Sporting Kansas City II (3-17-5, 16 points) earned their second straight result on Sunday night when they took two points from North Texas SC (9-10-6, 37 points) at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas. After going down 1-0 in the 82nd minute, Pierre Lurot headed home a Johann Ortiz corner to even the score. Jack Kortkamp then went on to make two shootout saves to earn SKC II the extra point in kicks from the spot
Interim head coach Ike Opara had Kortkamp in net with Lurot in a back three alongside Gael Quintero and Hal Uderitz, making his first Sporting KC II start. Cielo Tschantret and Blaine Mabie acted as duel sixes with Anthony Samways and Beckham Uderitz spread out wide. Carter Derksen played the 10 while Maouloune Goumballe and Bryan Arellano played up top.
Derksen wasted no time in getting the action started, ripping a shot on target that goalkeeper JT Harms had to block away. MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot leader Sam Sarver responded with a threatening advance of his own that was stymied by a retreating H. Uderitz only seconds later.
The younger of the two Uderitz's, Beckham, then tested Harms later in the first, forcing an awkward save that had to be cleared over the endline for an SKC II corner. Kortkamp then made a pair of saves, denying a wicked half volley from Sarver and coolly catching a shot in front of his goal. Goumballe got on the end of a throughball but had his run put off by a defender, forcing a slow poke shot that Harms controlled.
On the other side of the halftime whistle, Nati Clarke replaced H. Uderitz, and the game got back underway. A handball inside the box went against Samways and gave North Texas a golden opportunity to take the lead. Sarver sent that opportunity sailing over the crossbar, and the contest remained goalless for a little less than 30 more minutes.
Opara went to his bench again in the 57th, bringing on Donovan and Alexandre in place of Tschantret and Arellano. Derksen continued to test Harms, but once again the keeper was up to the task, deflecting a rocket from close range. This proved to be the midfielder's final action as he was taken off for Ortiz around the same time as Zane Wantland came on for B. Uderitz.
Immediately after subbing on, Ortiz smashed one from beyond the box inches over the crossbar. On the other end of the pitch, the hosts took a late lead after Sarver laid off a centering pass to Jaidyn Contreras for the FC Dallas Academy player's first goal of the season.
SKC II looked to level the match with two shots from Ortiz. One was saved by Harms, and the other, from a tight angle, flashed wide of the goal. Ortiz was called on again in the 89th, this time as the corner kick taker from the left side of the pitch. The midfielder whipped in a ball that glanced off Lurot's head and past the keeper, evening the score at one.
Stoppage time proved chaotic with North Texas nearly finding a later winner if not for a clutch intervention from a sliding Kortkamp. The Sporting KC loanee came up clutch in the shootout as well, denying the final two North Texas kicks to give SKC II a 4-3 shootout win. Sporting KC II leaves Arlington with four points in two matches after winning both road tests in kicks from the spot.
Sporting KC II will return to Children's Mercy Park later this week to host Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 at Children's Mercy Victory Field on Friday, September 19. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT, the match will air live on MLSNEXTPro.com and tickets are on sale at SeatGeek.com.
Score | 1 | 2 | F |
Sporting Kansas City II (3-17-5, 16 points) | 0 | 1 | 1 (4) |
North Texas SC (9-10-6, 37 points) | 0 | 1 | 1 (3) |
Sporting Kansas City II: Jack Kortkamp; Gael Quintero, Pierre Lurot, Hal Uderitz (Nati Clarke 46'); Cielo Tschantret (Shane Donovan 57'), Blaine Mabie, Anthony Samways, Bekcham Uderitz (Zane Wantland 76'), Carter Derksen (Johann Ortiz 71'); Maouloune Goumballe, Bryan Arellano (Medgy Alexandre 57')
Subs Not Used: Jacob Molinaro, Luis Cruz-Ayala
North Texas SC: JT Harms, Alvaro Augusto, James Bulkeley, Gavin Gall; Malachi Molina (Jackson Dubois 73'), Caleb Swann, Alejandro Urzua, Josh Torquato; Sam Sarver, Faisu Sangare (Christopher Salazar 82'), Diego Garcia (Jaidyn Contreras 73')
Subs Not Used: Nicolas Arango Montoya, Daniel Baran, Mohamed Cisset, Zach Molomo, Leonardo Orejarena, Samuel Sedeh
Scoring Summary:
NTX -- Jaidyn Contreras 1 (Sam Sarver 4) 82'
SKC -- Pierre Lurot 1 (Johann Ortiz 3) 89'
Shootout Summary:
NTX -- Sam Sarver (Converted)
SKC -- Blaine Mabie (Converted)
NTX -- Alejandro Urzua (Converted)
SKC -- Johann Ortiz (Converted)
NTX -- Christopher Salazar (Converted)
SKC -- Shane Donovan (Converted)
NTX -- Caleb Swann (Saved)
SKC -- Anthony Samways (Converted)
NTX -- Jaidyn Contreras (Saved)
Misconduct Summary:
NTX -- Josh Torquato (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 25'
NTX -- Alvaro Augusto (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 32'
NTX -- Caleb Swann (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 60'
SKC -- Beckham Uderitz (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 65'
SKC -- Jack Kortkamp (Yellow Card; Time Wasting) 90+3'
Stat | SKC | NTX |
|---|---|---|
Shots | 14 | 17 |
Shots on Goal | 6 | 5 |
Saves | 4 | 5 |
Fouls | 15 | 11 |
Offsides | 0 | 3 |
Corner Kicks | 8 | 7 |
Referee: Kevin Lewis
Assistant Referee: Chana Forstall
Assistant Referee: Carson Thomas
Fourth Official: Gloria Martinez Resendiz
