The Swope Park Rangers (12-5-4, 3rd place) will take on the USL’s top team at 7:30 p.m. CT on Friday in a rematch with Real Monarchs (16-3-3, 1st place) on Back to School Night at Swope Soccer Village.
Tickets are available online at SeatGeek.com or at the venue box office prior to kick off and the first 750 fans in attendance will receive SPR jersey lunch boxes courtesy of Smile Generation. The game will also stream live on SportingKC.com and via the USLsoccer.com MatchCenter.
The Rangers have recorded back-to-back draws in the past two weeks and currently sit one point out of second place in the USL’s Western Conference. Kharlton Belmar scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the club’s last outing and now has 22 goals in his USL career, most of any Swope Park Rangers player.
The Real Monarchs hold a 10-point lead atop the table with a roster led by Chandler Hoffman, whose 14 goals this year are third most in the USL, and a pair of play-making midfielders in Charlie Adams and Sebastian Velasquez with six assists each. Defensively, Kansas City native Nick Besler – the younger brother of Sporting KC’s Matt Besler – captains the club and leads the team in minutes played this season.
The Monarchs are coming off a 2-0 win over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC last weekend that improved the team’s home record to 10-0-1 this year, including a 2-1 victory over SPR on April 29. However, midfielder Chase Minter was controversially sent off in the match and will serve a one-game suspension this Friday.
MLS veteran midfielder Danny Cruz could make his debut for the visitors after arriving last week from the San Francisco Deltas, where he played under former SPR head coach Marc Dos Santos. Cruz was one of three recent signings by Real Monarchs, along with Costa Rica international Diego Calvo and Argentine forward Juan Mare.
Game 22
Date: Friday, August 18, 2017
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Swope Soccer Village (Kansas City, Mo.)
Swope Park Rangers: 12-5-4 (40 pts), 3rd in Western Conference
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Real Monarchs: 16-3-3 (51 pts), 1st in Western Conference
MLS Affiliate: Real Salt Lake
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: The game will be broadcast on SportingKC.com and YouTube.com/USL
Talent: Carter Augustine (play-by-play), Patrik Bergabo (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvSLC
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Real Monarchs
Twitter: @RealMonarchs
Instagram: @RealMonarchs
GAME NOTES
