Sacramento Republic FC played host to Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes Tuesday night in the Round of 16 of the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup at Heart Health Park in front of a raucous crowd of 11,569. It was the fifth all-time meeting between the clubs with the Earthquakes holding a 3-1 match advantage. In the words of the beloved character Stefon from Saturday Night Live (Bill Hader), this match “had everything.”
Behind a first half brace from Republic FC forward (and Huddersfield Town loanee) Kiernan Phillips and theatrics in the second period of extra time where the Republic got goals from Luis Felipe in the 106th minute (assisted by Rafael Jauregui) and Sebstian Herrera (assisted by Cristian Parano) in the 108th minute, the Quails held on for a 4-3 win and knocked the Earthquakes out of the Open Cup tournament for the second time in three years. The Earthquakes winless road streak in the Open Cup also pushed to 10 games, which is the most in the Modern Era (1995-present).
Sacramento now has eliminated six MLS teams in tournament play, which is tied for third of all of the lower division clubs of the Modern Era.
“I thought the guys showed unbelievable heart, unbelievable character, and unbelievable resilience to come back in extra time after we conceded that third goal,” said Republic FC Manager Mark Briggs. “A lot of teams would have caved in, a lot of teams would have gone under, but they showed their grit and they showed heart and they showed the Indomitable Spirit at the end of the day. And we managed to come back into it. I thought Cristian Parano came in and was excellent, Sebastian Herrera came in and was excellent. And that’s the difference and that’s why we’re in the next round.”
The Earthquakes got on the board first in the 11th minute when forward Benji Kikanović made an unbelievable run up the left side, and his left footed cross found a wide open Preston Judd who calmly slotted it home to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
That lead would last five minutes when in the 17th minute, Luis Felipe received a beautifully weighted ball from midfield from Trevor Amnan. He quickly dribbled up the left hand side, and his left footed cross found Republic forward Kieran Phillips to level the score at 1-1.
Republic FC would strike again in the 38th minute when defender Jack Gurr played the ball up the right hand side, crossed the ball to Phillips, who had made a brilliant trailing run up the middle and hammered home his second goal of the half. With the goal, Phillips secured his first brace as a member of the Republic and third goal in two Open Cup matches, which ties him for second place in the 2024 tournament with Cal Jennings from the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
San Jose leveled the match in the 80th minute on a well-placed Christan Espinoza free kick.just outside the 18 yard box. After some dangerous chances for both sides in the final 10 minutes, they went to extra time tied 2-2.
In the 100th minute, Hernan Lopez gave the Earthquakes a 3-2 lead on an assist from Jack Skahan, which seemed to be the end of the line for the Republic. That’s when things got wacky.
In the 106th minute, Felipe tied the score at 3-3, and two minutes later, it was Herrera scoring the go-ahead goal, which sent Heart Health Park into an absolute frenzy. The Republic were able to hold off a mounting attack from the Earthquakes over the next 12 minutes and punched their ticket to the next round with a dramatic 4-3 victory. The win also moved Republic FC’s all-time home record in the Open Cup to 20-2-1 (1-1 in penalty shootouts).
“Once again, the team showed great resilience to get scored on, go again, score goals, get scored on again, “said Felipe. just a great team performance overall gives us confidence to move on in the tournament. Every time we have a game like this here at home, we feel great. The atmosphere is insane. I love playing for the city, for this club. It’s amazing.”
Republic FC will learn their opponent and hosting rights on May 22 at 10 p.m. ET on U.S. Soccer’s YouTube page.