PALO ALTO, Calif. - For the second-straight year, Kansas City Men's Soccer has proved it can hang with the big names. Last season, the Roos fell in the third round of the NCAA Championship in an overtime match at second-seeded Pittsburgh. Tonight, the Roos gave 12th-seeded Stanford all it could handle in the NCAA Second Round, falling 1-0.
Under constant pressure from the Cardinal, KC's back line withstood the test in the early going. Stanford controlled 64% of the possession in the first frame, but the Roos were able to limit the damage to just six shots and Marc Popow was there for three saves when the attempts were on frame.
Corner kicks were the story of the First half. Stanford earned nine to Kansas City's zero, putting dangerous balls within the box. Starting for the first time this season in the absence of an injured Guille Munoz, Ales Kohoutek played a large role in sending the corners away, heading away multiple attempts.
Kansas City came out with a sense of urgency in the second half, immediately adjusting and creating more promising opportunities. After attempting just two shots in the first half, both from Miguel Fernandez, the Roos were the first side to let a chance fly in the second half. Bryce Outman took his lone shot of the game in the 52nd minute, but the shot was blocked away by Stanford's back line.
The relentlessness of Stanford's attack finally broke the game open in the 64th minute. A foul set up a free kick that was sent home by Alfonso Tenconi-Gradillas, banging off the post and into the goal.
Ratcheting up the offensive intensity, Kansas City looked for an equalizer in the game's final 26 minutes. The opportunities were there, using the strong right side play of Outman and Joackim Betina to push the ball deep into the attacking third.
Equalizing proved to be a tall task, but the Roos' best opportunity of the game came in the 89th minute. Mathias Baucher sent a ball skying forward, headed by Elie Kisoka over to Wade Muttitt on the right side of the box. Muttitt drew the attention of the Stanford defense and booted a cross to Jeremy Francou, alone on the left side. Francou's right-footed strike sailed just over the crossbar, leaving KC searching.
Eleven players crowded the box in the game's final 30 seconds, the Roos with a corner kick. Timothy Ospina's delivery was cleared away by the Cardinal, but Baucher ran it down and gave KC hope. Another service was sent to the box, tracked down by Muttitt for one last shot, but the ball ran wide and brought an end to the Roos' season.
Standard set. That is the story of the 2025 Kansas City Men's Soccer season. The Roos qualified to the NCAA Championships for the second-straight year, a first in program history. This season, Kansas City made it to the NCAAs on an at-large bid, another program first. KC finishes the year with a 12-4-5 record, the second-most wins in program history and the first time in the program's 39-year existence that the Roos have won 10-plus games in consecutive seasons.
