The Swope Park Rangers will kick off the club’s second season at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Swope Soccer Village as the reigning USL Western Conference champions when the team welcomes OKC Energy FC to Children’s Mercy Victory Field.
Tickets for opening night are available online at SeatGeek.com and the first 1,000 fans inside the gates on gameday will receive an SPR schedule magnet. The season opener will be streamed live on SportingKC.com and can also be followed via the new USLsoccer.com MatchCenter featuring advanced Opta stats.
Saturday’s match will be the Rangers’ first under new head coach Nikola Popovic following a six-game preseason campaign in which eight different players contributed goals, led by 19-year-old Sporting KC Academy product Nansel Selbol with three goals and an assist. Selbol is one of 12 players on the Rangers’ roster to have come through the Sporting KC Academy, including club captain Christian Duke and U.S. youth internationals Max Rugova, Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal, Felipe Hernandez and Will Little.
Earlier on Friday, SPR announced the additions of goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas, defenders Kevin Ellis and Colton Storm as well as forwards Latif Blessing and Daniel Salloi on loan from Sporting Kansas City. All five players will be available for selection on Saturday night.
The Rangers return 12 players from the team’s inaugural season in 2016, highlighted by 20-year-old playmaker Kevin Oliveira, SPR Offensive Player of the Year Mark Anthony Gonzalez and USL All-League First Team selection Amer Didic. However, all three will be unavailable on Saturday as Oliveira recovers from a torn ACL while Didic and Gonzalez are on international duty with the Canada Under-23 Men’s National Team.
SPR concluded the 2016 season with five straight home wins at Children’s Mercy Victory Field en route to reaching the USL Cup Final and the club’s 32-game schedule in 2017 will open with a three-game homestand, kicking off on Saturday against regional rival OKC Energy FC.
A former affiliate of Sporting Kansas City, OKC Energy FC are led by head coach and former Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen. The teams last met on Sept. 18 in a 3-0 road win for the Rangers that clinched the club’s postseason berth.
OKC Energy FC have reached the playoffs each of the past two seasons in addition to strong showings in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The team’s offseason roster overhaul continued in recent weeks with the signing of former MLS Cup champion Anthony Wallace and the acquisition of U.S. Under-20 MNT midfielder Coy Craft on loan from FC Dallas.
The United Soccer League, the second division of professional soccer in the United States and Canada, enters the 2017 season with 30 teams after adding the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Ottawa Fury FC and Reno 1868 FC. The 2017 regular season will end on Oct. 15 and the postseason will be held in the four weeks that follow.
Game 1
Date: Saturday, March 24, 2017
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Swope Soccer Village (Kansas City, Mo.)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: The game will be broadcast on SportingKC.com and YouTube.com/USL
Talent: Carter Augustine (play-by-play), Molly Dreska (analyst)
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvOKC
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
OKC Energy FC
Twitter: @EnergyFC
Instagram: @EnergyFC
