The Swope Park Rangers (9-9-6, 9th place) will look to snap a seven-game winless skid when the club hosts Reno 1868 FC (10-5-7, 6th place) at 4 p.m. CT on Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Tickets are available in advance online at SeatGeek.com or at the stadium’s East Box Office on gameday and all fans in attendance can enter to win a team-signed jersey.
With 10 games remaining in the regular season campaign, the Rangers have slipped out of playoff position following a summer stretch in which SPR has claimed two points and scored four goals over the past seven matches. However, the club sits just one point back of San Antonio FC for the final playoff spot and two points back of cross-state rivals Saint Louis FC in seventh.
Head coach Paulo Nagamura will be without Sporting KC loanee Graham Smith on Sunday as the centerback serves a one-game suspension for caution accumulation. However, Nagamura has welcomed four new signings this month with the additions of midfielders Thierry Catherine and Rassambek Akhmatov along with forwards Ethan Vanacore-Decker and Jose Barragan. Akhmatov debuted last weekend in a 2-0 home loss to Portland Timbers 2 with three key passes and a team-high 14 duels.
Reno 1868 enters Sunday’s showdown on the heels of back-to-back losses after rising up the Western Conference standings with a 16-game unbeaten run in league play from April 21 to July 11. However, the club’s momentum came to a halt with just two matches in the last 38 days as Reno fell 2-1 at home to Saint Louis FC on July 28 followed by a 2-1 loss at Real Monarchs on August 8.
The visitors have scored in 14 straight USL matches thanks to the strong play of Jamaican striker Brian Brown, who leads the team with nine goals, and Antoine Hoppenot, who leads the team with eight assists.
The duo, former teammates with the Philadelphia Union, are among 19 players on the Reno roster with MLS experience, including a total of 13 players who have featured for Reno this season while on loan from MLS affiliate San Jose Earthquakes. Among the loanees is goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski, who started in the 2018 MLS Homegrown Game last month, and Chris Wehan, the reigning USL Rookie of the Year after leading the league in assists last year.
The Rangers and Reno have met on three previous occasions. Reno swept the series in 2017, however SPR responded with a thrilling 4-3 win amidst snowy conditions in the 2018 season opener as Kharlton Belmar scored the game winner in second-half stoppage time to cap a two-goal, two-assist performance.
Sunday’s rematchwill be streamed live on ESPN+ and in-game updates will also be available via the USLsoccer.com Match Center.
Game 25 of 34
Date: Sunday, August 18, 2018
Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. CT
Location: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kan.)
Swope Park Rangers: 9-9-6 (33 points, 9th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Reno 1868 FC: 10-5-7 (37 points, 6th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: San Jose Earthquakes
Game Notes: Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Carter Augustine (play by play) and Sam Kovzan (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvRNO
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Reno 1868 FC
Twitter: @Reno1868FC
Instagram: @Reno1868FC
