Sacramento Republic handed first home loss as coach searches for answers up top

Soccer can be unusually cruel. Unlike in other sports, the team that dominates the game might not necessarily emerge with a win.

Sacramento Republic knows how that goes. They outplayed Birmingham Legion on Saturday and still lost 1-0, courtesy of a second-minute goal by former U.S. National Team striker Juan Agudelo.

The result meant their vaunted undefeated streak at Heart Health Park, which stretched all the way back to March, is now over.

“It’s not the end of the world,” head coach Mark Briggs said after the game, referring to how his team outshot the Legion 19 to 5 and enjoyed the lion’s share of possession. “We’re still having a good season. We lost one game at home so far, so there’s no need to sound the alarm bells.”

Earlier this week, Briggs was named the USL’s Coach of the Month for June because of the team’s seven-game unbeaten streak and run to the U.S. Open Cup semifinal.

But things have turned in July, with no wins, two losses and a tie, and Briggs is back searching for his best mix of players.

“We needed to freshen it up because a few guys have been looking heavy-legged,” Briggs said.

In a game that players and staff said was a “must-win” in order to get their season back on track, striker Douglas Martinez, who Briggs once dubbed one of the “best players in the league,” was dropped to the bench in favor of Maalique Foster, who scored the week before.

“I was looking to bring some new energy into the group,” Briggs added. “That’s what happens when you play the amount of games as we did in June. It catches up with you later.”

In the second half, Briggs put on five offensive-minded substitutes. His team created chance after chance, including two shots that came off the post, but could not find the finishing touch.

“It’s not like we’re not creating opportunities,” he said.

Saturday’s matchup featured two teams that mirrored each other in almost every way except for style of play. They both were sitting on 29 points on the season and scored and conceded the same amount of goals.

“If they don’t score that early goal, then I think it would have been a different game,” Republic midfielder and captain Rodrigo Lopez said. “I think we’re complicating the game for ourselves.”

“We can’t really blame anyone or say that people aren’t working hard enough. I guess we’re having a bit of a tough moment right now. But the beauty of soccer is that we have another game next week.”

After flirting with the top three last month, Republic FC have now slipped down to seventh in the Western Conference standings, the final playoff spot. They are also only one point ahead of Oakland Roots, a rival that nearly beat them last week had it not been for a last-gasp equalizer.

The team travels to Arizona next week to take on Phoenix Rising FC before turning their attention to arguably the biggest game in franchise history, a midweek clash against Sporting Kansas City in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal at home in front of an already sold-out crowd.

Game Notes

▪ Saturday’s game coincided with the return of the California State Fair, which was canceled for two years due to the pandemic.

▪ Center back Conor Donovan returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous two games with a groin injury. He was shaken up on a collision in the 48th minute and exited the game in the 65th minute.

▪ Republic’s best scoring chances all involved left wingback Dami Viader. The Spain-native was acquired from Union Omaha and already has a goal of the week to his name. Throughout the night, he combined well with others and created several overloads with his runs down the middle.

This story was originally published July 17, 2022 at 12:00 AM.