The Swope Park Rangers (3-1-1, 4th place) and Phoenix Rising FC (3-1-1, 4th place) will meet on Saturday for the first time since last year’s memorable Western Conference Quarterfinal. The postseason match, which featured a 150-minute weather delay and was ultimately played over two days, saw Didier Drogba and Amer Didic trade goals 10 minutes apart in extra time before the Rangers prevailed in a penalty shootout.
Fast forward exactly six months and the clubs now enter Saturday’s rematch with identical records in the 2018 USL season. The Rangers, led by new head coach Paulo Nagamura, opened this year’s campaign with an offensive outburst, scoring four times apiece in back-to-back victories against Reno 1868 FC and Seattle Sounders FC 2.