Recap: SKC II suffers road defeat against St Louis CITY2 in 2026 opener

Sporting Kansas City II (0-1-0, 0 points) opened the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season with a defeat on the road against St Louis CITY2 (1-0-0, 3 points) on Saturday night at Energizer Park. 

Head coach Lee Tschantret made his debut on the touchline and had nine of the players he used to coach in Sporting KC's Academy available to him. All but one appeared in the match. 

SKC Academy alum Jacob Moilinaro minded the net while Jack Francka played in a back four with Pierre Lurot, Mitch Ferguson and Zane Wantland. Blaine Mabie, Carter Derksen and Gael Quintero manned the midfield while Tega Ikoba, Kashan Hines and Missael Rodriguez started up top.

The game came to a pause when defender Owen Jorgensen had to exit the match early with an arm injury. The game was delayed for a bit but got back underway. 

St. Louis came out of the unplanned break the aggressor and forced SKC II to defend. The wall broke in the 14th minute when Evan Carlock, who replaced the injured Jorgensen, tucked a shot into the back of the net. CITY2 kept their foot on the gas but were denied by a pair of key interventions from Ferguson, including a brilliant slide tackle which won SKC II a goal kick.

The home side doubled their lead in the 34th with a goal from Patrick McDonald. Molinaro made a terrific save, palming a shot struck with pace aside with a strong left hand. Mabie was unable to continue and was replaced by fellow Georgetown alum, Trevor Burns right before the halftime whistle. 

Nate Young made his pro debut on the other side of halftime, coming on for Wantland who picked up a yellow card before the break. St. Louis scored their third in the 53rd with Kyle Hiebert netting his first goal of the season.

Missael Rodriguez had his first look at goal in the 64th, pushing a shot just wide of the keeper's right. Tomiwa Adewumi came on in that same minute in place of Ikoba. Hines, a fellow Academy forward hammered a shot on target that was spilled by Lucas McPartlin in the 71st. The keeper scurried back to his line and was able to knock the ball away from goal right before it crossed the line. 

McPartlin made a second save less than a minute later, denying Adewumi who broke free from his defender. CITY2 scored their fourth in the 74th. Immediately following the goal, a pair of debutants, Luca Antongirolami and Makhi Francis came on for Ferguson and Quintero. 

Rodriguez fired one more shot goalward, but McPartlin made his third and final save of the night. Sporting KC II will look to bounce back next Sunday when they host Real Monarchs at Victory Field at Swope Soccer Village. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and tickets are on sale at SeatGeek.com for just $10.

Sporting Kansas City II: Jacob Molinaro; Jack Francka, Pierre Lurot, Mitch Ferguson (Luca Antongirolami 76'), Zane Wantland (Nate Young 46'); Blaine Mabie (Trevor Burns 42'), Gael Quintero (Makhi Francis 76'), Carter Derksen; Kashan Hines, Tega Ikoba (Tomiwa Adewumi 68'), Missael Rodriguez

Subs Not Used: Kael Taylor

St Louis CITY2: Lucas McPartlin; Owen Jorgensen (Evan Carlock 3' (Jemone Barclay 63')), Zack Lillington, Kyle Hiebert; Alexander (Jundt Yuichiro Ota 63'), Jack Wagoner, Riley Lynch, Sidney Paris; Cooper Forcellini (Edison Niles 76'), Palmer Ault (Chidube Nwankwo 76'), Patrick McDonald

Subs Not Used: Colin Welsh, Lorenzo Cornelius

Scoring Summary:

STL -- Evan Carlock 1 (Unassisted) 14'
STL -- Patrick McDonald 1 (Riley Lynch 1) 34'
STL -- Kyle Hiebert 1 (Cooper Forcellini 1) 53'
STL -- Cooper Forcellini 1 (Palmer Ault 1) 74'

Misconduct Summary:

SKC -- Zane Wantland (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 45'
STL -- Jack Wagoner (Yellow Card; Tactical Foul) 46'
STL -- Evan Carlock (Yellow Card; Unsporting Behavior) 53'

Referee: Muhammad Kaleia
Assistant Referee: Chris Schurfranz
Assistant Referee: Eric del Rosario
Fourth Official: Braeden Frey