KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Despite falling behind early, No. 15 Kansas City Men’s Soccer gave San Francisco all it was worth this evening, battling until the final whistle in a 3-2 loss. The Roos (2-1) put up more shots, including more shots on goal, than the Dons (1-2-1) but were unable to come up with the equalizer in the game’s late stages.
Kansas City applied pressure with a pair of early shots, but it was the Dons that struck first in the fourth minute. Just four minutes later, a foul was called in the box, setting up a penalty kick which allowed USF to double its lead.
The Roos appeared to draw one back in the 18th minute, finding the back of the net after a scrum from the foot of Mark Ramarola. After a VAR review, the goal was called back for an offside earlier in the sequence.
It did not take much longer for KC to reach the score sheet for real, drawing a handball in the box and setting up a penalty kick in the 20th minute. Raphael Kistmann stepped up and buried the penalty for his team-leading third goal of the season and the 16th of his Kansas City career.
Kansas City dominated possession for the rest of the half, finishing the first 45 with a 64% possession rate. That continued into the second half, attempting three shots before USF took their first shot of the half in the 64th minute.
San Francisco extended its lead again in the 73rd on a beauty of a goal that tucked its way into the lower-right corner. This turned the Roos’ aggression into desperation, needing a pair of goals in the final 17 minutes for a result.
Ian Witis-Hughes came up big after entering as a substitute in the 79th minute, striking just two minutes later for the first goal of his collegiate career. Miguel Fernandez pushed the ball forward to Jonas Rossdorfer, who put a cross to the left foot of Witis-Hughes and gave Kansas City life.
The Roos continued to apply pressure in the game’s waning moments, attempting four shots in the final five minutes, but could not materialize an equalizer.
Kansas City drops its first game of the season after opening the year with a pair of victories and will be put to the test on Friday, traveling to fifth-ranked SMU for the first road game of the year.