The Swope Park Rangers (3-11-6, 15 points) will begin a two-game road swing on Saturday, visiting Eastern Conference contenders Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (9-3-8, 35 points) at Highmark Stadium. The contest will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and stream live on ESPN Plus, with additional in-game updates available via @SwopeRangers on Twitter and the USL Championship Match Center.
Led by second-year head coach and former MLS midfielder Paulo Nagamura, the Rangers are looking to bounce back from a 2-0 home defeat to Nashville SC last weekend. SPR currently occupy last place in the standings, but more than a third of the USL Championship campaign remains for the club to make an upward climb. Leading the way in 2019 is midfielder Felipe Gutierrez, a Sporting KC Academy product who has a team-best eight goals.
Under the guidance of head coach Bob Lilley, Riverhounds SC appear well on their way to a second consecutive appearance in the USL Cup Playoffs. Pittsburgh is sixth in the East entering the weekend and boasts a balanced attack with Jamaican Neco Brett (eight goals) and Cape Verde forward Steevan Dos Santos (six goals) among the biggest scoring threats. The team’s strong suit lies in a defense spearheaded by the likes of Tobi Adewole and Joe Greenspan.
The first meeting between the sides ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Children’s Mercy Park on March 23. Adewole gave Pittsburgh a 71st-minute lead, only for the Rangers to roar back with two unanswered goals from Sporting Kansas City loanees Rodney Wallace and Kelyn Rowe in the 83rd and 88th minutes. SPR were denied victory in the dying embers of the match, however, as Anthony Velarde’s penalty kick in the 91st minute restored parity and gave both sides their first result of the campaign.
Match Information
USL Championship: Game 21 of 34
Date: Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019
Kickoff: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Highmark Stadium (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Swope Park Rangers: 3-11-6 (15 points, 18th place in Eastern Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: 9-3-8 (35 points, 6th place in Eastern Conference)
MLS Affiliate: None
ESPN+ Live Stream Link: Click here
USL Championship MatchCenter:Click here
Match Notes: Click here
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #PITvSPR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Twitter: @RiverhoundsSC
Instagram: @RiverhoundsSC
