Houston Dynamo 2's Papa Ndoye reached a rare milestone, scoring a hat trick in back-to-back games. Sunday's performance against Sporting Kansas City II saw Ndoye lead his team's effort, scoring all three goals.
Ndoye's hat trick, plus excellent performances from key players such as St Louis CITY2's John Klein and Earthquakes II's Ousseni Bouda highlighted MLS NEXT Pro Matchday 20 action.
Here are the results from Matchday 20.
New England Revolution II (1) - New York Red Bulls II (1)
O'Vonte Mullings scored in the final seconds of regulation time and goalkeeper AJ Marcucci made three shootout saves as Red Bulls II salvaged two points from a trip to Gillette Stadium.
Mullings' goal in the fourth of four minutes of stoppage time sent the match to a shootout. The goal canceled out a Revs II goal from Jordan Adebayo-Smith in the 62nd minute.
The result allows Red Bulls II to gain one point on Revs II, which remains in third place in the Eastern Conference. Red Bulls II follow two points behind in fourth.
Houston Dynamo 2 (3) - Sporting Kansas City II (1)
Papa Ndoye has scored hat tricks in back-to-back games for the first time in MLS NEXT Pro history. Ndoye's three goals Sunday night brought his season total to 11 goals.
Ndoye got Dynamo Dos off to an excellent start with goals in the ninth and 12th minutes. SKC II's Joshua Coan scored a penalty kick to pull a goal back, and Ndoye scored one more goal in stoppage time to complete the hat trick.
Dynamo Dos moved into sixth in the Western Conference with two wins in a row. SKC II saw its positive form halted, and remains in fourth in the Western Conference.
Huntsville City FC (1) - FC Cincinnati 2 (0)
Huntsville City FC topped off a strong July showing with a clean-sheet win to start August. HCFC is on a three-match winning streak thanks to Nebiyou Perry's 38th minute strike.
Perry dribbled into the middle of the field and drove a low shot into the net to score the game's only goal. HCFC goalkeeper Ben Martino made two saves in the shutout win.
Jack Collison's side is performing exceptionally well in a tight midtable battle in the Eastern Conference. HCFC improved to seventh in the conference with Sunday's win.
St Louis CITY2 (4) - Real Monarchs (0)
A John Klein brace and goals from Joakim Nilsson and Wan Kuzain allowed CITY2 to dominate in a home win over Real Monarchs.
Klein opened scoring with a back-post header in the 38th minute. Nilsson scored just before halftime to put CITY2 ahead 2-0 at the break. Klein scored his second goal in the 63rd minute with a clinical finish to make it 3-0. Wan Kuzain completed an excellent CITY2 performance by scoring in the 89th minute.
A second straight win for CITY2 allowed it to remain in the race for the playoffs in the middle of the Western Conference table. Real Monarchs fell to a third straight MLS NEXT Pro loss.
LA Galaxy II (1) - Earthquakes II (4)
One of the top MLS NEXT Pro road teams continued to excel in unfamiliar confines, as Earthquakes II claimed three points Sunday night against LA Galaxy II. Ousseni Bouda led Quakes II with two goals and one assist.
LA Galaxy II struck first through an Axel Picazo goal in the sixth minute. Cruz Medina put Quakes II level in the 14th minute, and Bouda scored an incredible goal from the right side to put his team in the lead. Bouda added a second goal in the 66th minute, and Eduardo Blancas finished things off by scoring a fourth goal in the 87th minute.
Quakes II stretched an unbeaten run to three games, with back-to-back road wins. LA Galaxy II fell to a third straight defeat.
Los Angeles Football Club 2 (0) - Austin FC II (0) (Austin FC II wins shootout 4-3)
Austin FC II goalkeeper Damian Las earned his 11th clean sheet of the 2023 season, and stepped up in the shootout to hand his team an extra point.
LAFC2 withstood a red card in the 22nd minute to keep things scoreless. Austin FC II took 12 shots, while LAFC2 managed only one shot.
Austin FC II continues to fight toward the top of the Western Conference, with two points from Sunday's match keeping it in second place.
Saturday
Inter Miami II (1) - Orlando City B (1) (Inter Miami II wins shootout 5-3)
Inter Miami II kept hope alive in the Eastern Conference by picking up the extra point against Orlando City B. Lucas Meek scored the decisice spot kick in the shootout.
Felipe Valencia scored the opener for Inter Miami II, with a clever move on the right side in the 35th minute. Nabilai Kibunguchy headed in the equalizer in the 69th minute.
MNUFC2 (2) - North Texas SC (1)
Cameron Dunbar's two goals made the difference in a 2-1 win over North Texas SC at National Sports Center.
Dunbar put MNUFC2 ahead early in the second half, redirecting a cross from Devin Padelford. He scored again in the 84th minute, which proved to be a crucial goal as North Texas' Tomas Pondeca pulled a goal back in the 88th minute.
MNUFC2 moved into fifth in the Western Conference with the win.
Colorado Rapids 2 (6) - Whitecaps FC 2 (2)
Colorado Rapids 2 exploded for six goals in a win over Whitecaps FC 2. Oliver Larraz had one goal and three assists, Marlon Vargas had one goal and two assists, and Remi Cabral and Darren Yapi each scored braces.
Rapids 2 led 3-1 at halftime, with Lowell Wright pulling back a goal for the visitors. Darko Ilic made it 3-2 with a goal in the 46th minute, but Cabral, Larraz, and Vargas scored later in the half to overwhelm the opposition.
Rapids 2 remains top of the Western Conference with 48 points. Whitecaps FC 2 has gone without a win since June 15, and fell into ninth place in the conference.
Timbers2 (1) - Tacoma Defiance (1) (Defiance wins shootout 4-2)
Tacoma Defiance claimed the extra point Saturday night, with Gio Miglietti scoring the decisive spot kick in the shootout.
Abdoulaye Cissoko opened scoring in the 10th minute, but T2's Florian Monzon scored his seventh goal of the season three minutes later.
Defiance solidified its position in third in the Western Conference by picking up two points. T2 remains four points away from a playoff position, at 10th place in the Western Conference.
Friday
Philadelphia Union II (2) - NYCFC II (0)
Philadelphia Union II earned three points and a clean sheet against an Eastern Conference foe Friday night. Union II are now on a three-win run in MLS NEXT Pro.
Francis Westfield scored his first MLS NEXT Pro goal to open scoring in the 43rd minute. Union II completed another fantastic team move in the 59th minute, with David Vazquez scoring off an assist from Jeremy Rafanello.
Thursday
Chicago Fire FC II (2) - Atlanta United 2 (1)
Chicago Fire FC II maintained strong form with a win at SeatGeek Stadium over Atlanta United 2.
Victor Bezerra scored the first goal of the game in the 45th minute with an impressive touch and turn in the middle of the box. Alex Monis assisted Bezerra's goal, then added one of his own in the 57th minute.
ATL UTD 2 is on a difficult run, with five straight losses. Fire II are on good form with one loss in the previous six games, and moved into a playoff position with Thursday's win.
Columbus Crew 2 (4) - TFC II (0)
A Marco Micaletto brace allowed Crew 2 to take three points at home in a dominant showing against TFC II.
Micaletto scored twice in the space of five minutes. He opened scoring by jumping onto a loose ball in the 28th minute, then doubled the lead in the 33rd minute. Mataeo Bunbury scored to make it 3-0 in the 55th minute, and Coleman Gannon finished things off with goal in the 80th minute.
Crew 2 claimed its second win over TFC II this season, and moved into second place in the Eastern Conference. The shutout is Crew 2's second clean sheet in a row.
