Ready Rangers
One year after playing in the NPSL South Region finals, the Little Rock Rangers return to the playoffs tonight against Demize NPSL at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
Little Rock Rangers Coach Will Montgomery hopes his team can play better in the National Premier Soccer League playoffs than it did during the regular season.
Little Rock went 4-5-1, finishing second in the Heartland Conference behind Tulsa Athletic
“I think we’ve underperformed,” Montgomery said. “We’re getting chances to score, but we’re not scoring.
“We came into the season with a lot of expectations. But I’ve told the guys to relax and to know your roles and know your responsibilities.”
One year after playing in the NPSL South Region finals, the Rangers return to the playoffs and will host Demize NPSL at 7 tonight at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
The winner between the Rangers and Demize will play Tulsa or Ozark FC of Springdale in the Heartland Conference final at a date to be determined. If the Rangers win tonight and Ozark defeats Tulsa, the Rangers will host the match.
Demize defeated the Rangers 2-0 on Saturday in the teams’ regular-season finale.
Montgomery lamented his team’s inability to capitalize on its scoring chances against Demize, which scored both of its goals in the first half.
“We have to be more efficient and finish more opportunities,” Montgomery said. “In the second half, we had four or five different opportunities to score goals. Their keeper made three excellent saves.”
Little Rock and Demize split the season series, with the Rangers defeating Demize 2-0 on June 5 in Springfield, Mo.
The short turnaround between Saturday’s and tonight’s matches hasn’t affected the Rangers, Montgomery said.
“I’ve been really pleased with the preparation,” he said. “We’ve worked hard and worked to correct things from the previous match. We just need to execute.”
Getting off to a quick start is important for the Rangers, Montgomery said.
“You’ll definitely see a different level of play,” Montgomery said. “It’s important to stay focused.”
In its first postseason appearance last year, Little Rock earned victories against Tulsa, FC Wichita and Laredo Heat SC before losing to Miami FC 2 in the South Region final. The postseason success from 2018 helped the Rangers land a spot in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in May, in which it lost to NTX Rayados 4-2 on penalty kicks (2-2 in regulation and extra time).
The Rangers’ playoff experience from 2018 is something Montgomery said he hopes can help his team this year.
“We know how to handle some of the pressure situations,” Montgomery said. “We’ve done this before, especially with the personnel that made this run last year. They’re familiar with what we’re trying to do. They have a good mindset of what we’re trying to do.”
Tonight marks the second home playoff game in Rangers’ history. Montgomery said playing at home is a plus for his team.
“There’s nothing like playing at home and at War Memorial Stadium,” Montgomery said. “They cheer our players on. There’s no place like home.”