Sporting KC II snap winless streak with emphatic win over OKC

Sporting KC II brought an end to their nine-game winless streak, last winning on July 10, with an emphatic 3-0 win against the OKC Energy FC on Saturday. It was a good end to an otherwise disappointing five-game homestand that ended with one win, two ties and two losses.

From many good performances, left back Isaiah LeFlore was among the best with a pair of assists. A first half goal from Ozzie Cisneros was the winner, backed by second half strikes from Rojay Smith and Enoch Mushagalusa. Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh went 90 minutes without needing to make a save as he picked up his third clean sheet of the season.

Saturday’s win brings SKC II to 19 points with an overall record of 4-13-7 in the last place of the Central Division. Their first home win since early June now gives them a 2-7-4 home record this season.

The first team had five players start for SKC II on loan, including Kendall McIntosh, Kayden Pierre, Graham Smith, Jake Davis and Ozzie Cisneros.

USL Championship’s second-leading keeper in shutouts with seven, CJ Cochran, got the start alongside former SPR and Kaw Valley FC midfielder Tucker Stephenson.

It took SKC II about a quarter of an hour before they asserted their dominance on the game. Their first chance came in the 17th minute when Enoch Mushagalusa’s shot from a tight angle was denied by Cochran.

The opener came three minutes later when Isaiah LeFlore took advantage of the defender backing off on the left, allowing take his time and pick out Ozzie Cisneros in the box. Cisneros applied a nice one-touch finish for his second goal of the season from about eight yards out.

Mushagalusa had a few more chances but was denied by Cochran again before he sent a header wide in the 30th minute.

OKC’s only opportunity to level things before halftime came in stoppage time, but Graham Smith came flying in to deny the visitors a chance at an equalizer.

SKC II came out firing in the second half and was rewarded with a pair of goals. The first came in the 72nd minute when Rojay Smith got his first goal since early July with a nicely composed finish into the far corner.

Mushagalusa ensured the win with a goal in the 79th minute. Receiving a ball from Jake Davis, the winger cut in on the left and found the far corner for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Sporting KC II hit the road when they visit the Indy Eleven next Saturday.

Sporting KC II: Kendall McIntosh; Isaiah LeFlore; Aljaz Dzankic; Graham Smith; Kayden Pierre; Petar Cuic; Christian Duke (C) (Daniel Gutierrez 85’); Jake Davis; Enoch Mushagalusa (Michael Lenis 85’); Ozzie Cisneros (Ropapa Mensah 71’); Jamil Roberts (Rojay Smith 71’)

Subs Not Used: Remi Prieur; Danny Barbir; Jahon Rad

OKC Energy FC: CJ Cochran; Lamar Batista (Muengnenshime Goshit 85’); Conor Donovan (C); Mitchell Osmond; Tucker Stephenson (Kodai Iida 63’); Charlie Ward (Brad Dunwell 85’); Hiroki Kurimoto; Jonathan Brown; Villyan Bijev; Jaime Chavez; Arun Basuljevic (Aidan Daniels 63’)

Subs Not Used: Kyle Ihn

Scoring Summary:

SKC — Ozzie Cisneros (Isaiah LeFlore) 20’

SKC — Rojay Smith (Isaiah LeFlore) 72’

SKC — Enoch Mushagalusa (Jake Davis) 79’

Misconduct Summary:

OKC — Lamar Batista (yellow card; foul) 56’

SKC — Ozzie Cisneros (yellow card; foul) 58’

SKC — Jake Davis (yellow card; foul) 86’