The Rangers (3-1-2, 4th place) will host I-70 rivals Saint Louis FC (3-1-2, 4th place) at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive t-shirts commemorating SPR’s back-to-back Western Conference championships.
Tickets for the match can be purchased at the stadium box office prior to kick off on Saturday, including $5 student tickets and $9 general admission tickets. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and in-game updates will also be available via the USLsoccer.com Match Center.
The Rangers will look to go unbeaten in the month of April after earning a 1-0 win over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the team’s last home match before securing a pair of road results against 2017 postseason participants with draws at San Antonio FC and Phoenix Rising FC.
Saturday’s showdown with Saint Louis comes ahead of a three-game road trip for the Rangers and will be the club’s first home match against the cross-state foe since August 2016. The Rangers are unbeaten in the team’s last four games against Saint Louis FC, who will be looking for their first playoff berth in 2018 after missing out each of the last three years.
Led by new head coach Anthony Pulis, Saint Louis FC is off to the club’s best six-game start in team history – highlighted by three victories and a draw in their last four matches. Christian Volesky recorded a team-best eight goals last season and opened his 2018 account last weekend with the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win at OKC Energy FC.
Kansas City native Kyle Greig leads the team with two goals in 2018, while Saint Louis FC goalkeeper Jake Fenlason – whose three clean sheets are third most in the USL – returns to Children’s Mercy Park, where he recorded a shutout for Akron in the 2015 NCAA College Cup. The club also added Ghanaian midfielder Edward Opuko on loan from Columbus Crew SC on Friday.
The Rangers have scored in all six matches this season thanks in large part to the outstanding play of Kharlton Belmar, whose seven goals are most in the USL. The league’s reigning Player of the Month scored both goals in the Rangers 2-2 draw last week in Phoenix and he finished second in Player of the Week voting this week.
Fellow SPR forward Hadji Barry leads the USL with three assists in 2018 as the Rangers are the top scoring team in the Western Conference with 13 goals. SPR is also the most accurate passing team in the USL, led by midfielder and Sporting KC Academy product Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal with a 91.6 percent passing accuracy this season. Last season, Kuzain’s 91.3 percent passing accuracy ranked first in the USL among players with at least five appearances.
Game 7 of 34
Date: Saturday, April 28, 2018
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kan.)
Swope Park Rangers: 3-1-2 (11 points, 4th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Saint Louis FC: 3-1-1 (11 points, 4th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: N/A
Game Notes: Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Dave Borchardt (play-by-play) and Doug McLagan (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvSTL
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Saint Louis FC
Twitter: @SaintLouisFC
Instagram: @SaintLouisFC
