Sacramento Republic announces key player signings. Will the midfield improve this year?

Amid a slew of announcements this week, Sacramento Republic said Thursday it signed midfielder Matt LaGrassa as the team continues to try to upgrade its roster for the upcoming USL season.

LaGrassa, 28, graduated from Elk Grove’s Pleasant Grove High School and played in college at Cal Poly.

“We are delighted to bring Matt back home to Sacramento. He embodies what this city and this club is all about,” Republic general manager Todd Dunivant said in a news release. “He is another example of the top-tier talent developed out of our region, and the team will benefit from his experience and leadership.”

LaGrassa comes with a solid resume in professional soccer. Most recently he played for two seasons with Nashville’s MLS team and two seasons with the Nashville USL team. He had six goals and four assists in 71 games. When the team moved up from USL to MLS in 2020, LaGrassa was one of four players to make the move with the team.

It’s more than a return to the region for LaGrassa. He played for Republic in his first professional season, 2016, where he scored a goal and two assists in 13 games.

Earlier this week, Republic pulled in an international player who could make a big impact on the team’s midfield, which sorely needed more punch last season. Sergio Gontán Gallardo, who goes by “Keko,” will join Sacramento for the 2022 campaign.

The 30-year-old has played 13 seasons of professional soccer in the top leagues of Spain and Italy, as well as lower-division stops. He has played in 112 games in La Liga, the top division in Spain, amassing more than 6,500 minutes on the field with four different teams.

“Keko brings a wealth of experience from his time in Spain and Italy,” Dunivant said. “His technical ability to find the right pass will be a big boost to our attack, and he will bring added veteran leadership both on and off the field.”

He spent his last two seasons with Deportivo La Coruña in Spain’s third division.

Keko and LaGrassa join a Quails team that hopes to return to the playoffs, which they missed for the first time last season.

The team also announced this week the full schedule is available and includes three games with rival Oakland Roots, two in Sacramento and one at Laney College. Oakland Roots will travel to Sacramento on July 9 and on Aug. 27. The full schedule is at SacRepublicFC.com/Club-Schedule.

Lastly, the team also announced a pair of its youth academy players were drafted in the MLS SuperDraft. Erik “Danny” Centeno was taken 19th by Atlanta and Gio Aguilar was selected 49th by Vancouver.

This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 10:02 AM.