Holders of the last two USL Western Conference Championship trophies, the Swope Park Rangers will begin the team’s pursuit of a third straight berth in USL Cup this Saturday on the road at Sacramento Republic FC.
The Western Conference Quarterfinal will kick off at 9:30 p.m. CT at Papa Murphy’s Park in Northern California and will be streamed live on ESPN+ inside No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power and Light District for fans 21 and over.
The Rangers secured the seventh seed in the Western Conference with an emphatic 5-1 victory over LA Galaxy II last Sunday. Three Sporting KC Academy alums – Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal, Felipe Hernandez and Wilson Harris – tallied their third goals of the season, while the team’s top two scorers – Hadji Barry and Kharlton Belmar – also closed out the regular season campaign on a positive note.
Belmar, who scored nine goals in his first nine appearances of the year for SPR, provided the game-winning goal to snap a 10-game scoreless stretch, while Barry converted a second half penalty kick to finish fourth in the USL Golden Boot race with 17 goals in the regular season. The pair also lead the team with five assists apiece, and together they form the fourth most productive attacking duo in the USL with a combined 27 goals.
The Republic, 2014 USL champions, feature a formidable forward of their own in Sacramento native Cameron Iwasa. The former Sporting KC and SPR striker led his side with 17 goals and six assists this season, including three goals and two assists in a pair of 3-1 wins over the Rangers that leaves the all-time series deadlocked at 2-2-2 between the clubs ahead of Saturday’s showdown.
The only two clubs to reach the postseason for a third straight year in 2018, SPR and Sacramento each finished the regular season in strong form under first-year managers. While the Rangers went 6-2-2 in the final 10 games of the campaign, the Republic went 7-2-1 over the same span and now enter the playoffs on a four-game winning streak and eight-game unbeaten run (7-0-1).
Sacramento conceded the fewest goals (32) in the Western Conference thanks in large part to the play of goalkeeper Josh Cohen. The NCAA Division II product led the league with a 78.5 save percentage (minimum of 40 saves) and his 12 shutouts were most of any goalkeeper in the West.
Cohen will now face the Rangers for the third straight postseason with a third different team. In 2016, Cohen started for Orange County in the Western Conference Semifinals that saw the Rangers prevail 2-1 in extra time despite being reduced to nine men. In 2017, Cohen was in net as SPR and Phoenix traded goals in extra time of a Western Conference Quarterfinal played over two days.
The Rangers would advance in a penalty shootout, setting up a meeting with none other than Sacramento Republic FC in last year’s Western Conference Semifinals. SPR emerged victorious by a 1-0 scoreline, thanks to Belmar’s goal less than a minute into the second half, en route to hoisting a second trophy in the club’s second season.
The 2018 USL Cup Playoffs feature the top eight teams from each conference competing in a single-elimination knockout format. All postseason games are held at the higher seed and the bracket culminates with the 2018 USL Cup on Thursday, Nov. 8 live on ESPN2.
Saturday’s winner between SPR and Sacramento will advance to face No. 3 seed Phoenix Rising FC, led by Didier Drogba, in the Western Conference Semifinals. Phoenix opened the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs on Friday with a 3-0 victory over Portland Timbers 2.
USL Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Quarterfinals
Date: Saturday, October 20, 2018
Kickoff: 9:30 p.m. CT
Location: Papa Murphy’s Park (Sacramento, Calif.)
Swope Park Rangers: 15-11-8 (7th seed in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Sacramento Republic FC: 19-7-8 (2nd seed in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: N/A
Game Notes: Click here
Match Center:Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream (US):ESPN+
Live Stream (International): YouTube
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SACvSPR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Sacramento Republic FC
Twitter: @SacRepublicFC
Instagram: @SacRepublicFC
