Sacramento Republic continues to look for offense as team faces key stretch of games

Like a lot of words specific to the game of soccer, “clinical” gets thrown around a lot. It’s really just a way of saying to make the most of one’s chances.

For example, if a player gets 10 chances in front of goal and they score eight, that’s clinical.

When Sacramento Republic took 19 shots against Birmingham Legion last Saturday and scored none, that’s what general manager and team president Todd Dunivant characterizes as anemic.

But things aren’t as dire for Republic as they were last year, when the team was near the bottom of the standings and missed the postseason for the first time in team history. The team is currently in the midst of a Cinderella run to the final four of the nation’s oldest tournament and they’ve stayed in the mix in USL largely by doing the second-best thing to scoring, which is to not concede.

Yet, the questions of clinicality (warning: soccer word on steroids) persist. Some of that is outsiders reacting to the stats, which tell us Sacramento is near the bottom of league scoring rankings for the second year in a row, and some of that is internal.

Dunivant told The Bee in March that his roster overhaul was focused heavily on revamping the offense. “We wanted to bring in some guys that could be dangerous.”

So ahead of Republic’s visit to Phoenix Rising on Saturday before turning around to host MLS side Sporting Kansas City for the Open Cup semifinal, head coach Mark Briggs weighed in on the clinicality again when asked if he was worried about his team’s ability to finish off scoring chances.

“To be honest with you, as an attacking player, confidence plays a huge role,” Briggs said. “Sometimes, when you hone in on a single thing and the fans and media start saying constantly that you have to be more clinical or ruthless, then comes the internal pressure and anxiety that gets worse if (the goals don’t come).”

“So sometimes, it’s about taking the focus and pressure off of those guys and allowing them to play. We brought them here for a reason. They can do what we want them to do.”

Shortly after Briggs spoke, Sacramento Republic announced the signing of Jamaican forward Deshorn Brown, who last featured in the Indian Super League after a career in USL and MLS from 2013 to 2019.

The team is looking for an offensive jolt. Briggs said that after a tough string of results in July, he sensed that his team had been feeling squeezed by the pressure and lofty expectations that they had put on themselves. After their first home loss of the season to Birmingham, he gave the team a few days off and players enjoyed a fun day at the water park next to Heart Health Park on Wednesday.

FINDING THE RIGHT MIX UP TOP

Briggs’ starting XI had more or less fallen into place. Former USL golden glove winner Danny Vitiello claimed the starting goalkeeper job, and in front of him the center and two wing backs were set. In the midfield, Sacramento native Matt LaGrassa, Luis Felipe and club-legend Rodrigo “RoRo” Lopez are preferred.

And in the months of May and June, when Sacramento was winning games, marquee signings Douglas Martinez and Keko were penciled in up top as forwards.

But after the latter got injured in the Cup quarterfinal and the team lost two and drew one in July, Briggs started to shuffle his options up top again. In the last two games, he’s turned to Jamaican international Maalique Foster, who now leads the team in goals with four.

“He has exceptional movement,” Briggs said of Foster. “Anything over 10 yards, he is probably one of the quickest in the league.”

Watch the tape against Oakland Roots to find that it is indeed true. Foster wins most foot races against backpedaling defenders and creates several one-on-one looks against the opposing keeper.

Foster’s rise hasn’t meant that Martinez or fellow striker Luther Archimède have been relegated to riding the bench. If anything, Briggs hasn’t shown the inclination to let any of his forwards play a full 90 minutes at all. He’s brought both on every week they’ve been available.

“Obviously, Douglas and I have history (at Real Salt Lake),” Briggs said. “I think he has all of the attributes to play at a higher level. He’s quick, strong, technical and always plays with a smile on his face.”

“Luther has that capability and potential too.”

CREATING CHANCES

While he wishes they were more “lethal,” Dunivant said he’s encouraged by what he sees.

“We’re knocking on the door and creating chances, which is good,” he told The Bee in June. “That means the system of play is working the way it should.”

The stats also bear that out. Sacramento ranks 10th in shots taken in USL with 249. Divide that by their number of goals scored (22), that means they’re converting about 9% of their chances.

Is that clinical? That largely depends on the league. For reference, the best team in the English Premier League last season (Manchester City) converted 10.3% of its chances.

That doesn’t mean Sacramento can be compared to Manchester City, but it might suggest that we can read too much into clinicality.

Briggs sees it the same way.

“Yes, people are saying we’re not scoring goals, but the team is still winning games,” he said. “Ultimately, that is what matters. Plus, we’re a team. We collectively score goals the same way we collectively defend.”

“So yes, there’s going to be certain pressure on (our forwards) because of the position, but they’re doing a job for the team. I’m sure all of them will come through and score the goals we’re all currently talking about.”

UP NEXT

At Phoenix Rising on Saturday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Then, hosting Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 12:00 AM.