Sacramento Republic draws with Rio Grande Valley to keep pace in USL playoff race
Rodrigo “RoRo” Lopez can’t help but show up for his team lately.
In the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, he buried the game-winning penalty. On Wednesday, he assisted on both of Sacramento’s goals in a big win in Albuquerque, making him the team’s all-time assists leader.
Then, on Saturday at home against a well-rested Rio Grande Valley, the team he helped lead to the playoffs last year, his 89th-minute header salvaged an important 1-1 draw.
“Jack (Gurr) has been serving great balls all season long,” Lopez said of his teammate’s game-tying assist. “As soon as I saw it, I knew it was coming to me.”
In the 96th minute, Lopez missed an even easier look that would have given Republic all three points. A cross from Keko found him in the box again, but his header sailed over the crossbar.
“You know, it’s just a part of the game,” Lopez added. “We’re happy we didn’t lose the game and we got a point out of it.”
With that result, Republic now sit one point out of the Western Conference top four. The top seven teams make the playoffs.
Since capturing the hearts and minds of fans with their Cinderella run to the Open Cup Final, the Quails have pivoted to one of their busiest stretches of the season: six games in three weeks.
Despite that, they haven’t folded. After beating Sporting Kansas City in front of a sold out Heart Health Park on July 27, Republic leaned on their deep squad to beat Charleston and New Mexico in back to back road games.
Against Rio Grande, they faced a team that hadn’t played in 10 days.
“We’ve had a grueling schedule and the guys gave everything,” Republic coach Mark Briggs said after the game. “We’re all disappointed that we didn’t get the three points that we all wanted, but the guys showed great character at the end to come back and steal a point.”
Sacramento started both halves on the front-foot , with several early crosses and shots into the box, but the fresher visitors were on top of them for most of the game.
In the 52nd minute, Toros fullback Jonathan Ricketts broke the deadlock when he rocketed in a shot with his weaker left foot to put the visitors up 1-0.
Briggs had started the game with a heavily rotated side that featured seven changes to his preferred starting XI. In the 63rd minute, with his team down a goal, he brought on multiple starters, including RoRo and Gurr.
“It just shows that even the lads on the bench can come on and do a job for us,” Gurr said. He normally starts games at right wingback, but was brought on in the second half alongside other starters. “(Their play) is what’s kept us together, our cup run going, and obviously the results in the league as well.”
Since mid-July, Republic are now undefeated in their last five games.
“We just have that grit and determination not to lose,” Gurr said. “We’re fighting all the way til the end, even trying to win it. That just comes down to our mentality and our togetherness. We just don’t want to lose.”
Game Notes
He might not be scoring game-winning goals, but one of the unsung heroes of Republic’s recent run is center back Conor Donovan. Against Sporting KC in the cup, he was in all of the right places at the right time making key tackles and blocks. On Saturday, he showed that he has quite an expansive game for a defender, which might not make him long for the USL if he keeps it up. He wins one-on-one duels, hits a nice long ball, is brave driving up the field in possession and even showed a little give-and-go with attackers. When Lopez came on in the 63rd, Donovan tried giving him the captain’s armband, but the former declined and insisted that he keep it on.
UP NEXT
At Monterey Bay on Saturday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published August 7, 2022 at 12:00 AM.