Rangers extends unbeaten streak to five games against St. Louis FC with 1-1 draw

The Swope Park Rangers earned a hard-fought point in a 1-1 draw at Children’s Mercy Park against Saint Louis FC and extended their unbeaten streak to five games against the I-70 rivals.

Brad Evans made his debut for Kansas City in yesterday’s lineup. Although the 12-year MLS veteran only played 57 minutes, he made a positive impact for the Rangers. Evans negated a St. Louis chance with a great tackle from outside the box in the 49th minute. Additionally, Gianluca Busio returned to the roster from his stint with the U.S. U-17 team. Sporting Kansas City’s Homegrown player recorded another perfect 100% passing accuracy (30/30) following an impressive debut earlier this month.

The Rangers kicked off the first half with an early goal in the third minute by Hadji Barry giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Amer Didic - who helped Barry with an assist - almost increased the Rangers’ lead in the 16th minute however his shot flew over the net.

Darrin MacLeod came up big in the 29th minute by denying Kadeem Dacres, including saving three other attempts within a five-minute span. This was the Waterloo native’s second appearance of the 2018 season. During stoppage time, Corey Hertzog aimed to put St. Louis on the board but his attempt couldn’t break through the Rangers’ wall - giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Barry had a chance to add to the Rangers score in the 56th minute but sent it to the right of the post. Tensions rose later in the half with multiple players on both sides picking up cautions. St. Louis continued to press the Rangers’ defense keeping MacLeod alert. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last long when Kansas City native Kyle Greig whipped in the close range equalizer in the 88th minute.

The final play of the night came in the 93rd minute when Barry sent a header off a cross from Rebellon however it deflected off Sam Fink ending the match in a 1-1 draw.

The Rangers will kick off their three-game road campaign when they visit OKC Energy FC on May 5th. Kick off is at 7 pm.