KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Earthquakes II defeated Sporting KC II 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Mercy Victory field. With the result, Quakes II keep their playoff hopes alive as they now sit six points outside of the top four in the Western Conference with three games left in the regular season.
Quakes II jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead on two goals by Rodolfo Castro Jr., his ninth and 10th goals of the season. Sporting KC II halved the lead early in the second half, but Quakes II responded with goals by Max Arfsten and Eduardo Blancas to seal the road victory.
Earthquakes II will now return to San Jose to prepare to host Whitecaps FC 2 for a Labor Day showdown on Monday, Sept. 5. Kickoff from PayPal Park is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT and the match will be streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
MATCH INFORMATION
2022 MLS NEXT Pro Season
Sporting KC II 1 – 4 Earthquakes II
Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022 – Mercy Victory Field in Kansas City, Mo.
adidas Player of the Match: Rodolfo Castro Jr.
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Rodolfo Castro Jr. (Max Arfsten) 8’
SJ (2-0) – Rodolfo Castro Jr. (Cruz Medina) 24’
SKC (2-1) – Bakary Bagayoko (Esai Easley) 55’
SJ (3-1) – Max Arfsten (unassisted) 72’
SJ (4-1) – Eduardo Blancas (unassisted) 90+6’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Cruz Medina (caution) 44’
SJ – Eduardo Blancas (caution) 57’
SJ – Israel Carrillo (caution) 84’
SPORTING KC II: Ethan Bandré; Kayden Pierre, Kaveh Rad, Jahon Rad © (Esai Easley 46), Jacob Davis; Cam Duke, Josh Coan, Curtez Kellman (Edgar Bazan 83); Bakary Bagayoko (Ryan Reid 79), Julian Vasquez (Tijani Fatah 46), Coby Jones (Nati Clarke 46).
Substitutes not used: Collin Fernandez, Matthew Hudson (GK), Michael Lenis, Guy Michaeli.
SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 3; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 9
EARTHQUAKES II: Eric De La Cerda; Erick Reyes (Giancarlo Mota Morfin 46), Alejandro Cano, Israel Carrillo, Omar Lemus; Will Richmond (Miles Robinson 81), Nathan Scott, Niko Tsakiris (Eduardo Blancas 46), Cruz Medina (George Asomani 61), Max Arfsten (Joaquin Eisenberg 89), Rodolfo Castro Jr. ©
Substitutes not used: Alex Chow, Siad Haji, Ethan Kohler, Emi Ochoa (GK).
SHOTS: 20; SHOTS ON GOAL: 13; FOULS: 16; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 3