Infusion of new talent lifts Sacramento Republic’s playoff hopes
In a postgame news conference, Carlos Saldaña wore a scarf given to him by a fan after Sacramento Republic’s 3-1 win over Tacoma on Saturday night.
He also wore a huge smile.
Saldaña made a pair of impressive saves in his debut with the Quails. He signed with the team three weeks ago, and spent the better part of Saturday night earning the loud adulation of the fans and a scarf from the Tower Bridge Battalion fan group.
“It means everything,” Saldaña said. ”It’s good to be able to give them a big smile with a big win and on top of that, it’s amazing to feel the love that they have to give it all. (The scarf is) a small thing, but it’s more than that to me and it’s definitely an amazing feeling. I’m glad I have some support behind me. They’re definitely very loud and I love to hear them behind me.”
It wasn’t just the fans singing his praises. Coach Mark Briggs broke out the plaudits for Saldaña, who grew up down the road in Vallejo and played in the second tier of Mexican professional soccer before joining Sacramento.
“I thought Carlos [Saldaña] all night, from start to finish, was fantastic,” Briggs said. “He brought energy, he made big saves in big moments, and he was constantly communicating. I’m really pleased for him.”
Briggs and his Republic squad have relied on an infusion of midseason talent to lift the club’s playoff hopes. Team general manager Todd Dunivant brought in several strikers and offensive-minded midfielders to bolster the middling offense.
The franken-offense seems to be working. New guy Emil Cuello had a goal and an assist Saturday night as Sacramento held the upper hand over Tacoma most of the night. The Quails put seven shots on goal to Tacoma’s four as Sacramento looked like the more dangerous team.
“It’s not easy, but you have to make sure you get the right guys, and that they integrate well and gel with the team,” Briggs said. “ I’m really pleased with every single player on the field. We stepped on the field with a swagger. We stuck our chests out, and we were here to play. When you perform like that, it brings positive energy. It gets the stadium nice and loud, and that’s all we need.”
They’ll need more of it.
With six games left in the season, Sacramento could realistically finish as high as third place in the Pacific Division or as low as seventh in the eight-team group. All of Republic’s remaining games are inter-division battles, including a tilt Wednesday with Oakland and Saturday with San Diego.
Sacramento is in fifth place, with the same number of points as fourth-place L.A. Galaxy II. The top four teams make the playoffs, which is something every Republic team has done since their inception in 2014.
Briggs and the rest of the Quails absolutely do not want to be the ones that snap that streak.
“It was a huge three points for us tonight,” he said. “You heard the stadium, you heard the fans. You heard everybody here. There was a release of tension and a release of energy. And we saw that on the field in a positive way.”