Recap: SKC II suffers 3-1 Decision Day defeat at MNUFC 2

Sporting Kansas City II (3-19-6, 17 points) slipped in a 3-1 defeat at MNUFC 2 (12-10-6, 44 points) on Sunday in a Decision Day duel at National Sports Center Stadium in Blaine, Minnesota. Anthony Samways scored his second goal of the campaign on Carter Derksen's first professional assist, but the second-half comeback effort fell short.

Interim head coach Ike Opara had Jacob Molinaro back in goal for his 13th start of 2025. Nati Clarke captained the team and played alongside Pierre Lurot and Hal Uderitz in a back three.

Shane Donovan and Luis Cruz-Ayala played in the middle of the midfield, while Samways and Beckham Uderitz started on the wings. Johann Ortiz played as the ten behind Medgy Alexandre and Maouloune Goumballe.

Minnesota controlled the game in the early stages, applying pressure in the attacking third throughout the first 10 minutes of the contest. His first stop came in the fifth when he made a sliding save in a one-on-one moment with the striker. The ensuing rebound was skied well over the bar.

Five minutes later, he was called on again when a turf-burning cross slide into the six. After smacking the pass into the six, the ball pinged around off several bodies before being cleared out to the edge of the box. Another shot was fired on frame, where Molinaro was able to corral the chaos.

Kieran Chandler opened the scoring 20 minutes in, tapping in a centering pass from Logan Dorsey, who then doubled the host's advantage seven minutes later with a penalty conversion.

Much like they have done all year, SKC II refused to quit and launched a pair of attacks just past the half-hour mark. Cruz-Ayala rifled one on target, prompting a leg save from MNUFC 2 keeper Kayne Rizanovic. He was called on again moments later and tapped away a shot from B. Uderitz in the final test of the first half.

Out of the break, Opara brought on Derksen as well as Cielo Tschantret in place of B. Uderitz and Cruz-Ayala. The home side added an insurance goal off a long-range effort from Kage Romanshyn Jr. that skipped into the back of the net in the 48th.

Samways immediatly pulled that goal back two minutes later, thanks to a superb cross from Derksen from the far side of the pitch into the middle of the box. Alexandre nearly halved the deficit, but Rizanovic somehow reacted quickly enough to get a hand on the ball and keep it out of the net.

On the other end of the pitch, H. Uderitz made a terrific tackle inside the box to physically win the ball back. Zamir Loyo Reynaga made his second straight appearance, coming on in the 70th for Ortiz, and Jack Francka made his professional debut six minutes later, taking off Samways.

Minnesota saw out the remainder of the match and took over fifth place in the Western Conference. Roster announcements for Sporting KC II will be announced in the following weeks. Fans can stay up-to-date with all the team's moves by following the club on X, Instagram, and Facebook, or by visiting SportingKC.com/SKCII.

Sporting Kansas City II: Jacob Molinaro; Nati Clarke, Pierre Lurot, Hal Uderitz; Shane Donovan, Luis Cruz-Ayala (Carter Derksen 46'), Anthony Samways (Jack Francka 76'), Beckham Uderitz (Carter Derksen 46'), Johann Ortiz (Zamir Loyo Reynaga 69'); Maouloune Goumballe, Medgy Alexandre

Subs Not Used: Jack Kortkamp, Blaine Mabie, Gael Quintero, Zane Wantland, David Zavala

MNUFC 2: Kayne Rizanovic; Alpha Kabia, Britton Fischer, Kisa Kiingi (Roman Torres 61'); Loic Mesanvi, Alexis Farina (Cal Grulke 85'), Kage Romanshyn Jr. (Brady Schumacher 61'), Kieran Chandler; Darius Randell (Justin Sosnouski 70'), Mamadou Dieng, Logan Dorsey (Issa Saidi 61')

Subs Not Used: Kai Zeruhn, Tim Dennis

Scoring Summary:

MIN -- Kieran Chandler 1 (Logan Dorsey 4) 20'
MIN -- Logan Dorsey 10 (Penalty) 27'
MIN -- Kage Romanshyn Jr. 1 (Alexis Farina 1) 48'
MIN -- Anthony Samways 2 (Carter Derksen 1) 50'

Misconduct Summary:

SKC -- Hal Uderitz (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 10'
SKC -- Luis Cruz-Ayala (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 28'
SKC -- Roman Torres (Yellow Card; Tactical Foul) 78'

Referee: Joe Surgan
Assistant Referee: Adam Saleh
Assistant Referee: Fernando Pina
Fourth Official: Dimitar Chavdarov