Reno moves into third place with 1-0 home win over Swope Park
Reno accomplished a lot in 90 minutes at Greater Nevada Field on Saturday night. 
The home side completed the regular-season sweep of Swope Park with a 1-0 victory, moved into a tie with the Rangers for third place in the Western Conference, and extended its home unbeaten streak to 11 games.
“This was a tough, hard-fought win against a really good Swope Park team,” Reno 1868 FC head coach Ian Russell said. “It feels good. We still have a long road ahead of us. But the guys are playing really well right now.”
Reno (12-5-6) is now dead even with Swope Park (12-6-6) with 42 points after its fourth-straight win, just three points back of second-place San Antonio.
Antoine Hoppenot converted a penalty kick that Dane Kelly earned in the 10th minute for the game’s lone goal. His family was in attendance.
“Yeah that felt great,” he said. “They came all the way from New Jersey and it was wonderful to get a goal for them.
“This is a team that knows how to play together and I think we are showing the USL that right now.”
Goalkeeper Matt Bersano turned in his eighth clean sheet of the season despite his club playing down a man for the final minutes of regulation due to a Brenton Griffiths red card.
“I have to give my teammates all the credit,” Bersano said. “Keeping a team sheet is a group effort.”
Reno now readies for the longest road trip of the season, a four-gamer that begins Saturday at Orange County FC. Orange County (7-7-8) dealt Reno its only home loss of the season back in the franchise’s first inaugural match in March and sits in 11th place in the Western Conference.
The trip also includes stops at Los Angeles, Seattle and Rio Grande Valley. All four teams, including Orange County, are on the outside of the playoff picture.
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