Swope Park Rangers kick off season
Residents of Kansas City suburb Overland Park now have a pro-sports team a little closer to home than the Chiefs or Royals.
The Swope Park Rangers soccer team, playing out of Overland Park's Shawnee Mission District Stadium, kicked off their third season on Saint Patrick's Day against Reno 1868 FC, and played their home opener on March 24 against Seattle Sounders FC 2.
The Reno match proved to be a riveting affair. It took place as, improbably enough in the Nevada desert, heavy snowfall hit the pitch, but players made the best of the bad conditions. Swope striker Hadji Barry scored in stoppage time to win the match for Rangers 4-3.
The home opener went even better, as Swope won 4-2 against Sounders 2. This time, it was Kharlton Belmar scoring a pair of goals to seal the win.
If the team names are not familiar, it's because Swope Park Rangers play in the United Soccer League, recently recognized as the second-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada, behind only Major League Soccer. The USL is a mixture of feeder teams for MLS clubs (like Sounders 2), independent teams in smaller cities (like Reno or the Ottawa Fury) and clubs auditioning for an expansion spot in the big leagues (such as FC Cincinnati). Swope Park serves as a means of developing players for their neighboring MLS club Sporting Kansas City.
USL clubs use social media and physical advertising like banner printing and poster printing to get the word out about a sport growing in popularity in the US.
The Swope Park Rangers soccer team, playing out of Overland Park's Shawnee Mission District Stadium, kicked off their third season on Saint Patrick's Day against Reno 1868 FC, and played their home opener on March 24 against Seattle Sounders FC 2.
The Reno match proved to be a riveting affair. It took place as, improbably enough in the Nevada desert, heavy snowfall hit the pitch, but players made the best of the bad conditions. Swope striker Hadji Barry scored in stoppage time to win the match for Rangers 4-3.
The home opener went even better, as Swope won 4-2 against Sounders 2. This time, it was Kharlton Belmar scoring a pair of goals to seal the win.
If the team names are not familiar, it's because Swope Park Rangers play in the United Soccer League, recently recognized as the second-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada, behind only Major League Soccer. The USL is a mixture of feeder teams for MLS clubs (like Sounders 2), independent teams in smaller cities (like Reno or the Ottawa Fury) and clubs auditioning for an expansion spot in the big leagues (such as FC Cincinnati). Swope Park serves as a means of developing players for their neighboring MLS club Sporting Kansas City.
USL clubs use social media and physical advertising like banner printing and poster printing to get the word out about a sport growing in popularity in the US.