Sacramento Republic gears up for biggest game in team history Tuesday vs. L.A. Galaxy
Sacramento Republic manager Mark Briggs isn’t willing to call it the biggest match in the club’s history, but Tuesday’s night’s U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals game against the L.A. Galaxy is just that.
“That’s for you guys to decide,” Briggs told reporters Saturday night after beating L.A. Galaxy II, the upcoming opponent’s USL squad. “It’s a big game. There’s no getting away from it.”
Of course, Sac Republic has never advanced this far in the U.S. Open Cup in its eight-year history. A win over the Galaxy (7-5-3 in MLS play, fifth in the Western Conference standings) would mean advancing to the final four, with a shot at the championship game later this summer. Six of the teams still alive in the tournament are in the MLS, which is still considered the most popular and prestigious league in the country, though the USL Championship division is hoping to close that gap.
Sacramento contributed to that push by beating the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 in the round of 16 May 25. It was arguably the team’s biggest win. A win over the Galaxy, on the road, would clearly trump it.
Briggs has been put in a unique circumstance over the last few days. He’s preparing his team to play in the U.S. Open Cup, the oldest club tournament in America, in Los Angeles on Tuesday against one of the more famous teams in country. It’s three days after playing Galaxy’s developmental squad on Saturday night, who are expected to offer a detailed scouting report to the parent club.
For Briggs, that meant sitting some of the team’s most notable players Saturday, including Rodrigo Lopez, Luis Felipe, Douglas Martinez (who was a late substitute Saturday) and primary goalkeeper Danny Vitiella.
“And we knew with the roster we put together, that we were going to have to rotate in certain games,” Briggs said. “Everyone was going to play their part. Tonight was one of those games where everyone got to play their part, and to be fair to the guys, they took their opportunity and we walk away with three points. Yeah, it’s about rotating, it’s about making sure we’re in the best possible shape for each and every game.”
Sacramento enters Tuesday’s game in good form. The team is 6-1-1 since May 8 and has conceded just two goals in its last nine matches. It’s one of four teams with 25 points in the Western Conference standings behind the top two clubs, Colorado Springs (33 points) and San Antonio (31).
Briggs said his team will try to approach Tuesday like it would any other game. The players that spent the most time on the field Saturday will do their standard recovery treatments Sunday, including cryotherapy, while the players who didn’t play Saturday will have a limited training session. There will be another training session for the full team on Monday before the team departs for Southern California.
So what chance does Sacramento have in L.A.? The evidence would suggest the Galaxy is the considerable favorite.
The Galaxy are expected to spend roughly $20.5 million on players in 2022, which is believed to be 20 times the average payroll for a USL team. The capacity of Dignity Health Sports Park is roughly 27,000, dwarfing Sac Republic’s Heart Health Park’s 11,569 seats. The Galaxy have the most championships in MLS history, with five after being founded in 1994.
Republic have relished the idea of being the underdog, evident by their stirring performance to beat San Jose last month despite having a less-talented and less-expensive roster. But, it should be noted, the Earthquakes are currently 13th in the MLS’s 14-team Western conference. They went through a coaching change earlier this season and are not considered one of the league’s elite teams.
The Galaxy pose an entirely different challenge as a team currently in the thick of a playoff race. But perhaps Republic can remain competitive if they continue their strong defense and score a timely goal or two.
“This is what you play the game for,” Briggs said. “You want to be involved in these games, the guys have deserved their opportunity to come up against a club of that stature, and now we’ve got to go enjoy.”
