Recap: Sporting KC II erases two-goal deficit to beat Real Monarchs 4-2 at Rock Chalk Park on Sunday afternoon 

Sporting Kansas City II (2-4-1, 7 points) scored two goals late in the first half to erase a two-goal deficit before scoring two more to beat Real Monarchs (0-4-2, 2 points) in a Sunday afternoon showdown at Rock Chalk Park.

Mataeo Bunbury scored a first-half brace, Julian Vazquez and Cole McLagan scored their first SKC II goals and Cade Thomson added two assists in a well-rounded attacking match.

Real Monarchs got out to an early lead when Tyrone Mondi scored on a deflected shot in the SKC II 18-yard-box in the seventh minute.

SKC II nearly found the equalizer moments later with Vazquez springing forward into a one-v-one with Gavin Beavers, the Monarchs keeper. Beavers forced Vazquez into a tight angle and touched the ball away from him before Collin Fernandez latched onto the ball and found Guy Michaeli whose shot was blocked.

Kendall McIntosh was called upon moments later and he answered the call by making his first save of the day by backtracking and patting a chipped attempt down before he fell back into the goal with the ball. In the 22nd-minute head coach, Benny Feilhaber made his first change, bringing on Rauf Salifu for Curtez Kellman.

McIntosh followed up his first save with arguably his best save, coming off his line at the perfect time to deny Pierre Reedy as the Monarchs’ midfielder tried to round him. Mondi would get his second goal of the half in the 25th after being played in on goal perfectly.

Following the Monarchs' second goal, a flip was switched in the SKC II attack. Thanks to two more saves from McIntosh, SKC II stayed within striking distance. In the 42nd Bunbury scored both his and SKC II’s first goal at Rock Chalk Park. Vazquez played an inch-perfect diagonal ball into Bunbury’s path and the Sporting KC Academy product took a shot that was deflected into the air and over the goal line.

A little over a minute later SKC II nearly equalized when a shot of Vazquez’s foot accidentally clattered into Salifu on the near post. Not a problem as on the ensuing corner, Thomson got back onto the ball and connected with Bunbury in the box. The winger’s glancing header glided perfectly into the far side of the goal leveling the match right before the halftime whistle.

Both teams came out of the break, sizing each other up and taking things slowly. Feilhaber made two changes bringing on Sporting KC Academy product Coby Jones for Spencer Glass and McLagan entered the match for Esai Easley.

Michaeli, still looking for his first professional goal, almost found the back of the net again today, this time seeing his shot blocked in traffic before being a half-second behind a corner played to the back post. Ozzie Cisneros came on for Michaeli in an SKC II, Sporting Academy product swap moments after.

Thomson was offering incredible services on corners all day, nearly scoring two Olimpicos on back-to-back corners only to be rejected by the crossbar twice. A little over 10 minutes later, SKC II’s possession dominance in the second half finally paid off.

Captain Fernandez and Thomson stood over the ball on a set piece with Thomson differing to Fernandez. The midfielder’s ball was played into the exact right spot where Beavers could not reach, and McLagan thundered the ball off his head into the net giving SKC II the one-goal advantage on his first professional goal.

Before the SKC II faithful in attendance of the Mother’s Day Matinee had sat down, Vazquez doubled the lead. The winger and SKC II assists leader regained possession for himself at the top of the box, generated some space and deftly placed the ball past Beavers.

Josh Coan came on for Bunbury in the 82nd, Lenis continued to be a force at right back and Vazquez nearly bagged a brace of his own but was blocked by Beavers. SKC II would hold on to take all three points away from the MLS NEXT Pro Game of the Week by way of a 4-2 victory of Real Monarchs.

Next up will be back-to-back road matches for SKC II as they head for the Pacific Northwest for a match with Timbers2 before hitting up the Bay Area in a matchup with Earthquakes II. Both matches will be available to stream at MLSNEXTPro.com.

2022 MLS NEXT Pro | Match 7
Rock Chalk Park | Lawrence, Kansas
Weather: 69 degrees and cloudy

Sporting Kansas City II: Kendall McIntosh; Mikey Lenis, Esai Easley (Cole McLagan 46'), Jahon Rad, Spencer Glass (Coby Jones 46'); Kurtez Kellman (Rauf Salifu 22'), Collin Fernandez, Cade Thomson; Mataeo Bunbury (Josh Coan 82'), Guy Michaeli (Ozzie Cisneros 62'), Julian Vazquez
Subs Not Used: Ethan Bandre, Paul Agyei

Real Monarchs: Gavin Beavers; Bode Davis, Golden Mafwenta, Kurowskybob Pierre, Marcus Vazquez; Abokye Bikyeombe (Yekeson Subah 75'), Christian Nydegger, Pierre Reedy, Tyrone Mondi, Abdu Aziizi Kayondo (Terron Williams 76'); Pedro Fonseca
Subs Not Used: Blake Kelly, Izahi Amparo, Aldo Carmona, John Imperato, Gabriel Oksanen

Scoring Summary:
RM -- Tyrone Mondi (Pierre Reedy) 7'
RM -- Tyrone Mondi (Marcus Vazquez) 25'
SKC -- Mataeo Bunbury (Julian Vazquez) 42'
SKC -- Mataeo Bunbury (Cade Thomson) 45+2'
SKC -- Cole McLagan (Collin Fernandez) 71'
SKC -- Julian Vazquez (Cade Thomson) 72'

Misconduct Summary:
SKC -- Guy Michaeli (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 7'
RM -- Abokye Bikyeombe (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 29'
RM -- Bode Davis (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 37'
RM -- Christian Nydegger (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 45'
SKC -- Rauf Salifu (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 64'
RM -- Pierre Reedy (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 64'
SKC -- Coby Jones (yellow card; time-wasting) 65'
RM -- Kurowskybob Pierre (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 78'

Referee: Matthew Corrigan
Assistant Referee: Justin Mack
Assistant Referee: Jay Norris
Fourth Official: Luis Tribaldo