Kings of California: Sacramento Republic topple LA Galaxy and send a message to MLS
Not San Jose. Not Los Angeles. Sacramento.
On Tuesday night, in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal clash against L.A. Galaxy of Major League Soccer, Republic played like they belonged and then some, beating their California rivals 2-1 to reach the semifinals of the nation’s oldest soccer tournament. Sacramento will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between Kansas City and Omaha in the semifinals.
Sacramento knocked off the San Jose Earthquakes in the cup quarterfinals to earn the right to face the Galaxy, one of the top teams in MLS. Fittingly, it was an MLS castoff that handed Sacramento its historic win Tuesday night. Republic created better chances most of the night Tuesday, and it was Luis Felipe, who once played for the San Jose Earthquakes, who sent Sacramento into the semis. From near the halfway line, way outside of the box, he gathered the ball on his left foot, took one touch and rifled home a shot to beat Galaxy keeper Jonathan Klinsmann.
“He should have scored a header about five minutes before actually,” head coach Mark Briggs said after the game with a grin. “But seriously, he can strike a ball like the best of them. And tonight, to score a goal in the manner that he did, at such a critical time in the game, was just phenomenal.”
Republic played like the team with a more coherent plan. They fielded their best starting players while the Galaxy sat their biggest stars until the second half. And despite having less of the ball, they outshot their opponents 15 to 11 and earned nine corners to the Galaxy’s five.
“I thought the players executed the plan to perfection,” Briggs said. “When you come up against teams like the Galaxy, you have to understand that you’re going to be under pressure for large amounts of the game. … But I thought we were good in transition and we looked threatening in set pieces as well. The players were absolutely phenomenal tonight.”
“I honestly don’t think (the Galaxy) took the game seriously and we took advantage,” Felipe added.
“It was definitely good to score against them. … I’ve played and won against them before, but never scored. So this was great. It was definitely a special match for me.”
Much of the night’s tone was set fittingly by the play of captain and longest-serving Republic player, Rodrigo “RoRo” Lopez. After scoring the opening goal in the third minute, he found himself in dangerous spaces time and time again, either dropping in between defenders or going out wide and picking out his teammates in the box.
“Our coaches have been amazing with scouting this year,” Lopez said. “What they said we were going to face, happened. So, even though I personally feel like it wasn’t my best game, there were a lot of spaces in behind their defense.”
In his time with the club which he calls home, Lopez has seen it all. He was the team’s first signing in 2013, the year they won a USL championship in their inaugural season, and returned to the team twice after departing, once in 2020 and most recently again in 2022. He said that beating two MLS giants back to back sent a statement to the league that quietly retreated on its plans to add the city as an expansion franchise.
“I’m sure (the MLS) didn’t want us to win today,” he said. “I feel like the commissioner or whoever is watching … they really have to take into consideration that Sacramento needs to be in MLS. I don’t care what’s happened in the past. … You have to look at the fan base, you have to look at this city.”
“Sacramento has always proved to be one of the best, if not the best club in USL. And with an established fan base and a city behind it, I don’t know what they’re waiting for.”
Tuesday’s win means that Republic FC will face off against either Sporting Kansas City or Union Omaha in the semifinals of the single-elimination tournament. Omaha is another USL team on a similar Cinderella run through the tournament and, theoretically, has less talent on its roster than Kansas City, of MLS.
Should Sacramento win its semifinal game, it will be the first USL team to reach the cup final since 2008, when the Charleston Battery lost 2-1 to D.C. United. No USL team has won the cup since 1999, when the Rochester Rhinos beat the Colorado Rapids.
“Yeah, possibly,” Briggs said when asked if Tuesday was the biggest win of his career.
“To be in the semifinals of such a prestigious competition and take down San Jose and then the Galaxy, this is what dreams are made of.”
Game Notes
▪ Star midfielder Keko left the game with a hamstring injury in the 10th minute. Briggs said that the team is hopeful the move prevented a long-term injury. He will be reassessed ahead of Republic FC’s league match against Monterey Bay FC on Saturday.
▪ Striker Douglas Martinez was a constant threat on the counter and his pace gave the Galaxy back line fits all game. His run on the right side in the third minute set up Lopez’s opening goal.
▪ If the Galaxy didn’t know that they were in a fist fight by then, they were reminded again in the opening exchanges of the second half: In the 48th minute, Republic FC nearly scored three times off two corner kicks. Defender Lee Desmond’s header hit the post on the first and midfielders Matt LaGrassa and Luis Felipe both fired shots on target that were parried away.
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 12:00 AM.