A 17-year-old’s emotional first career goal gives Sacramento Republic another home win
Sacramento Republic was in a rut. Mired in a scoreless tie with L.A. Galaxy II on Saturday night, it seemed like the Quails were going to slump into Tuesday night’s crucial U.S. Open Cup game.
Then came pandemonium.
Rafael “Rafa” Juaregui, who is only 17 years old and graduated high school last month. In the 69th minute, he recovered the ball from a botched clearance, cut inside with his right foot and fired a shot from the edge of the box that sent the keeper diving the wrong way. The score sealed Republic’s 2-0 win at Heart Health Park.
“As soon as I got the ball, all I was thinking about was to shoot,” Juaregui said. “That was my moment right there.”
After he saw the ball ripple the inside of the net, Juaregui knew exactly how to celebrate. He ran across the field to the corner stand, where some 20-30 family members sit every game. He climbed the side of the stadium and was engulfed by his loved ones.
“We had a plan,” his father, Rafael, said. “He told us to be ready because ‘I’m going to run to you guys.’ I don’t care who else is going up to me.”
Before the glory underneath the bright lights, and even before he signed his first professional contract at the age of 15, there was a time when mother Maria Rodriguez didn’t even want her son playing soccer.
“I wanted my baby to play golf,” she said. “His dad got hurt playing (soccer), and I didn’t want that for him. But watching him get to where he’s at, and always trying 100 percent, Rafa has made me love the sport.”
“I never in a million years would have thought that my son would be here. … Like, a lot of people dream about it and say that they’re going to be a professional soccer player, but for that to be my son? Who would have thought?”
For head coach Mark Briggs, who opted to give the academy product a rare start, he said that Juaregui’s talents were immediately evident, they just needed to be nurtured.
“He’s just got a natural feel for the game that you can’t coach,” Briggs said. “He makes the right movements and technically he’s clean. His brain and soccer IQ is just extremely high.”
“You saw it in the first half here. He’s got three men around him, so he takes a negative touch, one player steps in, (Juaregui) pushes it through his legs and plays the ball down the line. … You just don’t see that often from a 17-year-old kid.”
Saturday’s 2-0 win over Galaxy II tied Sacramento with the third team in the Western Conference, San Diego Loyal, and extended their home unbeaten streak to 10 games. The Quails have also only conceded two goals in their last nine games, giving them a lot to feel good about heading into their quarter final U.S. Open matchup against L.A. Galaxy, the MLS side, Tuesday night.
While Sacramento will take the goals from wherever they come, Saturday night will forever hold a special place in the Juaregui family lore.
“I always saw that he was special, but I never said it because I didn’t want to be that parent,” the elder Juaregui said. “But I do believe that the sky’s the limit for him. He’s going to do it because of him and he has the support to go wherever he wants to go. And even if one day he doesn’t want to, we’re still going to be there for him. The future is bright.”
Game Notes
▪ Coach Briggs opted to rotate his squad heavily ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup game, introducing seven new players into the starting lineup.
▪ Galaxy II winger Remy Cabral, whose twin brother Kévin plays for the MLS side, nearly scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, but both of his shots bounced off the bar.
▪ Republic FC backup striker Luther Archimede scored his second goal of the season (a penalty) after he received a through ball from second half substitute Zeiko Lewis. Archimede nearly had a clean look at goal before being taken down illegally by Galaxy II keeper Richard Sanchez, who also got a yellow card on the play.
This story was originally published June 19, 2022 at 12:00 AM.