Sporting Kansas City II (7-5-5, 29 points) will face off with North Texas SC (5-8-6, 22 points) on Saturday, July 22 at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, TX in the second and final MLS NEXT Pro regular season battle between the two sides. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the contest will steam live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Sporting KC II last faced North Texas SC on June 25, battling the FC Dallas second team to a 2-2 draw in regulation before taking home a shootout win. Last Sunday, SKC II continued their impressive run of play with a 2-1 win over Earthquakes II at Rock Chalk Park. That result gave head coach Benny Feilhaber's side six results in their last seven matches and four straight at home.
All season long, the Sporting KC II lineup has seen heavy rotation with 37 different players earning minutes. In the 17 matches played, there have been 17 different starting XIs as well. Despite the constant turnover week to week, SKC II has been a model of consistency, currently sitting in third place in the Frontier Division and fifth in the Western Conference with just 10 matches to go.
Speaking of consistency, forward Pau Vidal has been one of the most prolific goal scorers in MLS NEXT Pro in 2023. His 10 goals put him in a tie for second in the league and just one goal back of the Golden Boot Leader, Atlanta United 2's Nick Firmino. The 21-year-old has scored in 10 separate matches as the dependable forward provides that offensive spark from the number nine position.
Winger Alenis Vargas is another mainstay in the attacking third for SKC II. The Honduran has tallied a team-best five assists and ranks in the top five in the league in said category, doing so in just six starts and 554 minutes. Fellow attacker Sebastian Cruz got back on the scorer's sheet in the 2-1 win over Quakes II, netting his second score of the season. The Sporting KC Academy product earned his first team debut earlier in the season in a Sporting Kansas City US Open Cup win over Tulsa Athletic and has appeared in 15 matches for SKC II.
In the midfield, 21-year-old Ethan Bryant has been one of the more productive pieces for Sporting KC II. After appearing in two Open Cup contests, Bryant has gone on to bag four goals in 947 minutes played. He has been joined in the midfield by a bevy of first-team loanees including Ozzie Cisneros and Danny Flores, two regulars on the second team this season. The SKC Homegrown Cisneros has gathered three goals and an assist while the first-year Sporting KC player Flores has two goals and an assist.
On the backline, Lucas Rosa has been a figurehead. Rosa leads the team in starts (14), matches played (17) and minutes played (1337) giving SKC II a steady hand on either side of the back four. The centerback role has seen second-team contracted player Nassim Mekideche and first-team loanee Chris Rindov more than any other players. Rindov ranks second on SKC II in passes with 485 and has an 82.5 percent passing accuracy. Goalkeeper and Homegrown John Pulskamp has started the last four home matches, earning four results. Ethan Bandre leads all SKC II goalkeepers in starts (nine), wins (four) and saves (28).
North Texas will play their first match under interim coach John Gall after parting ways with head coach Javier Cano. They currently occupy seventh in the Frontier Division but are just three points off the playoff line and Texas rivals Houston Dynamo Dos. On the field, they are led by forward Hope Avayevu and first-team loanee Jose Mulato. Avayevu has four goals and two assists, Mulato has three each and 12 other NTX players have scored at least once.
Match Information:
MLS NEXT Pro: Match 18
Date: Saturday, July 22, 2023
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Choctaw Stadium (Arlington, TX)
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
SOCIAL TAGS:
Match-specific hashtag: #NTXvSKC
Twitter: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
Twitter: @northtexasSC
Instagram: @northtexassc
