckham Uderitz (Leo Christiano 69'); Bryan Arellano (Andrew Johnson 62'), Maouloune Goumballe, Shane Donovan

Subs Not Used: Beau Barren, Medgy Alexandre, Carter Derksen, David Zavala

Houston Dynamo 2: Pedro Cruz; Daniel Barrett (Juan Viveros 64'), Jayden Puna, Isaac Mwakutuya, Michael Halliday; Enrique Correa (Lionel Gitau 77') Sebastian Rodriguez, Andy Batioja (Exon Arzu 64'), Johsua Bolma, Tomas Romero (Stephen Annor 46'); Mattheo Dimareli (Lucas Bruegmann 64')

Subs Not Used: Roman Kerimov, Noah Betancourt, David Garcia, Tomas Romero, Gavin Wolff

Scoring Summary:

SKC -- Bryan Arellano 1 (Maouloune Goumballe 3) 40'
HOU -- Stephen Annor 3 (Unassisted) 52'

Shootout Summary:

SKC -- Massud Habibullah (Converted)
HOU -- Lucas Bruegmann (Converted)
SKC -- Shane Donovan (Saved)
HOU -- Joshua Bolma (Converted)
SKC -- Johann Ortiz (Converted)
HOU -- Sebastian Rodriguez (Converted)
SKC -- Leo Christiano (Converted)
HOU -- Stephen Annor (Converted)
SKC -- Cielo Tschantret (Converted)
HOU -- Juan Viveros (Converted)

Misconduct Summary:

SKC -- Jacob Molinaro (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 31'
SKC -- Anthony Samways (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 35'
SKC -- Anthony Samways (Red Card; Second Yellow Card) 58'
HOU -- Lionel Gitau (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 86'
HOU -- Lukas Bruegmann (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 90+2'
HOU -- Lionel Gitau (Red Card; Second Yellow Card) 90+4'

Referee: Jordan Gray
Assistant Referee: Chana Forstall
Assistant Referee: Charles Rupert
Fourth Official: Jair Campos