EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley FC and the Swope Park Rangers will both be aiming to build on big victories last time out when they square off for the first time this season at H-E-B Park on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.
Matchcenter: http://bit.ly/2q9DBoK | Tickets: http://bit.ly/2o17aoU
Rio Grande Valley FC news and notes
Current record: 3-3-0, 9pts
Rio Grande Valley earned a 3-0 victory against OKC Energy FC in its last outing on April 29 at H-E-B Park as Joe Holland recorded a goal and assist in the win.
Holland’s goal was his first in the professional ranks, with the former PDL standout having been sent on loan to the Toros from the Houston Dynamo in mid-April.
Eric Bird scored his first goal of the season in the win against Energy FC, and leads the Toros this season with eight chances created.
Midfielder Charlie Ward has played every minute of the season for the Toros, and has an 89.8 passing accuracy rate over 402 passes this season, both team-highs.
Swope Park Rangers news and notes
Current record: 4-2-0, 12pts
The Rangers snapped a two-game losing stream with a 3-1 victory against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 last Friday night at Children’s Mercy Victory Field.
Lebo Moloto had a goal and assist – and completed all 24 of his passes in the contest – to earn USL Team of the Week honors on Tuesday.
The Rangers will be without center back Erik Palmer-Brown, who was named in the U.S. U20 National Team to compete in the FIFA U20 World Cup in South Korea. The tournament begins on May 20.
Swope Park continues to lead the USL in passing accuracy, with the club having completed an average of 435 passes per game with an 84.2 percent accuracy rate.
Series Notes
Squads
Rio Grande Valley – GK: Marco Carducci, Borja Angoitia, Calle Brown, Michael Kirk; D: Kai Greene, Victor Garza, Robby Sagel, Ivan Magalhaes, Jorginho James, Leo Ayala, Kevin Garcia, Taylor Hunter, Juan Garcia, Omar Ontiveros; M: Charlie Ward, Eric Bird, T.J. Casner, Emilio Garcia, Todd Wharton, Christian Lucatero, Memo Rodriguez, Jose Escalante, Alex Ochoa; F: Camilo Monroy, Ruben Luna, Kyle Murphy
Swope Park – GK: David Greczek, Darrin MacLeod, Andrew Dykstra; D: Chase Bromstedt, Parker Maher, Oumar Ballo, Dakota Barnathan, Patrick Wilkinson, Liam Doyle, Amer Didic, Colton Storm, Tyler Pasher; M: Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal, Louis Bennett, Felipe Hernandez, Lebo Moloto, Max Rugova, Christian Duke, Robert Mirosavic, James Musa, Kevin Oliveira, Cameron Iwasa; F: Kharlton Belmar, Nansel Selbol, Will Little, Mark Anthony Gonzalez
Discipline
Rio Grande Valley – None
Swope Park – None
Officials
REF: MARCO VEGA
AR1: Julian Trevino
AR2: Jessus Cancino
4TH: Carmelo Alvarez Jr
Game hashtag:
Twitter social handles
Rio Grande Valley FC – @RGVFC
Swope Park Rangers – @SwopeRangers
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