Deadlocked in seventh place in the Western Conference, the Swope Park Rangers (9-8-6) and Portland Timbers FC 2 (10-10-3) will meet at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in USL Week 22.
Tickets for the match are available via SeatGeek.comor at the stadium box office on gameday and the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative Adrian Zendejas bobblehead.
Saturday’s showdown kicks off a stretch for SPR in which the team will play at home in seven of the club’s next eight matches. Winless in six, head coach Paulo Nagamura has bolstered his roster with four new additions in the past week: 18-year-old Venezuelan forward Jose Barragan, 21-year-old Martinque midfielder Thierry Catherine, 22-year-old French midfielder Rassambek Akhmatov and 23-year-old American forward Ethan Vanacore-Decker.
Hadji Barry has also returned from suspension and will look to add to his eight goals and four assists this season. The 25-year-old newcomer is one goal back of Sporting KC loanee Kharlton Belmar for the team lead in scoring.
Portland, who opened the season with five straight road matches and end the season with four of their final five games away from home, arrive in Kansas City with a strong road resume. T2 has kept clean sheets in six of their 12 road contests en route to securing points in eight of their 12 road contests.
Foster Langsdorf, runner-up for USL Player of the Month in July, is sixth in the USL with 10 goals in his rookie campaign and could have added to his haul in the team’s 4-1 loss last Sunday, however the Homegrown Player saw two separate penalty attempts saved in the second half.
Head coach Cameron Knowles’ roster also features defenders Jimmy Mulligan, who appeared in 17 games for SPR in 2016 and who now leads all T2 players with 21 appearances this year, and Marco Farfan, a starter in the 2018 MLS Homegrown Game who scored his first pro goal last Sunday at 19 years of age.
The Rangers have won three of the club’s five all-time matches against T2, including a pair of 1-0 victories last season, however fell 2-1 in Portland last month. Saturday’s rematch will be streamed live on ESPN+ and in-game updates will also be available via the USLsoccer.com Match Center.
Game 24 of 34
Date: Saturday, August 11, 2018
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kan.)
Swope Park Rangers: 9-8-6 (33 points, 7th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Portland Timbers FC 2: 10-10-3 (33 points, 7th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Portland Timbers
Game Notes: Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: ESPN+
Talent: Dave Borchardt (play by play) and Doug McLagan (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvPOR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Portland Timbers 2
Twitter: @TimbersFC2
Instagram: @TimbersFC2
