Swope Park Rangers win 2-1 over Portland in first United Soccer League match

The vision was seven years in the making, when an MLS coach from Kansas City first expressed the desire to bridge the development gap between his academy and senior teams. But for Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes, the idea behind a USL affiliate was more than a feeder program.

"Winning," he said, forcefully, "has to be a part of the equation."

The Swope Park Rangers are one for one.

Swope Park, a USL club owned by Sporting KC, won its inaugural USL match Saturday, a 2-1 victory against Portland Timbers 2 in front of 6,812 fans at Children's Mercy Park.

The first goal in franchise history came off Kevin Oliveira's right foot, and it splashed the net from the penalty dot in the 48th minute. Swope Park was awarded the penalty after Dane Kelly was fouled in the box.

Daniel Salloi, a Sporting KC first-year homegrown product, added to the cushion in the 90th minute before Portland midfielder Nick Besler pulled one back in the final minute. Besler is the younger brother of Sporting KC captain Matt Besler.

Jon Kempin, loaned to the Rangers from Sporting KC, made two saves for the victory in goal.

"For the dream of Peter and the club of having a B-team, we really wanted to start off well," Swope Park coach Marc Dos Santos said. "I think overall, with everything we did in the game, we deserved the three points. And it's great to start with a win — that's for sure."

Swope Park controlled the game from the opening kick. In the initial 15 minutes, it attempted six shots, two of them requiring saves and another two only narrowing missing the post. Kelly, the USL all-time leading goal scorer, nearly had the Rangers' first score less four minutes into the game, but Portland keeper Wade Hamilton made a sliding save.

Hamilton made three saves in the first half. Portland did not put a shot on goal in the opening half.

"We got unlucky a couple of times. I think it would've changed the game a little bit if we could've gotten that early goal," Swope Park captain Christian Duke said. "But once we got that first one, I had a feeling that we got this in the bag."

The Swope Park starting lineup featured a pair of Sporting KC players — Kempin and winger Jimmy Medranda. Salloi subbed into the match in the second half. The Sporting KC coaching staff's plan is to allow Kempin to spend the entire season with Swope Park.

Swope Park will take to the road for its next three matches before returning home on April 27. It will play the remainder of its home matches at Swope Park, with the exception of an Aug. 21 match against Saint Louis FC.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 9:42 PM with the headline "Swope Park Rangers win 2-1 over Portland in first United Soccer League match."