The Swope Park Rangers (3-1-3, 5th place) will kick off a three-game road trip when the team travels 350 miles south on I-35 to take on OKC Energy FC (1-6-0, 15th place) at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday at Taft Stadium in a rematch of the 2017 USL Western Conference Championship.
The Rangers prevailed in last year’s record-setting penalty shootout, which lasted 11 rounds and ended when SPR goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas scored the decisive penalty to claim the club’s second straight conference title.
The teams now meet for the first time since that November night featuring new head coaches in 2018. Led by Paulo Nagamura, the Rangers have lost only once through seven games. Meanwhile, OKC Energy FC brought in manager Steve Cooke to replace former Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen and have suffered six straight losses since opening the season with a 1-0 win against in-state rivals Tulsa Roughnecks FC.
The Rangers enter the encounter with draws in each of the team’s past three matches, having earned road results at San Antonio and Phoenix prior to settling for a single point against Saint Louis last week after conceding an 88th-minute equalizer. SPR started four teenagers – all Sporting KC Academy products – last time out, including 15-year-old midfielder Gianluca Busio, whose 100% passing accuracy was a rare feat in the USL or MLS this year.
USL/MLS Players with 100% Passing Accuracy (min. 25 passes) in 2018
<strong>Player Name</strong> |
<strong>Age</strong> |
<strong>Team</strong> |
<strong>Passing</strong> |
<strong>Matchday</strong> |
<p>Kevin Kratz</p> |
<p>31</p> |
<p>Atlanta United FC</p> |
<p>53 of 53</p> |
<p>March 17</p> |
<p>Joaquin Rivas</p> |
<p>26</p> |
<p>Tulsa Roughnecks FC</p> |
<p>27 of 27</p> |
<p>April 4</p> |
<p>Lamine Sane</p> |
<p>31</p> |
<p>Orlando City SC</p> |
<p>33 of 33</p> |
<p>April 8</p> |
<p>Jose Hernandez</p> |
<p>22</p> |
<p>Real Monarchs</p> |
<p>28 of 28</p> |
<p>April 11</p> |
<p>Justin Portillo</p> |
<p>25</p> |
<p>Real Monarchs</p> |
<p>43 of 43</p> |
<p>April 11</p> |
<p>Lance Rozeboom</p> |
<p>28</p> |
<p>Tampa Bay Rowdies</p> |
<p>33 of 33</p> |
<p>April 28</p> |
<p>Gianluca Busio</p> |
<p>15</p> |
<p>Swope Park Rangers</p> |
<p>30 of 30</p> |
<p>April 28</p> |
The USL Week 8 match-up will be the ninth fixture between OKC and SPR, with the Energy FC holding the slight edge with a 4-3-1 record in the all-time series ahead of two meetings in 2018: Saturday’s showdown on OKC’s home turf at Taft Stadium and September 2 in the return leg at Children’s Mercy Park (re-scheduled from April 14).
On Saturday, the Energy will be looking to snap a 339-minute scoreless streak that saw the club fail to score in the month of April, but they’ll have to do so without suspended forward Miguel Gonzalez due to his red card in OKC’s 2-0 loss at Reno last weekend. Club captain Juan Pablo Guzman missed the match due to injury and is questionable to return this weekend.
Saturday’s match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and in-game updates will also be available via the USLsoccer.com Match Center.
Game 8 of 34
Date: Saturday, May 5, 2018
Kickoff: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Taft Stadium (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Swope Park Rangers: 3-1-3 (12 points, 5th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
OKC Energy FC: 1-6-0 (3 points, 15th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: FC Dallas
Game Notes: Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: ESPN+
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #OKCvSPR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
OKC Energy FC
Twitter: @EnergyFC
Instagram: @EnergyFC
