San Diego shuts down Sacramento Republic win streak amid unhealthy air quality

With Sacramento’s Air Quality Index hovering above 150, Republic FC took a 3-1 thumping to visiting San Diego on Saturday night.

USL officials decided the game would be played despite air quality that fell squarely in the unhealthy range where health officials recommend avoiding heavy exertion while outdoors.

San Diego wasted no time with the thumping of Sacramento, scoring a goal in the third minute and two more in the ensuing 25 minutes to build a 3-0 lead. Republic took 23 shots Saturday night to San Diego’s 3, but Quails coach Mark Briggs was unhappy his team put just two shots on goal.

“I’m interested to see how many we got on target tonight,” he said. “We had a lot of shots, but I don’t remember many being on target. I don’t remember their goalkeeper making too many saves. It’s great that we had some shots, but if you don’t hit the target, you don’t win games.”

The loss snapped a seven-game unbeaten streak for Sacramento, which now hits the road for three games. The Quails play Wednesday night against L.A. Galaxy II.

“It’s good that we’ve got another two games this week to try and go on the road to the Galaxy and try to fix what happened tonight,” Briggs said. “We’ve got to move the ball quicker. We’ve got to make runs in behind teams rather than instantly coming to feet. I think you see the difference when that happens.”

This story was originally published August 29, 2021 at 7:00 AM.