The Swope Park Rangers (4-4-1, 10th place) will kick off a three-game homestand on Sunday by welcoming regional rivals Tulsa Roughnecks FC (5-5-0, 5th place) to Swope Soccer Village for a 4 p.m. CT kickoff at Children’s Mercy Victory Field.
Tickets for the match-up are available online at SeatGeek.com or at the venue box office prior to kickoff. In addition, all fans who attend the nearby Sporting KC Day at the Zoo festivities from 9 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. on Sunday can purchase a Swope Park Rangers ticket for $10 by showing their Zoo ticket stub at the Swope Soccer Village box office.
The Swope Park Rangers swept the season series with the Roughnecks a year ago, capturing wins in all four meetings during the club’s inaugural season and reaching the USL Cup Final while Tulsa finished last in the Western Conference. However, Tulsa has turned around the team’s fortunes in 2017 and currently sits two points above SPR in the standings after equaling their season win total from 2016 through only 10 games.
The Rangers will look to move past Tulsa in the table and back into playoff position on Sunday by snapping a three-game winless skid. After a pair of back-to-back 1-0 losses, SPR earned a road result last weekend with a scoreless draw at undefeated San Antonio FC.
Oumar Ballo made his first start of the season and earned USL Team of the Week honors, showcasing the Rangers’ depth at the centerback position when Amer Didic was signed by Sporting Kansas City last week. Offensively, the Rangers – after scoring in 14 consecutive matches – have now been held scoreless for the last 322 minutes of USL play dating back to a 3-1 home victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 more than a month ago on May 5.
On Sunday, Nikola Popovic’s squad will be without playmaker Kevin Oliveira for a second straight week while the 21-year-old midfielder is with the Cape Verde National Team for a Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, however the team’s 2016 Offensive Player of the Year, Mark Anthony Gonzalez, has returned to training this week after missing three matches due to injury.
Like SPR, Tulsa is led by a new head coach in 2017. David Vaudreuil joined the team from the NASL’s Rayo OKC, bringing with him the Roughnecks leading goal scorer Ian Svantesson. His roster makeover has paid early dividends with all 15 of the team’s goals this year coming from club newcomers, including four apiece from Chicago Fire loanee Joey Calistri and 32-year-old La Liga veteran Juan Caffa.
Sunday’s match, the USL Week 12 finale, will be streamed live on SportingKC.com and can also be followed online via the USLsoccer.com MatchCenter, powered by Opta.
Game 10
Date: Sunday, June 11, 2017
Kickoff: 4 p.m. CT
Location: Swope Soccer Village (Kansas City, Mo.)
Swope Park Rangers: 4-4-1 (13 pts), 10th in Western Conference.
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Tulsa Roughnecks FC: 5-5-0 (15 pts), 5th in Western Conference.
MLS Affiliate: Chicago Fire
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
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvTUL
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Tulsa Roughnecks FC
Twitter: @RoughnecksFC
Instagram: @RoughnecksFC
GAME NOTES
