Matchday 19 in MLS NEXT Pro action included several impressive performances, including a surprising win over the Western Conference leaders for Sporting Kansas City II and an impressive performance for New York Red Bulls II to heat up an already competitive race at the top of the Eastern Conference. Playoff races in either conference are starting to heat up as we reach crucial moments in the 2023 season.
Here is a closer look at the results from MLS NEXT Pro's Matchday 19:
New York Red Bulls II (2) - Orlando City B (1)
Ibrahim Kasule scored from the penalty spot in the 77th minute to allow New York Red Bulls II to take three points at MSU Soccer Stadium Monday night. Kasule scored his 10th goal of the season.
Wikelman Carmona opened scoring in the 33rd minute with an impressive strike from distance. OCB equalized with a Moises Tablante goal in the 47th minute.
Red Bulls II picked up a second win in a row and moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. OCB ended a two-game winning series and remains fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Sunday's games
Tacoma Defiance (2) - Whitecaps FC 2 (1)
Gio Migletti's 70th-minute strike allowed Tacoma Defiance to take all three points at Starfire Stadium in a key Western Conference clash against Whitecaps FC 2. Defiance got back in the win column for the first time in two matches, and continue to excel as a Western Conference contender.
Miglietti found the end of a cross from Travian Sousa to score the winning goal. Defiance came from behind after conceding an own goal in the fourth minute. Defiance profited from a Whitecaps FC 2 own goal to equalize in the 37th minute.
Defiance's defense put up an outstanding performance, withstanding nine shots on goal from Whitecaps FC 2. Goalkeeper Jacob Castro made nine saves.
NYCFC II (0) - Huntsville City FC (1)
Azaad Liadi scored the only goal of the game as Huntsville City FC picked up three points over NYCFC II on the road. Liadi's fourth-minute strike from a tight angle with the goalkeeper rushing on proved to be all HCFC needed.
HCFC got the job done with only 35.8% of possession. A red card to Nicolas Benalcazar meant the away side had a man advantage since the 55th minute.
Huntsville moved up the table to seventh place in the Eastern Conference with the win. Jack Collison's side has now picked up two wins in a row.
Sporting Kansas City II (4) - Colorado Rapids 2 (0)
Sporting Kansas City II handed Colorado Rapids 2 its second loss of the season, raising many eyebrows with a win over one of MLS NEXT Pro's top sides.
Sporting KC II built a 2-0 lead in the first half, with Sebastian Cruz opening scoring and Alenis Vargas scoring an incredible volley in the 29th minute. A long weather delay followed, but Benny Feilhaber's side picked up where it left off. Nassim Mekideche made it 3-0 in the 59th minute, and Felipe Hernandez scored another goal in the 72nd minute.
SKC II is enjoying a fantastic run of form, with only one loss in the past seven games. Rapids 2's five-game unbeaten streak came to an end, as well as a league-record 98 days unbeaten in road matches.
Chicago Fire FC II (1) - New England Revolution II (1) (Fire II wins shootout 5-3)
Lamonth Rochester scored the decisive spot kick, and Fire II goalkeeper Jeffrey Gal made one shootout save to hand Fire II two points in a shootout win against Revs II at SeatGeek Stadium.
Each side traded goals in a three minute span, with Jack Panayotou scoring on the volley in the 59th minute and Fire II equalizing through Noeh Hernandez in the 62nd minute.
Fire II picked up two important points as it attempts to hang in there in a competitive mid-table battle in the Eastern Conference. Revs II extended an unbeaten streak to five games by picking up one point.
Austin FC II (4) - LA Galaxy II (0)
Austin FC II kept the pace among top teams in the Western Conference by earning three points at home against LA Galaxy II. Austin FC II goalkeeper Damian Las earned his 10th clean sheet of the season as Austin FC II held Galaxy II to one shot on goal.
Micah Burton opened scoring for Austin FC II with a long-range shot that found the top left corner in the 12th minute. Alonso Ramirez assisted the first goal and scored a penalty kick in the 61st minute to double the lead. Leo Torres scored in the 68th minute with a diving header, and Bryan Arellano finished things off with a penalty-kick goal in stoppage time.
Galaxy II's three-game unbeaten streak came to an end with the loss. Austin FC II continues on a four-game unbeaten run, and maintained its second-place spot in the Western Conference with Sunday's win.
Saturday's games
FC Cincinnati 2 (0) - Crown Legacy FC (1)
David Poreba's penalty kick proved enough for Crown Legacy FC to maintain its place atop the Eastern Conference table with a 1-0 win in a road trip to NKU Soccer Stadium.
Poreba calmly dispatched his penalty kick into the lower right corner in the 33rd minute.
Crown Legacy picked up its fifth clean sheet of the season, and the club's back line prevented FCC2 from taking a shot on goal.
St Louis CITY2 (4) - Los Angeles Football Club 2 (2)
Caden Glover scored a brace as St Louis CITY2 picked up three points in a 4-2 win over Los Angeles Football Club 2. CITY2 snapped a three-game winless streak and moved within one point of a playoff spot.
CITY2 went 3-0 up in the first half, with Glover running onto a long ball forward from Max Schneider and slotting into the lower right corner to open scoring in the 24th minute. Schneider picked up another assist with a corner kick that was headed in by Joakim Nilsson.
John Klein scored his seventh goal of the season to make it 3-0, and LAFC2's Matthew Evans pulled a goal back just before halftime. Glover scored from a tight angle to find his second goal in the 71st minute.
North Texas SC (4) - Timbers2 (0)
North Texas SC ended a seven-match winless skid with a dominant showing against Timbers2. Jose Mulato scored a brace as North Texas picked up a 4-0 win. North Texas picked up its first win under interim head coach John Gall.
Herbert Endeley opened scoring with a near-post header goal in the 38th minute. Mulato scored twice in a four-minute span, with a header goal in the 52nd minute and another goal in the 56th minute. Tomas Pondeca's goal to make it 4-0 in stoppage time put an exclamation point on an important win for North Texas.
North Texas scored four goals in one match for the second time this season, and remains in shooting distance of a playoff berth at 10th place in the Western Conference. Timbers2 fell to a loss for the first time in more than three weeks.
MNUFC2 (0) - Earthquakes II (1)
Roberto Hategan finished off a smart run to score the only goal as Earthquakes II picked up three points away from home against MNUFC2 Saturday night.
Hategan cut back in the middle of the 18-yard box to meet Will Richmond's pass. He put a shot past the goalkeeper at the near post in the 21st minute, a goal that proved to make the difference. Quakes II goalkeeper Eric de la Cerda made four saves in a clean-sheet performance.
Quakes II maintains an excellent road record, with only two losses in away matches this season. Quakes II continues to fight for strong playoff position, now in fifth place in the Western Conference. MNUFC2 remains not far behind in seventh place.
Friday's games
Columbus Crew 2 (2) - Atlanta United 2 (0)
Crew 2 showed its characteristic defensive prowess, shutting out Atlanta United 2 with goals from Coleman Gannon and Taha Habroune.
Habroune scored from short range after Crew 2 worked the ball into the box in the 50th minute. Gannon added a second goal with a similar run of play just 10 minutes later.
Crew 2 solidified its position in third place in the Eastern Conference with the win. ATL UTD 2 continued a troubling run of form, with four losses in a row.
Real Monarchs (3) - Houston Dynamo 2 (5)
Papa Ndoye's hat trick carried Houston Dynamo 2 to a spectacular 5-3 victory in a road trip to face Real Monarchs.
Real Monarchs opened scoring with Amferny Sinclair scoring on a counterattack in the ninth minute. Ndoye scored his first goal in the 20th minute to equalize. Jude Wellings put Real Monarchs ahead with a goal deep into first-half stoppage time.
Isaiah Reid started the first half off strong for Dynamo Dos, with a 49th-minute equalizer, but Real Monarchs took the lead again with a fantastic strike from Cayne Madhlangove in the 58th minute. Ndoye found his second goal from the penalty spot to level the match once again. Reid scored his second goal less than a minute later, and Ndoye scored once more in the 84th minute to lock up three points.
Dynamo Dos is now on the three-match unbeaten run, with seven points from the last three games. Real Monarchs finds itself with two straight losses as it continues the MLS NEXT Pro schedule coming out of a series of MLS NEXT Pro Invitational exhibitions.
