Roos Take Down Lions in Front of Home Crowd; Advance to Second Round of NCAAs

Thursday, November 20

Kansas City, Mo.

6:00 PM

Kansas City

12-3-5, 4-1-1

Lindenwood

14-3-4, 6-2-2

Lindenwood

Kansas City

The Roos hosted their first NCAA Championship game in program history, marking a major milestone during only its second trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Roos secured a 1–0 win over Lindenwood behind steady possession and disciplined defensive play. This further advances them into postseason action and highlights the program’s continued growth on the national stage. They will next play at Stanford on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. CST.

Photo by: Francie Wilson

Roos Take Down Lions in Front of Home Crowd; Advance to Second Round of NCAAs

11/20/2025 9:12:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Highlights Coach Pore/Nkumu/Fernandez Postgame Photo Gallery

Kevin Nkumu scored his first-career goal in the 54th-minute to continue KC's season

KANSAS CITY - Eight seconds remained. Kansas City, clinging to a 1-0 lead, had its backs to goal as Lindenwood sent all 11 forward on a free kick. The Lions took a shot. Joackim Betina deflected it away. Two seconds remained. Another chance for Lindenwood, this one with a seemingly open goal in front of Luke Neely. Kenny Yedmel jumped in at the final second, deflecting the ball above the crossbar as time expired and sending the Roos into a frenzy as they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the second-straight season.

It was the first-ever NCAA Tournament game hosted at Durwood Soccer Stadium, and the Roo faithful did not disappoint. Kansas City was sparked by the energy of all 809 fans in attendance, the largest home crowd since at least the 2015 season, controlling the game from the jump.

Kansas City asserted its will in the first half, possessing the ball at a 61% rate. The Roos attempted 10 shots to Lindenwood's one, but could not dial into the goal as all 10 attempts were off-frame. Raphael Kistmann sent a pair of headers just past the left crossbar in the 23rd and 35th minutes, accounting for three total attempts in the first half.

The best opportunity of the half came in the 32nd minute, right after a trio of fresh legs entered the game for KC. A cross by Yedmel was stumbled on by a Lion defender, finding Kistmann. He sent a sky-high pass across the face of the goal, connecting with Jeremy Francou for a header that banged off the woodwork. The rebound remained in the box for shot attempts by Mathias Baucher and Timothy Ospina, but Lindenwood's back line stood strong and blocked their shots away.

The Roos regrouped coming out of the half, inserting Shotaro Kodama and Wade Muttitt into the match for the first time. Kansas City's first shot attempt of the half was also its first shot on goal, and eventually went down as the game-winner.

A quick restart found Lindenwood out of sorts as the Roos switched field, finding Baucher on the right side. Betina caught up to Baucher's through pass just before it reached the end line, sending a cross that made its way to the other side of the box and found Kevin Nkumu, no defenders within five yards of him. Nkumu left no doubt on the shot, threading a dart between a pair of LU defenders and into the back of the net.

Nkumu serves as an unlikely hero. The sophomore from Kishasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo was a reserve to start the season, but has started in 12 of the Roos' last 13 games. He played just 13 minutes of the Summit League title match at Denver before leaving with an injury. He had attempted just four shots in the first 19 games of the season. None of that mattered. All he needed was one shot tonight, and he etched himself into Kansas City Men's Soccer history.

The Roos move to 12-3-5 on the season, and the program's first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances have now turned into the program's first back-to-back second round appearances. Kansas City advances to play 12th-seeded Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. on Sunday, slated for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff. The Cardinal, ranked No. 8 in the final United Soccer Coaches poll of the regular season, are 13-3-2 on the year. Sunday's match will serve as the first-ever meeting between the two sides.