As Sacramento Republic finds its footing, a native son has emerged as a stalwart

Tucker Bone tries.

You can practically see it written across the chest of the Sacramento Republic midfielder. Any time he’s anywhere near it, the 25-year-old puffs out his chest and chases the ball in a full sprint. He might get beat to the ball, but it’s not going to be for lack of effort.

Bone’s tenacity has turned heads as an offensive bright spot in an otherwise dull start for the Quails.

“That’s a habit I’ve picked up over the years for sure,” he said. “If you’re in the vicinity of the ball and able to pick up the ball, my instinct switches like that. It goes from trying to create space and being tactical to, when the play is around you and you have a chance to impact the team, it goes 0 to 100 real quick.”

Bone’s dogged instincts have paid off. He leads the team with five goals; the next best on the team is two goals. He has 14 shots and 10 shots on goal, both the best on the team.

Ask coach Mark Briggs what stands out about Bone and the answer is obvious: “His attitude and his tenacity,” Briggs said. “He brings the exact same energy and attitude every single day. He’s a breath of fresh air.”

Bone is a different kind of soccer player. In a sport known for people collapsing to the field in an effort to draw a foul, Bone will charge through the opposition until they tackle him to the ground. And he has just five yellow cards in 44 career games. There are, of course, no red cards blotting his resume.

You might be inclined to chalk that up to his demeanor. In college, Bone played for Air Force. He talks about honor and pride when he talks about free agency in the USL, which is not exactly a common thought process for professional athletes.

But he says his clean approach to the game has more to do with his favorite professional player, Lionel Messi.

“That’s something I value as a soccer player. It’s one of those things I’m known by,” Bone said. “... I value more of a tactical foul. I don’t think I’ve been in a position where I’ve needed a harder foul. I take pride in that, I think a lot of that comes from players I look up to … to me, the best player and player I think the world of is Lionel Messi. You don’t see him flopping ever. That’s something: I’ll be fouled and keep going, if I can. It’s the ref’s job to call the foul. It doesn’t matter if the player stays up. A foul’s a foul.”

It’s a simple game, right? A foul’s a foul.

Except the game isn’t that simple, and Bone is well aware of that. As the sport evolves, with more complex set pieces and offensive build-ups, Bone still takes care of the basics. When he finds the ball at his feet, he makes sure to put a shot on net.

It sounds simple, but it’s assuredly not.

“He has the quality and natural ability to beat people,” Briggs said. “In front of goal he’s very composed and always hits the target.”

While he’s been a natural fit for Republic, it wasn’t a given Bone would join Sacramento after his Reno club folded last season.

Yes, he grew up in the area and starred at Jesuit High School. But Bone led a big life after high school. He starred at Air Force and was drafted 20th by the Seattle Sounders of MLS in 2019. He played for USL teams in Colorado and Reno. Sacramento is fine, but it wasn’t a new path to blaze.

In considering joining Republic, Bone said he felt pulled to help his hometown side.

“There’s a lot of honor in coming back and playing for your hometown team, especially in Europe,” Bone said.

That sense of duty has paid off for the Quails.

Bone has scored a goal in all three of Sacramento’s wins this season. His five goals are nearly half the team’s total of 12 scores this year.

Predictably, Bone isn’t overly impressed by those stats. If you ask about the goals he’s scored, Bone might start lamenting the two or three that got away.

“My mindset is always it could be going better,” he said. “I’m hyper-competitive; extremely competitive. It’s nice at this level because you find guys similar in that aspect and you perform at a higher level as a result. You push each other.”

Sacramento Republic needs a few more pushes. The team netted its first win in two months last week, a 2-1 win over Las Vegas. Bone had both Sacramento goals, earning him a spot on the USL’s Team of the Week. Republic is just a point out of a playoff spot with two-thirds of the season remaining. It’s not over yet.

And there Bone goes, chasing the playoff opportunity down the field. The team’s still building chemistry, he says. They’re still in this race.

“It’s about fighting for those few inches,” he said. “If your teammates are all sprinting, you’re gonna sprint. You don’t know how long the distance is but you’re gonna sprint.”