The Swope Park Rangers (4-1-3, 4th place) will continue the team’s three-game road trip on Wednesday at Real Monarchs (5-1-1, 2nd place) with kick off set for 8 p.m. CT at the newly-opened Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.
The mid-week match-up will feature last season’s regular season champions, Real Monarchs, hosting the back-to-back Western Conference champion Rangers. Adding to the appeal, the teams are separated by a single point in the standings and Wednesday’s winner will move to the top of the table in the West.
Led by new head coach Paulo Nagamura, the Rangers are unbeaten in the club’s last five matches. On Saturday, SPR prevailed 1-0 at OKC Energy FC in a rematch of the 2017 Western Conference Championship thanks to Hadji Barry’s 86th-minute penalty. Barry now has goals in back-to-back games for the Rangers and is one of only two players in the USL, along with FC Cincinnati forward Emmanuel Ledesma, to record three goals and three assists this season.
The Monarchs, who opened the season with four straight wins, are on pace to surpass the 67 points amassed last year and will enter the encounter with an eight-game home undefeated streak to protect. Wednesday will be the Monarchs third match in 10 days at Zions Bank Stadium and comes ahead of a fourth straight home match on Saturday.
The 5,000-seat venue – shared between the Real Monarchs and Utah Warriors (Major League Rugby) – features an artificial surface and is one of five USL stadiums to debut since the start of the 2017 season.
New USL stadiums (2017 - present)
Phoenix Rising FC: Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex (March 25, 2017)
Rio Grande Valley FC: H-E-B Park (March 26, 2017)
Charlotte Independence: Sportsplex at Matthews (June 17, 2017)
Orange County SC: Championship Soccer Stadium (August 15, 2017)
Real Monarchs: Zions Bank Stadium (April 30, 2018)
The Rangers will be aiming for the club’s first win against the Real Monarchs on Wednesday. After losing away from home in each of the first two meetings in the all-time series, the Rangers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to secure a 2-2 draw in the most recent match-up last August.
Kharlton Belmar scored in both matches against the Monarchs last season and currently leads the USL with seven goals in 2018. The Monarchs, meanwhile, are led by Chandler Hoffman, who scored 16 goals a year ago and was named to the USL All-League First Team, and Cuban midfielder Maikel Chang, who leads the USL with four assists this year.
Wednesday’s match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and in-game updates will also be available via the USLsoccer.com Match Center.
Game 9 of 34
Date: Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Kickoff: 8 p.m. CT
Location: Zions Bank Stadium (Herriman, Utah)
Swope Park Rangers: 4-1-3 (15 points, 4th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Real Monarchs: 5-1-1 (16 points, 2nd place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Real Salt Lake
Game Notes: Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: ESPN+
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SLCvSPR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Real Monarchs
Twitter: @RealMonarchs
Instagram: @RealMonarchs
