KC Reporter

Sporting Kansas City II defender Anthony Samways has been nominated for the MLS NEXT Pro Goal of Matchweek 26. The nomination follows his stoppage-time goal against Real Monarchs last Saturday, which was also his first professional goal.

The 22-year-old's goal is competing with efforts from Facundo Canete of Carolina Core, Cyprian Kachwele of Whitecaps FC 2, and Nico Rincon of Crew 2 in a poll on X. The voting will be open for 24 hours.

Samways' decisive strike occurred in the 94th minute after the score was tied at one. Blaine Mabie scored earlier to give Sporting Kansas City II the lead before Real Monarchs equalized in the 85th minute. Following a corner that was not fully cleared by the Monarchs, Shane Donovan delivered the ball back into play, which reached Samways at the top of the box. He then sent a half-volley shot through traffic into the net.

A rookie from Loveland, Ohio and an alumnus of Ohio State, Samways has started in 14 out of his 21 appearances this season and accumulated 1,432 minutes on the field. He recorded his first professional assist on August 31 against Rapids 2, just days before scoring his first goal for SKC II.

Sporting Kansas City II will play their next match away against North Texas SC at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game will be available to stream live on MLSNEXTPro.com and is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. CT.