The USL playoff picture came into focus on Saturday night with only one Western Conference match-up remaining in the league's 2018 regular season: Swope Park Rangers versus LA Galaxy II at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday at Children's Mercy Park.
A win would lift the Rangers into seventh place and set up a quarterfinal clash at No. 2 seed Sacramento Republic FC.
A draw would secure the eighth and final playoff berth, and send SPR to take on table toppers Orange County SC in the postseason's opening around.
A loss would leave SPR ninth in the standings and eliminated from playoff contention by virtue of the goal differential tiebreaker.
Those are the stakes and scenarios in a closely contested Western Conference playoff race that is coming down to the final fixture in order to determine the eight-team bracket that will set the path toward the 2018 USL Cup on November 8.
<strong>Pos</strong> |
<strong>Team</strong> |
<strong>W</strong> |
<strong>L</strong> |
<strong>T</strong> |
<strong>Pts</strong> |
1 |
Orange County SC |
20 |
8 |
6 |
66 |
2 |
Sacramento Republic FC |
19 |
7 |
8 |
65 |
3 |
Phoenix Rising FC |
19 |
9 |
6 |
63 |
4 |
Real Monarchs |
19 |
12 |
3 |
60 |
5 |
Reno 1868 FC |
16 |
7 |
11 |
59 |
6 |
Portland Timbers 2 |
17 |
13 |
4 |
55 |
7 |
Saint Louis FC |
14 |
9 |
11 |
53 |
8 |
San Antonio FC |
14 |
12 |
8 |
50 |
<em>9</em> |
<em>Swope Park Rangers</em> |
<em>14</em> |
<em>11</em> |
<em>8</em> |
<em>50</em> |
Teams in 10th-17th are eliminated from playoff contention
The Rangers claimed Western Conference championships in each of the club's first two seasons in 2016 and 2017, and are now looking to join Sacramento Republic FC as the only teams from the West to qualify for the playoffs for a third consecutive campaign in 2018.
Tickets for Sunday’s showdown are available online at SeatGeek.com for as low as $9 and the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free SPR Believe t-shirt as part of the team's Fan Appreciation Day festivities. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and in-game updates will also be available via the USLsoccer.com Match Center.
