In a riveting Second Round matchup of the 2023 US Open Cup, Sacramento Republic FC fell behind twice and came back to beat Crossfire Redmond 5-4 after 120 minutes of play.
To the average fan at Heart Health Park watching the match, it seemed that Crossfire was the likely victor after two quick goals by midfielder Richard Aman and forward River Stewart in the 7th and 13th minutes, respectively. They would take that 2-0 scoreline into halftime and hold onto it for the majority of the game.
The Republic fought back late. Last year’s US Open Cup runner-up scored two goals in a five-minute span. First, Aldair Sanchez brought down a cross from the right wing and played it to Zeiko Lewis in front of goal to score at close range in the 81st minute. And then, four minutes later, Sanchez played provider again. He received a pass down the left wing and then played it across to Russell Cicerone who was making a run to the near post. The Republic’s offseason signing one-timed the ball into the back of the net to tie the game.
The match went into extra time and a well-placed free kick from left back Munier Hussen in the 92nd minute to put the Crossfire up 3-2. This highlighted their fight to possibly pull off the upset and advance to the next round for the first time. But the home team would fight back in the 97th minute to level the match. Jack Gurr would chip the ball into the center of the box from just outside the penalty area from the ring wing. The ball took a bounce and Cicerone volleyed it into the back of the net.
It seemed like the pros from Sacramento were ready to take over the game when they took the lead for the first time in the 105th minute. Lewis would score his second goal of the game when the Republic would dispossess a Crossfire defender in their own penalty area and with two quick passes in front of goal Lewis tapped it home.
But Crossfire Premier did not give up as Ricard Aman tied the game in the 111th minute with his second of the game.
But the goal that would seal the game for Sac Republic came from center back and Man of the Match Johnny Fenwick in the 113th minute. A ball was curled into the box into a crowd from the right wing, but was headed out toward the top of the box. The ball took a bounce and Fenwick fired a laser off the volley and crowd erupted when the ball touched the back of the net.
Recovered from last night yet? ????
Braces from @RussellCicerone and @babypinkz_12, and a match winner from @johnnyfenwick propelled the team to a comeback win over Crossfire Premier and on to the Third Round of the @opencup. ????
???? https://t.co/TfdoQxRkUF pic.twitter.com/YcYcuJs43s
— Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) April 6, 2023
Despite the win, there was a feeling of frustration that the team could have played better with fewer turnovers and capitalized on their previous opportunities to score. Forward Russell Cicerone, who scored his second and third career US Open Cup goals in the win, noted the team’s success as well as the need to improve moving forward.
“The first goal definitely helped swing the momentum of things,” said Cicerone, who signed with Sacramento after two seasons with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. “There was still a lot of work to be done, but you could see that we were starting to trend in the right direction. It shouldn’t take that long for us to get our intensity up like that but in the end, we got it there.”
Republic head coach Mark Briggs echoes Russell’s thoughts on their successes and mistakes, especially from the standpoint of how well and cohesively Crossfire played.
“I felt that the guys when they played simple and quick, they pulled the opponent apart,” said Briggs ,who has the second-best advance percentage (0.818) of any coach of the Modern Era. “But when you try and force things and try and make things happen that aren’t necessarily being presented by the opposition, then you end up making silly mistakes and you complicate the game; and you end up in transition moments, and to be fair to them they took their chances, they played extremely well.”
With this hard-fought win out of the way, Sac Republic can now focus on the next matchup of the US Open Cup against San Antonio FC, equipped with the lessons learned from this memorable game.
