Sacramento Republic brings coach Mark Briggs back to lead team in 2022

Sacramento Republic announced Monday coach Mark Briggs will return to lead the club in 2022.

Last season, the Quails finished seventh in the eight-team Pacific Division, doomed by a lackluster June-July lull where the team scored three goals in six games. It was the first season since the team’s 2014 inception where Sacramento missed the USL playoffs.

“Sacramento is a top-flight club with a tremendous fan base and dedicated staff. I’m not pleased with our performance this season, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to give this club, these fans, and this city a season they deserve,” said Briggs in a news release. “We’ve already begun the work to build a roster that will be better in front of both boxes and close out games, and get back to the postseason.”

Briggs and general manager Todd Dunivant are overhauling the team’s roster this offseason. Forward Cameron Iwasa, a Jesuit High School graduate, retired at the end of the 2021 season. Iwasa scored 60 goals in his USL career and was the team leader again in 2021 with eight goals. The team could bring back another Jesuit graduate, Tucker Bone, who scored five goals before suffering a season-ending injury during a July practice.

Beyond that, the team has already said it won’t exercise a contract option for goalkeeper Tomas Gomez nor Finnish player Petteri Pennanen. Sacramento said it doesn’t plan to renew contracts for Kharlton Belmar, Rafael Diaz, Shannon Gomez, Jaime Villarreal, Jordan McCrary, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu and Fatai Alashe.

With a slew of new faces, Briggs will be counted on to get the new guys up to speed quickly.

“Mark has done a lot of good work in his two and half years at the club, and we believe the best times are still ahead,” said Republic FC President Todd Dunivant in a news release. “We have ambitious goals for 2022 and beyond, and Mark is going to be instrumental in achieving our objective of winning a championship.”

Local players at least 18 years old and with soccer experience can try to help that effort.

Republic FC will host open tryouts on January 15 and 16. Registration costs $215 and both Briggs and Dunivant will be on hand to evaluate the talent. The tryouts are at the Elk Grove campus of Cosumnes River College. At least one player in attendance will be invited to train with the team ahead of the 2022 season with the chance to earn a professional contract. For more information on registration and requirements, visit SacRepublicFC.com/Tryouts.

This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 10:10 AM.