Recap: Sporting KC II picks up road point and first clean sheet of 2025 in scoreless draw at Austin FC II

Sporting Kansas City II (0-6-2, 3 points) claimed a road point against Austin FC II (1-3-3, 7 points) on Friday night at Parmer Field in Austin, Texas, in a goalless affair that saw both keepers make a combined seven saves. Jacob Molinaro and Sporting KC II earned their first clean sheet of 2025 and picked up their second straight result in the state of Texas.

SKC II Head Coach Istvan Urbanyi had Molinaro in goal with Beckham Uderitz starting in defense for the first time this season. Nati Clarke played on the opposite side of him and Ian James rejoined SKC II centerback Pierre Lurot in the middle of the defense.

Cielo Tschantret started at holding mid and Shane Donovan played with Johann Ortiz ahead of him in an all Sporting KC Academy product midfield. Bryan Arellano returned to Austin, where he played two seasons and started in the front three alongside Maouloune Goumballe and David Zavala.

Arellano nearly fired SKC II out in front just two minutes into his return to Parmer Field with a curled effort inches beyond the right post after Austin turned the ball over in the attacking third. The host's first corner came in the seventh minute and wound up in the clutches of Molinaro with an easy collection close to his goal.

Donovan put the first shot on target of the game in the 15th, forcing Charlie Farrar to leap into the air and smack the long-range strike down into the turf. An errant touch off a long goal kick in the 18th sprang Zavala into the attack with pace. The forward dashed past several defenders, cut centrally inside the box and skipped a shot into Farrar's path. Molinaro made a comfortable save on the other end of the field just seconds later, denying Ervin Torres.

The two sides traded half chances before Arellano snuck a ball through traffic and on target in the 33rd. Farrar stuck with the path of the ball through his defenders and secured the ball against his chest off one hop. A minute later, Zavala was taken down right on the cusp of the box, but the referee let play continue.

A well-worked SKC II attack in the 38th saw Goumballe gain access to the 18, where his attempt was blocked in front of goal and popped up to Zavala. Another look at goal from the winger was deflected and cleared by Austin's retreating defense. Zavala was given the contest's first yellow card in the 45th minute after he stepped on the foot of Ruben Bonachera along the sideline.

A clean half up until that point allowed the game to go to the break with minimal additional time. At the start of the second half, Urbanyi rolled out the same starting 11 that started the game. Austin took the first chance of the final 45 in the form of a header from Vlad Danciutiu inside the 18 that floated well over the top of Molinaro's goal.

Fifty minutes into the match, Danciutiu put another attempt off target, this time ripping a one-touch shot into the side netting off Molinaro's left-hand post. Right before the hour mark, Ortiz found himself some space in the final third and put a shot on target, however, he lost his footing and was unable to hit it with much pace.

Ortiz's night came to a close in the 65th with Urbanyi's first sub of the night, seeing him make way for Gael Quintero. Peter Grogan, Austin's leading scorer, nearly found the back of the net in the 68th after being played behind the Kansas City backline but rolled his shot past the right post. The offside flag came up later, which would have negated any goal anyway.

Anthony De Anda, who entered as a sub in the 62nd, picked up Austin's first yellow card in the 69th after jawing with the referee. He then sent the ball well high of the mark before Daniel Ciesla topped that with an even higher miss. SKC II's first movement into the attacking third in a while saw a centering pass cleared for another corner. A whistle immediately after the service closed the door on any chance for the visitors.

Some heroics from Molinaro in the 81st kept the match goalless as the keeper somehow got a foot to a headed ball from Grogan right on the doorstep to preserve the clean sheet. A foul on Austin just outside the box offered SKC II a great scoring opportunity. Arellano nearly took the chance, but his set piece drifted barely over the top of the crossbar after beating the wall. This was Arellano's final action as Massud Habibullah came on in his place in the 84th.

Chaos broke out in stoppage time as Adrian Gonzalez and Jorge Alustuey picked up yellow cards before Grogan was given his marching orders and a straight red card for an elbow in SKC II's box. With minimal time left in regulation, Austin took one more crack at goal with a free kick sent to the far post, but SKC II dealt with the danger, and the contest ended with a shootout.

Austin outlasted SKC II in kicks from the spot and picked up the additional point in front of their home fans. Sporting KC II will be off until Sunday, May 18, when they host The Town FC at Children's Mercy Victory Field. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. CT, tickets are on sale for $10 at SeatGeek.com and the match can be streamed on MLSNEXTPro.com.

Sporting Kansas City II: Jacob Molinaro, Nati Clarke, Pierre Lurot, Ian James, Beckham Uderitz; Cielo Tschantret, Johann Ortiz (Gael Quintero 65'), Shane Donovan; David Zavala (Medgy Alexandre 71'), Maouloune Goumballe, Bryan Arellano (Massud Habibullah 84')

Subs Not Used: Jack Kortkamp, Leo Christiano, Luis Cruz-Ayala, Carter Derksen, Anthony Samways

Austin FC II: Charlie Farrar; Daniel Ciesla, Nico Van Rijn, Antonio Gomez, Ruben Bonachera; Ervin Torres (Jorge Alastuey 78'), Djaka Barro, Adrian Gonzalez; Diego Abarca (Micah Burton 78'), Vlad Danciutiu (Peter Grogan 62'), Jimmy Farkarlun (Anthony De Anda 62')

Subs Not Used: Marcus Alstrup, Mohammad Badawiya

Shootout Summary:

SKC -- Maouloune Goumballe (Make)
ATX -- Ruben Bonachera (Make)
SKC -- Massud Habibullah (Make)
ATX -- Adrian Gonzalez (Miss)
SKC -- Beckham Uderitz (Saved)
ATX -- Jorge Alastuey (Make)
SKC -- Shane Donovan (Make)
ATX -- Daniel Ciesla (Make)
SKC -- Gael Quintero (Make)
ATX -- Antonio Gomez (Make)
SKC -- Cielo Tschantret (Make)
ATX -- Nico Van Rijn (Make)
SKC -- Medgy Alexandre (Make)
ATX -- Djaka Barro (Make)
SKC -- Nati Clarke (Miss)
ATX -- Micah Burton (Make)

Misconduct Summary:

SKC -- David Zavala (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 45'
SKC -- Beckham Uderitz (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 65'
ATX -- Anthony De Anda (Yellow Card; Dissent) 69'
ATX -- Adrian Gonzalez (Yellow Card; Unsporting Conduct) 90+2'
ATX -- Jorge Alastuey (Yellow Card; Dissent) 90+2'
ATX -- Peter Grogan (Red Card; Serious Foul Play) 90+3'

Referee: Elton Garcia
Assistant Referee: Jacobo Zuniga
Assistant Referee: Fermin Sanchez
Fourth Official: William Hale