The Swope Park Rangers (17-8-8, 4th seed) and Sacramento Republic FC (13-12-8, 8th seed) will meet at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, in the first of four Conference Semifinals in the USL Cup Playoffs.
Tickets for the match-up inside the state-of-the-art MLS stadium are available for $15 and can be purchased online at SeatGeek.com or at the venue box office prior to kickoff. Free parking will be available to ticket holders in Lot D beginning at 1 p.m. CT and gates will open at 3 p.m. CT.
The Rangers and Republic FC each reached the semifinal stage via penalty kick shootouts last weekend in the postseason’s opening round. SPR fell behind 1-0 in extra time against Phoenix Rising FC on a goal from World Cup veteran Didier Drogba before Amer Didic’s 109th-minute header sent the match into penalties, where the reigning Western Conference champions prevailed with four consecutive conversions at Swope Soccer Village.
Sacramento kicked off their fourth consecutive postseason campaign by stunning USL regular season champions Real Monarchs SLC at their home ground last Friday, taking a 1-0 lead through 20-year-old newcomer Luis Espino and recovering from conceding an 86th-minute penalty kick to advance in a shootout that saw goalkeeper Evan Newtown make two saves.
The Republic, who claimed a USL championship in 2014, now travel to Kansas City for their fifth consecutive road match in a 2017 season highlighted on the field by the club’s run to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 with a 4-1 upset of Real Salt Lake and off the field by the launch of construction on a $245-million stadium in downtown Sacramento.
The visitors’ lineup features a core group of returners from last year’s squad that topped the Western Conference in the regular season, with Montenegro international Emrah Klimenta anchoring the backline and Puerto Rico international Jeremy Hall in central midfield as the league’s leading passer. The club added three USL standouts to their attack with the acquisitions of Trevin Caesar, Sammy Ochoa and Villyan Bijev who all led their teams in scoring in 2016.
Ochoa (8 goals, 6 assists) and Caesar (7 goals, 3 assists) now lead Sacramento in scoring, while Bijev, whose 10 assists were most in the USL last season, has contributed two goals and two assists since arriving on loan last month. Caesar has missed the team’s last four matches due to international duty with Trinidad and Tobago and a subsequent hamstring strain, however could be set to return on Saturday after not being listed on the team’s injury report.
The Rangers hold the upper hand in the all-time series with Sacramento, earning a 1-0 home win in April and coming away with draws in road trips to northern California in both 2016 and 2017. The two teams lead the Western Conference in passing, albeit with contrasting styles.
Sacramento ranks first in the USL with 506 crosses, with 306 of those crosses coming from outside backs James Kiffe and Elliott Hord, while SPR has attempted the fewest crosses in the USL this season by a wide margin.
SPR will bring a balanced attack into Saturday’s showdown with 17 different goal scorers in the regular season, most in the USL, and 15 goals by substitutes this season for a team with a knack for comebacks. On three occasions, the Rangers have overcome deficits to win this year in addition to twice earning draws despite trailing by two goals.
The club’s latest comeback with an extra-time equalizer last Sunday to stave off elimination came via the latest goal scored in SPR’s short history, surpassing the team’s dramatic shorthanded goal in the 105th minute of last year’s Western Conference Semifinals.
Now back on the same stage, the Rangers will host the first USL Cup Playoffs match to be held at Children’s Mercy Park. The home of Sporting KC was also home to two SPR fixtures last season: the Rangers inaugural match, a 2-1 victory over Portland Timbers 2, as well as a 1-1 draw with cross-state rivals Saint Louis FC in their last visit to Kansas City.
Saturday’s winner will advance to the Western Conference Championship to play either San Antonio FC (17-4-11, 2nd seed) or OKC Energy FC (14-11-7, 6th seed), who square off at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Toyota Field in Texas. All USL matches are streamed live on YouTube and USLsoccer.com leading up to the USL Cup Final on Nov. 13 live on ESPNU.
Western Conference Semifinals – 2017 USL Cup Playoffs
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2017
Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. CT
Location: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kansas)
Swope Park Rangers: 17-8-7, 4th in Western Conference
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Sacramento Republic FC: 13-12-8, 8th in Western Conference
MLS Affiliate: N/A
More: SPR Notes | SAC Notes | USL Preview | SAC Preview | SPR Spotlight | SAC Spotlight
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: The game will be broadcast on SportingKC.com
SOCIAL TAGS
Hashtags: #SPRvSAC, #SPRBelieve, #USLPlayoffs
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Sacramento Republic FC
Twitter: @sacrepublicfc
Instagram: @sacrepublicfc
