Sacramento Republic FC ‘firing on all cylinders’ after historic win over San Jose
Wednesday night was a serendipitous one for Sacramento Republic FC.
The 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS pushed the club deeper into the U.S. Open Cup than it’s ever been, with a quarterfinal game against the Los Angeles Galaxy up next. One of the home team’s goals Wednesday came from a player released by San Jose two years ago; the other came from Sacramento’s first signee way back in 2013.
It all came in front of a rowdy crowd at Heart Health Park and will go down as one of the biggest wins in Republic’s history.
“I think it was really a fantastic fan base that came out tonight,” team owner Kevin Nagle told the Bee. “It’s really what, I think, Sacramento’s about.”
There was plenty of buildup leading into Wednesday night. Nagle penned a letter to Sacramento fans urging their support against the Earthquakes, a Northern California rival from the MLS, a league with larger payrolls that’s considered a notch above Sacramento’s USL Championship league.
Nagle, of course, is working to secure a new stadium in Sacramento’s downtown. The Bee reported in April the club was in advanced planning stages for a 12,000- to 15,000-seat venue that could cost about $150 million. Nagle hopes the stadium could bring vitality to a mostly unused portion of valuable real estate, and give Sacramento a venue for soccer, concerts and other sports.
Success on the pitch, like the victory over San Jose on Wednesday, could go a long way toward building momentum to get the stadium project finalized. Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has endorsed Nagle’s stadium plan, was in attendance Wednesday at Heart Health Park at Cal Expo, the club’s current home that could sorely use upgrades.
“We’re firing on all cylinders right now,” Nagle said. “What I think you saw tonight, on the field, is an example of that. At the same time, I think what you saw tonight was a fantastic effort by our staff, making sure that the Sacramento community came out and watched the match, and they did.
“We had a sellout, it was one of the largest matches that we’ve had in five years. What it really does is help us continue that drive, gives us a lot of momentum. I think at the same time, we take pause, it’s one match at a time, there are eight teams in this tournament, but we’re still fighting to make sure we make the playoffs in the USL.”
Nagle was quick to point out Wednesday’s win wasn’t the biggest in team history. He said that was the club’s USL Championship-sealing victory in 2014, which included an MVP performance from Rodrigo Lopez in the final. And it was Lopez who scored Republic FC’s second goal Wednesday, a screamer from the top right corner of the box that found the top left corner of the net.
“The stage was set for Rodrigo Lopez and he produced with an unbelievable goal,” Sacramento manager Mark Briggs said.
Lopez, who turned 34 earlier this month, is in his third stint with Republic FC. He returned to the team in 2020 but then played with Rio Grande before returning to anchor Sacramento’s rebuild this season.
The midfielder’s goal Wednesday came in the 83rd minute and alleviated Sacramento’s stress late in the match, after San Jose controlled possession for most of the night while being unable to score.
“I was so sad when I left in 2020,” Lopez said afterward. “I never thought that I’d be back, but you never know what happens. You just move on, you do your job, and honestly I was so shocked and I didn’t even think about it twice when I got the call (from Sacramento) ... I tried to do everything to make it happen.”
Republic’s first goal came on a header off a corner kick in the 28th minute from Luis Felipe, who played for the Earthquakes from 2018 to 2020 before he was released. The lanky midfielder appeared in 21 games and logged 1,215 minutes for San Jose before the team cut ties.
“Luis to score against the club that released him, that must feel good for him,” Briggs said.
The win means Sacramento will play the Los Angeles Galaxy on the road in the quarterfinals during the third week of June. Republic FC became just the 11th non-MLS team to make quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup since the big league was founded. It hasn’t happened since 2019.
There won’t be much celebrating beyond Wednesday, Briggs and the players said. The team’s next game is Saturday, a USL contest on the road against the Oakland Roots, giving Sacramento a chance at its second league victory in the last six matches. The team is in the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference with 15 points, just one point out of a playoff spot.
So while Wednesday’s win was historic for the young club, there are bigger goals in mind on the field and off. The team needs to make the USL playoffs to help legitimize its run in the U.S. Open Cup. The club would have no problem drafting off its success on the field to get shovels in the ground for the new stadium.
“We’ve been busy doing our knitting,” Nagle told The Bee when asked for an update on the stadium. “We might have some announcements in the coming weeks.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 5:53 AM.
