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Franchise kick-start: Little Rock soccer team to debut at War Memorial

Sam Tejada and the Little Rock Rangers soccer team will kick off their inaugural season today with a friendly match against Memphis City FC at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Rangers were approved by the National Premier Soccer League in October as one of four expansion teams and will compete in the South Central Conference with teams from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana and Missouri.
Sam Tejada and the Little Rock Rangers soccer team will kick off their inaugural season today with a friendly match against Memphis City FC at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Rangers were approved by the National Premier Soccer League in October as one of four expansion teams and will compete in the South Central Conference with teams from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana and Missouri.

Jonathan Wardlaw looked to Chattanooga, Tenn., as an inspiration for an expansion soccer team in Little Rock.

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Abdul Qadeib heads the ball during a Little Rock Rangers practice session Thursday. The Rangers will play a 12-game conference schedule this season, beginning April 30 at Dallas FC.

Chattanooga hosted the National Premier Soccer League championship game in August against the New York Cosmos' B-team, setting an amateur soccer attendance record of 18,227 at Finley Stadium. Wardlaw watched the match in a private box with NPSL Commissioner Joe Barone, and the two discussed Little Rock as a possible NPSL city.

At a glance

LR Rangers vs. Memphis City FC

WHEN 7 p.m. today

WHERE War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock

TICKETS $10 adults, $5 children 12 and under. Fans are asked to sit on the west side of War Memorial Stadium. Parking is free.

2016 Little Rock Rangers schedule

All times Central

All home games at War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock

DATE;OPPONENT;TIME

Friday;Memphis City FC^;7 p.m.

Sunday;at Memphis City FC^;6 p.m.

April 30;at Dallas City FC*;7:30 p.m.

May 1;at Shreveport FC^;2 p.m.

May 6;FC Wichita*;7 p.m.

May 11;at Tulsa*;7:30 p.m.

May 15;Houston*;6 p.m.

May 21;at Joplin*;7:15 p.m.

May 28;Dutch Lions*;7 p.m.

June 3;Joplin*;7 p.m.

June 10;Shreveport FC*;7 p.m.

June 12;Tulsa*;6 p.m.

June 19;at Corinthians FC*;7 p.m.

June 24;at Fort Worth*;7:30 p.m.

June 26;at Liverpool USA*;6:30 p.m.

^Friendly

*NPSL match

Eight months later, Arkansas' capital city is home to a NPSL franchise.

The Little Rock Rangers will host Memphis City FC in a friendly at 7 p.m. today at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. It's the first of two friendlies against Memphis, with Memphis hosting Little Rock on Sunday. The Rangers begin their NPSL conference season April 30 at Dallas City FC.

Wardlaw, a Little Rock businessman and the Rangers president and general manager, said Little Rock and Chattanooga are similar cities. Little Rock's population is at 193,524 while Chattanooga's population is 167,674, as of the 2010 U.S. census.

"If Chattanooga can do it, we can do it," Wardlaw said.

The Rangers, who are a nonprofit organization, were approved by the NPSL in October as an expansion team along with franchises from Grand Rapids, Mich.; Carlsbad, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Shreveport. The team has 16 founders, including Wardlaw.

The NPSL is considered the fourth tier of the U.S. soccer pyramid behind Major League Soccer (MLS), the North American Soccer League (NASL) and the United Soccer League (USL).

Little Rock, led by Coach Michael Surtees, will compete in the South Region's South Central Conference with Dallas City FC, Fort Worth Vaqueros FC, Tulsa Athletics, FC Wichita, Joplin Demize, Corinthians FC of San Antonio, Houston Regals SCA, Shreveport Rafters FC, Dutch Lions FC and Liverpool Warriors. All teams are based in Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas or Arkansas.

The Rangers will play 12 conference matches, with six at home and six on the road. Little Rock's first conference home match is May 6 against FC Wichita.

The Rangers' name, Wardlaw said, comes from the Scottish Professional Football League's Rangers FC organization in Glasgow. Wardlaw said he wanted a name that rolled off Little Rock easily, and added his family's Scottish heritage played a role in the team's name. The team's crest includes the number 16, to represent the team's number of founders; Arkansas' state mammal, the white-tailed deer; and the state tree, the loblolly pine.

"At least if I have a deer on my product, maybe I'll get a deer hunter to buy my product," joked Wardlaw. "But I've had a ton of compliments on it [the crest]."

Little Rock's players will not be paid because most of them still have college eligibility. Local players on the Rangers' inaugural roster include former Little Rock Catholic star and current University of Central Arkansas midfielder Chris Holmes, and Central Baptist College players Nicholas Doyle and Ferdinand Matebu. Doyle, a center back, is the Rangers' captain while Matebu is a midfielder.

Assistant coach Will Montgomery, a former Little Rock Central and UALR soccer player, played with Little Rock's last minor-league soccer team, the Arkansas Diamonds, in the mid-1990s. He said the Rangers should be able to compete despite their expansion status.

The top six teams in the South Central Conference qualify for the NPSL playoffs in July.

"We're going to gel pretty quickly," Montgomery said. "We should be able to put on a good show for not only the fans but for the league. We're hoping to be in the playoffs come the end of the season."

Six food trucks -- Loblolly Creamery, Southern Salt Food Company, Excaliburger, Kincaid's Coffee, Luncheria Mexicana Alicia and Fathead BBQ Etc. -- are scheduled to be outside War Memorial at 5-7 p.m. Also, alcohol will be available inside War Memorial Stadium from Blue Canoe Brewing of Little Rock.

The food truck idea came to Wardlaw when he attended the Main Street Food Truck Festival last year. He said he wants to make the Rangers' matches a festival-like atmosphere.

"I saw a ton of replica soccer jerseys up and down that sidewalk, on the street," Wardlaw said. "I was like, 'All right. A lot of these people are going to be at my games.'

"I need butts in seats for this thing to survive, but I have to have this stuff outside here to get people to come to the game. I told that to the beer place and the food trucks. I do not want money from you. I need you guys here so I can sell tickets."

Wardlaw said Thursday that the Rangers have sold more than 1,000 tickets for today's match. Only the west side of War Memorial Stadium will be open, with parking on the east side free of charge.

The Rangers are paying $500 per game for rent at War Memorial Stadium, stadium manager Jerry Cohen said.

"It adds more people to the stadium and another use for the stadium, especially in the spring when it's a slow time," Cohen said. "We're trying to use it."

For Montgomery, having the Rangers playing in one of Arkansas' most well-known sporting venues is a big deal for him.

"I grew up here," Montgomery said. "I never thought it would be able to happen here at this stadium. It's a great venue. People come here and have fun."

Sports on 04/22/2016

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