The Swope Park Rangers continue their final road trip of the season with a Western Conference matchup against Tulsa Roughnecks FC on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at ONEOK Field. The game was rescheduled from Aug. 6 after the original contest was postponed after heavy rain made the field unplayable. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT with a live stream available on SportingKC.com.
The Rangers enter the matchup with a 12-10-6 (42 pts.) record, having clinched their USL Playoff berth with Sunday’s 3-0 win over OKC Energy FC at Taft Stadium. A top four finish – which would result in a home playoff opener – is still within reach, and winning their final two games will guarantee the side will at least a fourth place finish.
Sunday’s game was all but over by the halftime whistle, with SPR producing a clinical first-half display that saw the side score all three of the game’s goals. Dane Kelly smashed home from Mark Anthony Gonzalez’s pass in the 15th minute before the 22-year-old rookie got on the scoresheet himself nine minutes later, knocking home Tyler Pasher’s delivery. Captain Christian Duke then set up Pasher to slide a finish past Cody Laurendi in the 36th minute as the Rangers comfortably clinched a postseason berth.
The Roughnecks are still rooted to the foot of the Western Conference after going 5-19-4 (19 pts.) this season. On Saturday, Tulsa fell 2-0 on the road to San Antonio FC following second-half goals from Franck Tayou and Shawn Chin, while the Roughnecks saw a penalty saved by Matt Cardone in the opening period.
The Rangers and the Roughnecks met just 10 days ago at Swope Soccer Village, with the home side claiming all three points with a comfortable 3-0 victory. Christian Duke opened the scoring in the second minute before SPR added a wonderstrike from Kris Tyrpak that was nominated for USL Goal of the Week and a third from Dane Kelly all before the interval.
In the two pervious meetings before that game on Sept. 10, the Rangers claimed 2-1 wins first at ONEOK Field on April 2 and then at Swope Soccer Village on May 14.
Following Wednesday’s game, the Rangers close out their regular-season slate when they host Fan Appreciation Night at Swope Soccer Village as the side takes on Seattle Sounders FC 2 on Saturday. A full list of gameday festivities is available here.
Game 29
Date: Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: ONEOK Field (Tulsa, Okla.)
Swope Park Rangers: 12-10-6, 42 pts. T-5th in Western Conference.
Tulsa Roughnecks FC: 5-19-4, 19 pts. 15th in Western Conference.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: The game will be broadcast on SportingKC.com and YouTube.com/USL
Talent: Jeremie Poplin (play-by-play), David Saunders (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #TULvSPR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @swopeparkrangers
Tulsa Roughnecks FC
Twitter: @RoughnecksFC
Instagram: @roughnecksfc
GAME NOTES
