UPDATE: This match was suspended at halftime due to inclement weather and will resume at 3 p.m. CT on Sunday, October 22nd at Swope Soccer Village. Gates will open at 2 p.m. CT and admission is free.
The Swope Park Rangers (17-8-7, 4th place) will open the USL Cup Playoffs at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Swope Soccer Village when the reigning Western Conference champions host postseason debutants Phoenix Rising FC (17-8-7, 5th place) in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
Tickets for the match-up are available online at SeatGeek.com or at the venue box office prior to kick off. #SPRvPHX will also be streamed live on SportingKC.com and via the USLsoccer.com MatchCenter.
The Rangers reached the USL Cup Final a year ago as the Western Conference’s fourth seed and will aim to kick start a repeat of the magical postseason run by continuing the team’s splendid home form. No team has as many wins (21) or goals scored (61) at home in the USL over the last two regular seasons as SPR, which has gone 24-6-4 all-time at Children’s Mercy Victory Field and Children’s Mercy Park when including the team’s 3-0-0 home record in last year’s playoffs.
SPR’s successful sophomore season has been highlighted by the play of several newcomers. Offensively, Kharlton Belmar (14 goals, two assists) and Lebo Moloto (seven goals, four assists) have led the attack in tandem with a breakout season from Sporting KC Academy product Nansel Selbol (nine goals, two assists), the USL’s top scorer among players 20 and under.
Defensively, the Rangers 11 shutouts were second most in the Western Conference this season with team MVP James Musa manning the middle of the park as a holding midfielder, while Colton Storm and Parker Maher controlled the flanks from their outside back positions.
Phoenix Rising FC and the Swope Park Rangers were the top two teams in the USL during the second half of the season, amassing the most points from weeks 15-30 to end the campaign with identical 17-8-7 records. Phoenix has lost just once in their last 15 matches dating back to August, when the club acquired 20-year-old Jamaican international Kevon Lambert, 22-year-old Colorado Rapids loanee Sam Hamilton and 23-year-old defender Doueugui Jean Marie Mala.
Overshadowing the influx of young talent, the visitors will be led on Saturday by co-owner and club captain Didier Drogba. The three-time FIFA World Cup veteran, who won the Premier League in 2015 and scored in the 2016 MLS All-Star Game, has nine goals and three assists in 13 games for Phoenix, including goals in his past four starts and a two-goal performance in Kansas City on June 18 to power Phoenix to a 2-2 draw with SPR in the clubs’ last meeting.
Drogba, at age 39, and fellow Phoenix Rising FC forward Omar Bravo, at age 37, became the oldest two goal scorers in USL history this season, with 35-year-old Shaun Wright-Phillips not far behind at ninth on the chart. Nevertheless, Jason Johnson -- whose 13 goals this season were as many as the three World Cup veterans netted collectively – leads the team in scoring and is second in the USL with six game-winning goals on the year.
Both teams bring a balanced attack into the contest with a league-high 17 goal scorers on each roster, however the opponents display starkly different playing styles under first-year head coaches Nikola Popovic and Patrice Carteron. SPR leads the league in passes and passing accuracy, while Phoenix Rising FC ranks 29th out of 30 USL teams in total passes this year.
Saturday’s winner will advance to the Western Conference Semifinals to play either Real Monarchs SLC or Sacramento Republic FC based on the outcome of Friday night’s quarterfinal at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, where Sporting Kansas City will take on Real Salt Lake this Sunday in the regular season finale for both teams at 3 p.m. CT on FOX Sports KC.
Western Conference Quarterfinals – 2017 USL Cup Playoffs
Date: Saturday, October 21, 2017
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Swope Soccer Village (Kansas City, Mo.)
Swope Park Rangers: 17-8-7 (58 points), 4th in Western Conference
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Phoenix Rising FC: 17-8-7 (58 points), 5th in Western Conference
MLS Affiliate: N/A
More: SPR Notes | PHX Notes | USL Preview | PHX Preview | SPR Spotlight | PHX Spotlight
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: The game will be broadcast on SportingKC.com and YouTube.com/USL
Talent: Carter Augustine (play-by-play), Sam Kovzan (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Hashtags: #SPRvPHX, #SPRBelieve, #USLPlayoffs
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Phoenix Rising FC
Twitter: @PHXRisingFC
Instagram: @PHXRisingFC
