After a 4-3 victory over Reno 1868 FC to open the season two weeks ago, the Swope Park Rangers will continue the USL’s casino circuit on Saturday night with a return to Nevada to take on the Las Vegas Lights FC at 10 p.m. CT in front of a full house at Cashman Field.
The Rangers, who have kicked off the USL season with back-to-back wins for the third straight year, could make it three-of-a-kind in more ways than one following a pair of four-goal performances. The team’s first act, the 4-3 victory in Reno, was followed by an emphatic encore last weekend with a 4-2 silencing of Seattle Sounders FC 2 in the Rangers first match with the house edge at Shawnee Mission South District Stadium.
Kharlton Belmar, the Rangers’ ace in the hole on loan from Sporting KC, has hit the jackpot with four goals on four total shots in 2018 to go along with two assists. The 25-year-old leads the league in scoring and now has 34 career USL goals in his four professional seasons. Belmar’s hot hand has come with help from strike partner Hadji Barry, whose three assists are second most in the USL this year and all have come on goals buried by Belmar.
Barry and Belmar will push their luck on Saturday against Las Vegas Lights FC’s gambling goalkeeper Ricardo Ferrino. The showman ranks second in the USL with 10 saves this season for a Las Vegas squad that has gone all in on experimentation and entertainment in their expansion season.
Las Vegas is led by head coach Isidro Sanchez, the son of Lights FC technical director and former MLS manager Jose Luis Sanchez Sola. At 30 years of age, Sanchez is the youngest head coach in American professional soccer.
His roster is highlighted by the attacking trio of Sammy Ochoa (35 goals in last four USL seasons), Alex Mendoza (two goals in 2018) and Carlos Alvarez (two assists in 2018), along with the wild card addition of Freddy Adu. Now 28, Adu busted onto the soccer scene as a 14 year old in Major League Soccer and debuted for the U.S. Men’s National Team at age 16.
Las Vegas Lights FC, which also feature former Mexican Men’s National Team defender Joel Huiqui, were held to a 1-1 draw with Reno 1868 FC in their home opener last weekend after a season-opening 3-2 win at Fresno FC. Now in Week 3, #LVvSPR is a heads-up battle of unbeaten clubs and a must-watch match as the Super Saturday finale, capping a scintillating 12 hours with 16 matches across the USL – the most in a single day in league history.
What happens in Vegas on Saturday will be streamed live on SportingKC.com and USLsoccer.com beginning at 10 p.m. CT. Fans can double down on match coverage with in-game updates available by following the Rangers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and SnapChat.
Game 3 of 34
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2018
Kickoff: 10:00 p.m. CT
Location: Cashman Field (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Swope Park Rangers: 2-0-0 (6 points, 1st place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Las Vegas Lights FC: 1-0-1 (4 points, 3rd place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: N/A
Game Notes: Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: SportingKC.com and USLsoccer.com
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #LVvSPR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Las Vegas Lights FC
Twitter: @LVLightsFC
Instagram: @LVLightsFC
