The Swope Park Rangers continue their quest for the USL Cup when the side takes on Orange County Blues FC in the Western Conference Semifinals on Sunday, Oct. 9 at Swope Soccer Village. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT, while tickets are available via Ticketmaster and the game will be live streamed on SportingKC.com.
The Rangers advanced to the semifinal stage after earning a 3-0 victory over LA Galaxy II in the Conference Quarterfinals at Swope Soccer Village last Friday. After a tight opening to the game, Galaxy II were reduced to 10 men when Jose Villarreal was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 65th minute, allowing the Rangers to take the ascendancy.
In the 76th minute, Kris Tyrpak headed SPR in front before leading scorer Mark Anthony Gonzalez knocked home his 10th and 11th goals of the season in stoppage time to seal the victory. Goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas posted his fourth shutout in the last five games, while the Rangers are now 11-4-1 at home this season.
Orange County Blues FC, who are 5-8-3 on the road in 2016, sealed a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season, claiming a 4-0 win over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC where the third goal was the tiebreaker that clinched the eighth and final seed in the West. The Blues travelled to top-seeded Sacramento Republic FC in their quarterfinal matchup, playing to a goalless draw over 120 minutes before advancing with a 5-4 victory on penalty kicks.
The fourth-seeded Rangers are the highest remaining seed in the Western Conference after Sacramento Republic FC (#1), Rio Grande Valley FC (#2) and Colorado Spring Switchbacks FC (#3) were all eliminated at the first hurdle last weekend. SPR are also the only expansion team still fighting for USL Cup, after RGVFC, FC Cincinnati and Orlando City B all fell in their quarterfinal contests.
In the first and only meeting between the two sides this season, the Rangers ran out comfortable 3-0 victors on July 23 at Swope Soccer Village. Dane Kelly scored just before halftime before Ayrton came off the bench in the second period to set up goals from Mark Anthony Gonzalez and Johnny Grant to ice the victory late on.
The Rangers are hosting several promotions, including a raffle to benefit the American Cancer Society of Kansas City and a $5 discount for fans with a military ID as part of Visit KC’s Salute to the Military.
USL Cup Playoffs: Western Conference Semifinal
Date: Sunday, October 9, 2016
Kickoff: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Swope Soccer Village (Kansas City, Mo.)
Swope Park Rangers: 14-10-6, 48 pts. 4th seed.
Orange County Blues FC: 12-14-4, 40 pts. 8th seed.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: The game will be broadcast on SportingKC.com and YouTube.com/USL
Talent: Carter Augustine (play-by-play), Chad Reynolds (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvOC
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @swopeparkrangers
Orange County Blues FC
Twitter: @OCBluesFC
Instagram: @ocbluesfc
GAME NOTES
