Sporting Kansas City II (4-12-3, 16 points) knocked off MNUFC 2 (8-9-3, 29 points) in a 1-0, home win at Victory Field on Sunday night. Missael Rodriguez blasted home a free kick for the only goal of the night after Jack Kortkamp denied Troy Putt's penalty minutes before.
Sporting KC II's defense rose to the occasion and kept their first clean sheet of the 2026 season in their first home match since May 22nd.
Just before the 20 minute mark, a shot ricocheted off Mitch Ferguson's outstretched arm inside the box, giving Minnesota a kick from the spot. Two minutes later, Kortkamp rose to the occasion and dove to his left to turn Putt's spot kick aside with two hands. Ferguson was the first to the ball and cleared it over the endline to prevent any rebounds.
SKC II and Rodriguez rewarded their keeper's heroics with a goal of their own in the 27th. A turnover near midfield sprung Kashan Hines into the attacking third where he was fouled at the top of the arc by Philip Tarnue. Rodriguez stepped up and tucked the ball perfectly into the left corner of the goal past the outstretched keeper's arms.
Sporting nearly doubled their lead in the 41st and again in the 42nd, however the efforts from Shane Donovan and Hines drifted high of the target. Kansas City carried their one goal lead into the halftime break and would defend it for remainder of the match.
Out of the break, head coach Lee Tschantret made one change, bringing on Sam Worcester for Daniel Russo. Rodriguez, who fired eight shots on the evening, came inches away from a second in the 50th minute. Somehow, Keane Perkins got his fingertips to the long ranged effort from the Chicago native, tipping it past his left hand post.
Kortkamp was called back into action in the 54th and made his first save from open play. The SKC Academy product reached up and parried a shot from Tarnue that was hit with some pace over the crossbar for a Minnesota corner. The guests would earn a second corner after a clearance from Hines in the six. This one fell in the box, but terrific, last-ditch defending from Sporting kept the Loons off the board.
Tschantret went back to his bench in the 57th, swapping Jack Francka for Ferguson. Ten minutes later, Kortkamp made a third save, boxing a shot hit right at him down before Alex Cunningham could clean up the danger. On the other end of the pitch, less than a minute later, Rodriguez ripped another shot on goal into the path of the well positioned Perkins which he deflected away.
Edson Brooks replaced Hines in the 72nd before Zane Wantland and Finn Dean came on for Rodriguez and Gael Quintero in the 81st. Tonight marked the 16-year-old Dean's professional debut. Kortkamp kept Putt off the scorer's sheet with a simple save from his knees. SKC II's final test on Perkins came off Donovan's left foot in the 83rd and was pushed past the near post.
Minnesota's final look at goal came two minutes later when Luke Hille skipped the ball off the ground with a flick of his head, right into Kortkamp's arms. SKC II repelled a trio of corners in stoppage time as Minnesota dumped all 11 players into the box and held on for their first shutout of the season, and all three points.
Sporting KC II will be back at Victory Field on Friday, July 31 when they take on Houston Dynamo 2. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT and tickets are on sale at SeatGeek.com. Fans can also stream the match for free at MLSNEXTPro.com or on the OneFootball app.
Score |
1 |
2 |
F |
Sporting KC II (4-12-3, 16 points) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
MNUFC 2 (8-9-3, 29 points) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Sporting Kansas City II: Jack Kortkamp; Alex Cunningham, Pierre Lurot, Mitch Ferguson (Jack Francka 57'), Daniel Russo (Sam Worcester 46'); Blaine Mabie (C), Gael Quintero (Finn Dean 81'), Shane Donovan; Missael Rodriguez (Zane Wantland 81'), Kashan Hines (Edson Brooks 72'), Ty Haas
Subs Not Used: Jacob Molinaro, Trevor Burns, Troy Lor
MNUFC 2: Keane Perkins; Mo Bojang (Samuel Vigilante 46'), Philip Tarnue, Jack Clarkson, Andy Farris; Alpha Kabia (C), Luciano Pechota (Hector Cruz 46'), Jabari Kibisu (Jadan Bernard 46'); Jakob Friedman (George Porter 72'), Luke Hille, Troy Putt
Subs Not Used: Alex Witte, Brody Schauf, Max Harwood
Scoring Summary:
SKC - Missael Rodriguez 5 (Unassisted) 27'
Misconduct Summary:
MIN - Mo Bojang (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 37'
SKC - Alex Cunningham (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 57'
MIN - Alpha Kabia (Yellow Card; Tactical Foul) 62'
SKC - Edson Brooks (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 84'
Stat |
SKC |
MIN |
Shots
|
17 |
12 |
Shots on Goal
|
4 |
5 |
Saves
|
5 |
3 |
Fouls
|
14 |
14 |
Offsides
|
0 |
2 |
Corner Kicks
|
3 |
8 |
Referee: Igor Bych
Assistant Referee: Leo Mora
Assistant Referee: Ben Cuyler
Fourth Official: Jose Lara
