Republic FC wins U.S. Open Cup match, prepares to host MLS team
Republic FC won the right to play host to an MLS team, but this won’t be a friendly match.
Sacramento notched a 2-0 victory over Reno 1868 FC on Wednesday night in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third-round match at Papa Murphy’s Park.
FT | Republic FC 2, @reno1868fc 0
— Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) June 1, 2017
That’s it!
Republic FC advance to the Fourth Round of the @opencup and will host @RealSaltLake Jun. 14. pic.twitter.com/VqASCgjstU
In the next round, Republic FC will take on Real Salt Lake at home on June 14. It will be the first time Republic FC hosts an MLS squad in a game with something at stake.
On Wednesday, goals by Harry Williams and Trevin Caesar keyed the victory against Sacramento’s USL rivals. Republic FC goalkeeper Evan Newton earned the clean sheet.
Williams opened the scoring in the 41st minute. Taking a nice through ball into the box from Caesar, Williams netted a shot past a diving Russell Klabough across the box and into the left side of the goal.
In the 59th minute, Caesar took advantage of a Reno turnover, slotting home a low liner from outside of the box past Klabough and into the left corner.
Next up for Republic FC is Real Salt Lake, a team near the bottom of the MLS Western Conference standings. However, Sacramento is 0-2 against MLS competition in Open Cup play, both losses coming against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Bee correspondent Mark Billingsley contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Republic FC wins U.S. Open Cup match, prepares to host MLS team."