The Swope Park Rangers open their inaugural season on Saturday, March 26 when the club hosts Portland Timbers 2 at Children’s Mercy Park with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. CT. The game is presented by Waddell and Reed and will be live streamed on SportingKC.com with Carter Augustine and Jake Yadrich on the call.
The Rangers enjoyed a productive preseason that spanned seven weeks, starting with 13 players and heading into the start of the season with 23 on the club’s roster. The Rangers went 3-1-2 in preseason, including a 2-0-2 mark at the Desert Diamond Cup in February where the club claimed a 3-1 win in its first-ever game against the Colorado Rapids and a 2-2 draw with Columbus Crew SC.
Head coach Marc Dos Santos will lead the Rangers in Saturday’s matchup, having recently been named the NASL Coach of the Year in 2015 after taking Ottawa Fury FC to the NASL Soccer Bowl. Dos Santos has won a USL Championship before, leading his hometown team the Montreal Impact to a title in 2009.
In their USL expansion season in 2015, Portland Timbers 2 went 11-15-2 and finished in eighth place in the Western Conference – missing out on a playoff berth by seven points. Timbers 2 claimed a 3-1 win over Real Monarchs in their season opener last season at Merlo Field, but it took T2 four games to win on the road as they posted a 4-8-2 away record in 2015.
T2 are entering the 2016 season with a new head coach at the helm, after Jay Vidovich departed during the offseason and his assistant coach Andrew Gregor took charge. Gregor is a former Sporting KC player, appearing for the Wizards in the 2001 MLS season alongside current head coach Peter Vermes.
Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to get their hands on a commemorative Swope Park Rangers inaugural game ticket should they spend $10 or more on concessions or merchandise at Children’s Mercy Park. In addition, SPR car magnets will be available while supplies last at sales tables in the Sprint Plaza and the Bud Light Landing. Swope Park Rangers camera filters will also be accessible on the Sporting KC Uphoria app.
Game 1
Date: Saturday, March 26, 2016
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kan.)
Swope Park Rangers: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
2015: N/A
Portland Timbers 2: 0-0-0, 0 pts.
2015: 11-15-2, 35 pts. (8th in the Western Conference)
Swope Park Rangers game notes: Link
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: The game will be broadcast on SportingKC.com and YouTube.com/USLPRO
Talent: Carter Augustine (play-by-play), Jake Yadrich (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvPOR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @swopeparkrangers
Portland Timbers 2
Twitter: @TimbersFC2
Instagram: @timbersfc2
