The Swope Park Rangers return to action on Saturday, Sept. 3 when they take on Rio Grande Valley FC at Swope Soccer Village. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT with a live stream available on SportingKC.com and tickets available via Ticketmaster. Earlier today, the Rangers were boosted with news that the club has added nine players on loan from Sporting Kansas City ahead of tomorrow’s showdown.
The Rangers enter the weekend with a 10-9-6 record (36 pts.) and currently sit in seventh place and a playoff position in the USL Western Conference. The side is unbeaten in three games and takes on RGV on the back of two home wins, having earned 2-1 victories over LA Galaxy II and San Antonio FC on Saturday, Aug. 27 and Wednesday, Aug. 31, respectively.
On Wednesday, it took a penalty kick from Ayrton deep into second-half stoppage time to claim all three points for the Rangers against San Antonio FC. SPR went ahead in the third minute when Mark Anthony Gonzalez sent Ayrton in on goal, and the 22-year-old slotted into the corner, but San Antonio hit back five minutes later through Fejiro Okiomah.
With the game seemingly heading for a draw, Dane Kelly was fouled in the box and Ayrton tucked away his third goal of the season in the 94th minute to make the final score 2-1 and push SPR’s home record to 8-3-1.
Rio Grande Valley FC, the Houston Dynamo’s USL affiliate, comes into Saturday’s contest as one of the USL’s hottest teams, having gone 11-5-9 (42 pts.) this season, and sit in second place in the Western Conference. RGV, who are 5-3-4 on the road, are in the midst of a nine-game unbeaten streak, going 5-0-4 since their last defeat on June 26. The Toros have posted eight shutouts in their current run, setting a new USL record after going 758 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.
That shutout streak was halted in their last game – a 2-1 home victory over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday, Aug. 27. Rio Grande Valley fell behind when Josh Suggs scored for the Switchbacks in the 39th minute, but Ruben Luna equalized from the spot three minutes later. In the 64th minute, Luna netted from the spot again to give RGV a 2-1 victory.
Saturday’s game concludes the season series between the Rangers and the Toros, with both sides claiming a victory so far this season. On May 21, RGV ran out 4-1 winners at UTRGV Soccer and Track Complex before the Rangers exacted their revenge in the form of a 4-0 win at Swope Soccer Village on June 8.
The Rangers will be celebrating Noche Latina at Saturday’s game, where SPR will recognize the Latino community in Kansas City with music, food and a Capoeira performance at halftime. In addition, radio stations ESPN Deportes Kansas City and La Grande will be broadcasting on site from Swope Soccer Village.
Game 26
Date: Saturday, September 3, 2016
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Swope Soccer Village (Kansas City, Mo.)
Swope Park Rangers: 10-9-6, 36 pts. 7th in Western Conference.
Rio Grande Valley FC: 11-5-9, 42 pts. 2nd in Western Conference.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: The game will be broadcast on SportingKC.com and YouTube.com/USL
Talent: Carter Augustine (play-by-play), Chad Reynolds (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvRGV
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @swopeparkrangers
Rio Grande Valley FC
Twitter: @RGVFC
Instagram: @rgvfc
GAME NOTES
