With just a single loss in their last six matches, the Swope Park Rangers (6-17-8, 26 points) will take the field Tuesday at world-class Children's Mercy Park when they host Ottawa Fury FC (13-9-9, 48 points) in the club’s final home match of the 2019 USL Championship campaign. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and tickets for the Eastern Conference clash are available at SeatGeek.com or at the stadium box office beginning at 5 p.m. CT on matchday.
Tuesday's contest will stream live on ESPN Plus, while the USL Championship Match Center and @SwopeRangers on Twitter will provide additional in-game updates. Fans will also have the opportunity to win an exclusive prize prize package courtesy of Smile Generation—including an electric toothbrush plus an SPR scarf, beanie, bobblehead and more—by using the hashtag #RangersSmile on Twitter.
The midweek fixture will serve as a reunion of sorts, with Swope Park Rangers head coach Paulo Nagamura going up against Ottawa boss Nikola Popovic after the duo coached SPR together in 2017. Popovic was head coach and Nagamura was his assistant when the Rangers won their second consecutive Western Conference championship and advanced to the 2017 USL Cup Final against Louisville City FC.
The Rangers fought back to claim a dramatic 2-2 draw with Hartford Athletic in a pulsating affair at Dillon Stadium on Saturday night. Trailing 2-0 midway through the second half, SPR clawed their way back with a goal from Ayyoub Allach and a 97th-minute equalizer from Wilson Harris to snatch a point.
Ottawa secured a 1-0 home win over Indy Eleven in their most recent fixture on Wednesday. The Fury can clinch a postseason berth with a result this time around and sit comfortably in eighth place on 48 points, eight points clear of the playoff line.
A stout Fury FC roster is headlined by two former SPR stars in midfielder Kevin Oliveira and forward Hadji Barry. Oliveira has five goals and four assists in 30 games played, while Barry has bagged five goals in just 11 appearances since joining the club at the end of July from Israeli side Ironi Kiryat Shmona.
Harris, a product of the Sporting KC Academy, continued his brilliant run of form with a ninth goal in his last 10 matches at the tail end of Saturday night’s exciting tie in Hartford. The 19-year-old now has a team-best 11 goals this season, the most among teenage players in the 2019 USL Championship. Harris is one of five finalists for the USL Championship Fans’ Choice Player of the Month, marking the first time this season that a Rangers player has been up for the award.
Match Information
USL Championship: Game 32 of 34
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019
Kickoff: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Children's Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kansas)
Swope Park Rangers: 6-17-8 (26 points, 17th place in Eastern Conference)
MLS Affiliate: Sporting Kansas City
Ottawa Fury FC: 13-9-9 (48 points, 8th place in Eastern Conference)
MLS Affiliate: None
ESPN Plus Live Stream: Click here
USL Championship MatchCenter:Click here
Match Notes: Click here
SOCIAL TAGS
Game-specific hashtag: #SPRvOTT
Swope Park Rangers
Twitter: @SwopeRangers
Instagram: @SwopeParkRangers
Ottawa Fury FC
Twitter: @OttawaFuryFC
Instagram: @furyfc
