The Swope Park Rangers (8-4-4, 6th place) will reach the halfway point of the team’s 2018 USL campaign when the club takes on Seattle Sounders FC 2 at 9 p.m. CT on Thursday at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington.
The showdown with Seattle kicks off an important stretch of five games in 18 days for the Rangers with the upcoming schedule featuring two opponents – Sacramento and Orange County – directly above SPR in the standings and a Portland Timbers 2 team sitting two points back in the table.
The Rangers have won all five previous meetings against Sounders FC 2, including a 4-2 victory in the club’s home opener this March. Kharlton Belmar scored twice in the match and leads the USL in scoring with nine goals on the year.
Paulo Nagamura’s side enters Thursday’s encounter on 10 days rest after a dramatic 3-2 victory over Las Vegas Lights FC that extended the Rangers’ home unbeaten streak to 15 games. Meanwhile, S2 will be looking to bounce back from a 5-3 defeat at LA Galaxy II on Sunday as their winless run on the road reached 11 games.
Sounders FC 2 are led by captain Ray Saari, a Kansas City native and Oak Park High School alum, along with 30-year-old forward David Estrada, who has contributed a team-best seven goals this season. After finishing 12th in the West each of the last two seasons, S2 currently have the fewest points in the conference albeit with the fewest games played (14) among all USL teams.
Thursday’s match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and in-game updates will also be available via the USLsoccer.com Match Center.
Game 17 of 34
Date: Thursday, July 5, 2018
Kickoff: 9:00 p.m. CT
Location: Cheney Stadium (Tacoma, Wash.)
Swope Park Rangers: 8-4-4 (28 points, 6th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Seattle Sounders FC 2: 3-9-2 (11 points, 16th place in Western Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Seattle Sounders FC
Game Notes: Click here
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: ESPN+
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SEAvSPR
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Seattle Sounders FC 2
Twitter: @SoundersFC2
Instagram: @SoundersFC2
