The Swope Park Rangers (9-7-4, 6th place) will host Rio Grande Valley FC (2-6-10, 15th place) at 4 p.m. CT on Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Tickets are available online at SeatGeek.comor at the stadium box office prior to kick off.
The USL Week 19 finale concludes a stretch of five games in 18 days for the Rangers. SPR opened the span with a 2-0 road win at cellar dwellers Seattle Sounders FC 2, however have since suffered three straight losses against teams currently in playoff position with defeats at the hands of Sacramento Republic FC, Portland Timbers FC 2 and Orange County SC.
The Rangers will be boosted by the return of 21-year-old Brazilian midfielder Matheus Silva, who has missed two of the team’s last three matches due to suspension. In addition, 2016 MLS SuperDraft first round selection Justin Bilyeu was officially removed from the club’s injury report on Thursday. The 24-year-old underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus prior to the start of the 2018 season after playing in 52 games for the New York Red Bulls, New York Red Bulls II and Rio Grande Valley FC in his first two professional seasons.
Sunday will be the second meeting of the season between SPR and RGV. In May, the sides played to a scoreless stalemate at H-E-B Park in Edinburg, Texas, highlighted by Eric Dick’s penalty kick save to preserve the clean sheet and road result.
The encounter was one of a league-high 10 draws for Rio Grande Valley FC this season. RGV now arrives in Kansas City coming off a 2-0 victory over Las Vegas Lights FC last Saturday and riding a four-game unbeaten run, during which the team has allowed a single goal.
RGVFC, like the Rangers, are under a third head coach in three seasons with the hiring of Gerson Echeverry from Seton Hall. His roster features several rookies from the college ranks, including Nico Corti (Stanford), Pablo Aguilar (Virginia), Manny Padilla (San Francisco), Zach Wright (North Carolina), Kyle Adams (San Diego), Mac Steeves (Providence), Bryce Marion (Stanford) and Jordan Jones (Oregon State).
Wright played in the Sporting KC Academy prior to attending UNC and signed a Homegrown Player contract with Sporting Kansas City after helping the Tar Heels reach the College Cup in 2016 and 2017. He signed with RGV in March and has made nine appearances for Rio Grande Valley FC in his first professional season.
The visitors also acquired 23-year-old Panama international Carlos Small on loan from CD Arabe Unido earlier this month as an additional attacking option. The forward joined the team within the last week and now awaits his debut for los Toros.
Sunday’s match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and in-game updates will also be available via the USLsoccer.com Match Center.
Game 21 of 34
Date: Sunday, July 22, 2018
Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. CT
Location: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kan.)
Swope Park Rangers: 9-7-4 (31 points, 6th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Rio Grande Valley FC: 2-6-10 (16 points, 15th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Houston Dynamo
Game Notes: Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Brad Porter (play-by-play) and Doug McLagan (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvRGV
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Rio Grande Valley FC
Twitter: @RGVFC
Instagram: @RGVFC
