Recap: Sporting KC II suffers road defeat to Whitecaps FC 2 

Sporting Kansas City II (1-3-1, 4 points) suffered a 4-1 road defeat to Whitecaps FC 2 (2-1-2, 9 points) Sunday evening at Swangard Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. SKC II applied pressure early, however, two goals in quick succession from the Whitecaps could not be overcome.

First-year head coach Benny Feilhaber rotated the squad as five new players who did not start against St Louis City2 entered the starting XI against WFC2. Sporting KC Academy products played major roles in the match. Guy Michaeli made his professional debut after signing an amateur contract with SKC II earlier in the week, and Mikey Lenis scored his first professional goal in the 72nd minute.

Michaeli nearly got onto the scorer's sheet in the eighth minute, pinging a shot off the crossbar, and back off the turf right on the line. Protests and shouts from SKC II players claiming that the ball went in went unheard as they were only awarded a corner after a Whitecaps defender cleared the ball away. The ensuing corner was headed goalbound but cut-off and cleared by another defender.

Sporting KC first-team loanee Jake Davis unleashed a shot from 40-yards out that floated over the crossbar following that up moments later with a chopped shot that was snared by WFC2 keeper Ben Alexander. Winger Julian Vazquez, who had five total shots in the match, fired his first attempt in the form of a curling shot that dipped a second too late, drifting out of bounds in the process.

The Whitecaps had a handful of dangerous attacks, but it was SKC II who appeared to be the most threatening team before WFC2's first goal. After the SKC II wall blocked a free-kick from 19-yards out, in the middle of the pitch, a corner kick fell to defender Simone Masi who tapped the ball in on the doorstep. A little over a minute later, a quick-hitter counter saw WFC2 grab their second goal off Jay Joshua Herdman's foot.

SKC II finished out the first half with shot after shot while WFC2 packed the box with bodies, blocking nearly every one of the visitor's attempts. The Whitecaps took the two-goal advantage into the break.

The second half began slowly as both teams began to find their hold in the contest. SKC II captain Collin Fernandez began the second-half attack by taking the ball the length of the field and spreading it to Vazquez out wide. The winger attempted a shot but was denied access to the goal by a late-arriving WFC2 defender.

Jahon Rad made a superb defensive play on the other end of the field, dispossessing his man, staying goalside of him after he got back on the ball and ultimately playing it off his foot for an SKC II restart.

Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh made his first save of the night, gliding to his right to smack away a shot from inside the 18 following a WFC2 counterattack. The hosts eventually got their third goal in the 66th minute off a successful, one-v-one counter-attack from Filip Rakic.

In the 70th, Draven Barnett entered the match as a sub, making his professional debut. Two minutes later Lenis, a fellow Academy product, scored SKC II's goal. The outside back lined up a shot from an impossible angle dipped it over the top of Alexander's outstretched paw and underneath the bar for a superb first professional goal. The Whitecaps would add a fourth in the 84th bringing us to the final scoreline of 4-1.

Following this quick, one-match road trip, SKC II returns home next Sunday to take on North Texas SC at Rock Chalk Park. Tickets for the 7 p.m. CT showdown can be purchased via SeatGeek.com as SKC II looks for their first win at Rock Chalk Park.

2022 MLS NEXT Pro | Match 5
Swangard Stadium | Vancouver, Canada
Weather: 68 degrees and cloudy

Sporting Kansas City II: Kendall McIntosh; Mikey Lenis, Cole McLagan (Jayvin Van Deventer 77'), Jahon Rad (Draven Barnett 70'), Spencer Glass (Coby Jones 70'); Jake Davis, Collin Fernandez, Cade Thomson (Dembakwi Yomba 60'); T.J. Fatah (Mataeo Bunbury 60'), Guy Michaeli, Julian Vazquez
Subs Not Used: Ethan Bandre, Josh Coan, Esai Easley, Kaveh Rad

Whitecaps FC 2: Ben Alexander; Simone Masi, Cristian Campagna, Matteo Campagna; Elage Bah, Luis Felipe Fernandez Salvador (Owen Antoniuk 60'), Giovani Aguilar, Jay Joshua Herdman (Vasco Fry 65'), Christopher Lee(Ali Ahmed 65'); Emiliano Brienza (Simon Becher 60'), Filip Rakic (Joseph Hanson 82')*
Subs Not Used:* Isaac Boehmer, Finn Linder, Joshue Ndakala, Filip Rakic, Eric White

Scoring Summary:
VAN -- Simone Masi (unassisted) 23'
VAN -- Jay Joshua Herdman (unassisted) 25'
VAN -- Filip Rakic (Giovani Aguilar) 66'
SKC -- Mikey Lenis (Dembakwi Yomba) 72'
VAN -- Joseph Hanson (Ali Ahmed) 84'

Misconduct Summary:
VAN -- Emiliano Brienza (yellow card; delaying a restart) 45+2'
SKC -- Cole McLagan (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 56'
SKC -- Collin Fernandez (yellow card; unsporting behavior) 90'

Referee: Aubrey Kotelko
Assistant Referee: Michael Hood
Assistant Referee: Theo Diederichsen
Fourth Official: Juan Marquez