In their second year of existence, the Swope Park Rangers are on the cusp of a second straight appearance in the USL Cup Final.
Head coach Nikola Popovic’s men will hope to hoist another Western Conference championship trophy on Saturday when they host OKC Energy FC at 7:30 p.m. CT inside Children’s Mercy Park. Tickets for the Western Conference Final are available at SeatGeek.com or at the stadium box office prior to kickoff.
In the days leading up to Saturday’s showdown, SportingKC.com will offer a position-by-position look at this dynamic Rangers squad while shining the spotlight on one goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward. Part two focuses on the backline, anchored by a central defender whose USL credentials stack up among the best in the league.
Spotlight: Amer Didic
Not too long ago, Amer Didic was finishing his fourth season of college soccer at nearby Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. Fast-forward two years, and the domineering defender has inked an MLS contract with Sporting Kansas City, solidified himself as an elite USL center back and earned a call to the Canada Men’s National Team.
This meteoric rise — highlighted by All-League First Team honors and a USL Defender of the Year nomination in 2016 — has seen Didic take another big step in 2017. The second-year pro officially became an MLS player in May and has continued to feature regularly for the Rangers on loan, where he has started 22 of 23 USL appearances. At the international level, he was an unused substitute in Canada’s friendly win over Jamaica in September.
Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and raised in Edmonton, Canada, Didic has made 50 more clearances than any other SPR player during the 2017 campaign. He has also shown technical quality with the ball at his feet, ranking ninth in the USL in total passes at an 88.1-percent passing accuracy clip. Needless to say, his skillset translates well in the Rangers’ possession-oriented approach.
That’s not to mention the danger Didic poses on set pieces and balls into the box. Standing at 6-foot-4, the defender has two headed goals to his name this season. That includes probably the most important goal of his life — an extra-time equalizer in the 109th minute of a penalty shootout triumph over Phoenix Rising FC in the Western Conference Quarterfinals on Oct. 22. The Rangers had fallen behind on a 99th-minute header from Didier Drogba, but Didic’s timely response captured the never-say-die essence of the playoff-savvy Rangers.
Hence the appropriateness of the hashtag #SPRBelieve.
“That’s our motto,” Didic said after the Phoenix victory. “It goes back all the way to last year. Believing. Believing. Believing. That Orange County game last year defined who this club is as Swope Park Rangers and Sporting KC – just everything that we’re about with the hard work we put into training and these games. It’s definitely something we pride ourselves on as a club.”
If you aren’t familiar with the Orange County game Didic is referring to, stop and enjoy the video below. Revisiting SPR’s famous win in the 2016 Western Conference Semifinals never gets old.
The Supporting Cast
As strong has Didic has been, he’s far from a one-man band. Head coach Nikola Popovic has no shortage of defensive depth at his disposal, as any one of Dakota Barnathan, Oumar Ballo or Liam Doyle could conceivably partner Didic in central defense. That role went to Barnathan last Saturday when the Rangers scalped Sacramento Republic FC 1-0 at Children’s Mercy Park. A rookie out of Virginia Commonwealth, Barnathan is also capable of playing as a holding midfielder, as he did against Phoenix.
The athletic Ballo was Didic’s left-hand man during SPR’s 2016 postseason run, starting all four matches in the club’s run to the USL Cup Final. He has started 16 of 20 USL appearances this season and is tied for the team lead with 16 blocked shots. Doyle has made 18 starts himself, scoring twice in his first season with the Rangers after spending the 2016 campaign with the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Following the blueprint Peter Vermes has laid with Sporting KC, Popovic routinely sends his outside backs into attack on the overlap. Such has been the story for right back Colton Storm, who has contributed three assists in 28 USL games during his rookie season on loan from Sporting KC. The same can be said of fellow Sporting KC loanee Tyler Pasher and Parker Maher, a Saint Louis FC transplant who has started at left back in both playoff matches.
Pasher, whose stellar 2016 season with SPR landed him an MLS contract with Sporting KC last December, can thrive as either a left back or a left winger. He has featured in the latter role during the 2017 playoffs, as his blistering pace and quality service from the wing gives SPR a dangerous weapon going forward. The 23-year-old Canadian was also heavily involved in the Rangers’ decisive goal on Saturday.
