Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

Sacramento Republic

2023 US Open Cup Round 3: Sacramento Republic wins “gritty” battle with NorCal rival Oakland Roots

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Nick Ross of the Sacramento Republic celebrates a goal with his teammates against Oakland Roots in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC
Nick Ross of the Sacramento Republic celebrates a goal with his teammates against Oakland Roots in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC

On Wednesday night, Sacramento Republic FC played host to Northern California USL Championship rival Oakland Roots in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Republic FC opened the scoring in the 49th minute after forward Russell Cicerone laid it off just outside the 18-yard box to midfielder Nick Ross who stepped into space without any resistance and smashed it home to give the home side a 1-0 advantage. The lone goal is all Republic FC would need to advance and punch their ticket to the Round of 32. 

“I thought it was a gritty performance from the guys,” said Republic FC’s Mark Briggs, who now has the Modern Era’s second-highest advance percentage as a manager (0.833). “When you face a local rival like Oakland and what they bring to the game, it’s always gritty and it’s always a battle. I think you saw that throughout the game. It wasn’t really free flowing. There’s a lot of stoppages, a lot of fouls. So we had to handle that and adapt. But we’re in the draw tomorrow, and that’s all that matters when playing a cup competition.”

Collectively, the two sides only combined for three shots on goal. Oakland Roots had their only chance in the 28th minute after a poor Republic giveaway at midfield. However, goalkeeper Carlos Saldana made an incredible foot save denying Roots captain Joseph Nane the goal. 

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Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a “We Want The Cup” shirt in your team’s colors. Visit THECUP.US SHOP

 

The Republic’s only other chance came in the 39th minute, when defender Jack Gurr’s free kick found Luis Felipe, but his shot hit the crossbar. 

In the end, it doesn’t matter how you advance in the Open Cup tournament, you just need to advance. Like Briggs said, all that matters is that they’re moving on. And for a player like Nick Ross — who’s battled through injuries the past few years to get his first goal — was special.

“Aldair had a great run which set me up perfectly for the space,” he said. “I took a chance and it hit. I didn’t think it counted because no one celebrated with me at first. I think everyone was in shock that I scored. 

“It was nice for me, I had my wife and my son here, they’ve been waiting for a goal for two years. It’s nice for them to be here. I’m delighted, and just happy that we won the game.”

With the win, the Republic add to their impressive Open Cup resume. The victory was the club’s 20th in 28 games, and they’ve done most of their damage in front of their home fans. Sacramento is 18-1-1 (1-0 PKs) at home and Wednesday’s win improves their home unbeaten streak to 14 games, which is the second-longest streak in the Modern Era (1995-present). They haven’t lost a home game in the US Open Cup since they were upset by the Kitsap Pumas in the Third Round in the 2016 tournament. 

2023 US Open Cup Round 2: Sacramento Republic survives 9-goal OT thriller with upset-minded Crossfire Premier

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Johnny Fenwick of the Sacramento Republic celebrates after scoring a goal against Crossfire Premier in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC
Johnny Fenwick of the Sacramento Republic celebrates after scoring a goal against Crossfire Premier in the 2023 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC

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. 

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.

2022 US Open Cup Quarterfinals: Long-range winner helps Sacramento Republic score rare road upset of LA Galaxy

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Sacramento Republic players celebrate after defeating the LA Galaxy 2-1 in the Quarterfinals of the 2022 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC

A goal in the fourth minute of the quarterfinal match of the 2022 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup foreshadowed Sacramento’ Republic FC’s 2-1 upset victory over the LA Galaxy on Tuesday night.

“​​I think shows that we’re a football club that can be that can compete with the elite clubs in this country … so proud of the group we have here and the result that we’ve achieved tonight,” said Sacramento Republic FC head coach Mark Briggs, who will lead his club into the Semifinals for the first time in team history.

This marks just the 14th time that a lower division team has advance to the US Open Cup Semifinals, and they are the ninth different club to do it. It is the fourth time that Sacramento has upset a MLS team

Sacramento also becomes just the second club (and the first lower division club) in the last 21 years to win a US Open Cup game on the Galaxy’s home field. 

A battle of possession looked to be in the favor of the LA Galaxy, however, that was short-lived when Sacramento FC created its first opportunity of the night.

Just four minutes into the match, a play from the backfield to its strikers, Sacramento Republic’s Douglas Martinez took possession of the ball and quickly released it to fellow teammate Rodrigo Lopez.

Lopez completed the pass from Martinez and put up Sacramento Republic FC on the board early on.

.It was Rodrigo Lopez’s seventh career US Open Cup goal, which pulled him ahead of Tommy Stewart on the Republic’s all-time tournament scoring list. It also gave him four goals for the 2022 US Open Cup which puts him alone atop the competition’s leaderboard.

His seven career goals and seven career assists in the US Open Cup give him 21 points which put the 35-year-old tied for 12th on the Modern Era’s scoring chart. 

A bit distraught by the early defect, the Galaxy began to increase their pressure on Sacramento. A few close shots were attempted from the added offensive push, but all would just barely skim outside the goal posts or were blocked by Sacramento’s goalie.

 

However, in front of Sacramento’s goal post, a small huddle appeared where both teams attempted to remove the ball and score at the same time. Unknowingly to both, the ball would be played by a Sacramento player and fall into their own goal.

The match would turn into a 1-1 score in the 18th minute.

With that unforeseen own goal, both teams were now eager to surpass the other. The momentum increased, but so did the aggressive play on the pitch. Two yellow cards were awarded to LA Galaxy, one in the 25th minute (Kevin Cabral) and the 42nd minute (Derrick Williams). Sacramento Republic FC did not just scrape the first half without a caution, as Jack Gurr received a yellow in the 37th minute.

However, the pace of the game would continue the same, and even with three minutes added to the half; neither team would take the lead.

Returning to the pitch for the second half, the aggressiveness from the first half continued to be prominent with both teams.

Though just like most of the match, opportunities were created but were just inches away from the goal.

It wasn’t until the 70th minute that Sacramento Republic FC would find itself finally taking back the lead. Luis Felipe Rodrigues would be just feet outside of the goalie box for a straight shot to the right side of the goal post and just inches out of the reach of LA Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann’s reach.

“It’s great for Luis, obviously, he was with San Jose for three years, and didn’t get the minutes that he would have liked. And he’s come to us and last year he was fantastic for us, playing defensive midfield and was one of our top goal scorers. And then this year, he’s carried on that form,” Briggs said.

The score was now 2-1 and with less than 20 minutes remaining in the match, LA Galaxy looked to create a comeback before the end of regulation time.

With no other close opportunities created by LA Galaxy, Sacramento Republic FC held on for the win to become the first lower division team to reach the Semifinals since FC Cincinnati of the USL (2nd div. pro) cracked the final four in 2017.

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Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a “We Want The Cup” shirt in your team’s colors. Visit THECUP.US SHOP

It was a rare home loss for the Galaxy in the tournament. It was just the fourth time that the MLS side had lost a US Open Cup game at home, dropping their all-time record to to 25-4-0. Entering tonight, they had won their last six home games and 23 of their last 24 in the competition, a run that dates back to 2001, and includes a 2-0 win over the Sacramento Repubulic in the Round of 16 in 2017. 

“I think winning football games gives confidence or were focused on we want tonight we’re through to the semi-final, which is the next round. That’s all we can focus on. Take each game as it comes. Taking each opponent as it comes, makes you make sure the players are tactically set up correctly. Make sure the players understand our strengths, their weaknesses, and how we can win games and then ask the players to execute like they did tonight,” Briggs said.

The Republic will play the winner of Sporting Kansas City (MLS) and Union Omaha (USL League One) in the Semifinals. The host for that game, and the hosting priority for the US Open Cup Final will take place on Wednesday, June 23.

2018 US Open Cup Round 5: Diego Rossi’s late winner for LAFC completes comeback vs. Sacramento Republic

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Pasted image at 2018_06_20 11_32 PMOn an dramatic night of soccer, the host Los Angeles FC came back twice from a goal down to level the match against a tough Sacramento Republic side looking for their second consecutive upset. LAFC was able to advance to the Quarterfinals of the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup as they kept fighting until the final moments of the match when Diego Rossi found Latif Blessing for the winner in the 89th minute.

“We said it before the match and then again at half time that Cup matches you have to earn. We don’t get anything for free,” commented LAFC head coach Bob Bradley after the match. “I think that there was a good mentality.”

LAFC was on the front foot early, controlling much of the possession and making runs in behind the Republic defense. The best chance of the opening moment fell to Lee Nguyen in the 7th minute, but he curled his effort over the keeper and back out off the cross bar.

Benny Feilhaber of LAFC celebrates a goal against the Sacramento Republic in the Fifth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: LAFC
Benny Feilhaber of LAFC celebrates a goal against the Sacramento Republic in the Fifth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: LAFC

This was followed by a long spell of Sacramento finding their way back into the match as neither side created any major chance until the Republic’s Cameron Iwasa drove down the side of the box and fired a shot that just hit the post and rebounded out in the 24th minute of play. Villyan Bijev found the ensuing rebound, forcing LAFC’s keeper Tyler Miller into a point blank save to keep the score level.

This chance gave Sacramento confidence as they were able to find the first goal of the match not long after that. Jure Matjesic forced another big save out of Miller, but Elliot Hord was there to smash home the rebound for Republic to give them the 1-0 lead in the 35th minute.

LAFC kept fighting, and they earned a penalty kick just before the half time whistle. Captain Benny Feilhaber stepped up to take it, but Sacramento goalie Josh Cohen saved his shot easily. The visitors took a 1-0 lead into the break.

“It was disappointing. I expect to score the penalties that I take,” said Feilhaber after the match. “I don’t think it effected me other than maybe driving me to do something to atone for it and get us back on track as a team.”

“In terms of strong leadership and good performance, I thought Benny had a good game,” said coach Bradley about his captain when asked about the penalty miss.

The first 15 minutes of the second half started off slowly as neither side was able to create anything to threaten the other side. That all changed in the 58th minute when Feilhaber atoned for his missed PK miss to level the match at one goal a piece.

“I think I got a little more space than I thought I would. I turned and faced them up and just drifted inside,” said Feilhaber about his equalizing goal. “I still don’t think I kicked it that well.”

Despite leveling the score, the Republic hit back within a minute to once again take the lead as substitute Jaime Villarreal laid the ball off to Villyan Bijev who scored a beautiful goal to make it 2-1 in the 60th minute in favor of the visitors once again.

Following this effort, it became the Diego Rossi show as the Uruguayan hit the post in the 66th minute before finding LAFC’s second equalizer about a minute later. Rossi was played in by Lee Nguyen before burying the shot to make the score 2-2.

“Diego really pushed hard so that, special Uruguayan mentality is on display all the time,” said Bob Bradley after the match.

Rossi once again hit the post in search of the go ahead goal in the 85th minute, as the match looked destined for extra time. Then in the 89th minute, Diego Rossi was again away on the break, but this time he played in the perfect ball across goal for Latif Blessing to tap home the game-winning goal as the home side went up 3-2.

“Obviously Sacramento is a good team,” said Feilhaber after the match. “Cup games, whether it is here or anywhere else in the world, are always tough games.” LAFC will now host the Timbers at home on July 18th just a few days after playing them in MLS league play. “If you asked me which I would rather win I’d say the Open Cup and get to the semis,” said Feilhaber about the importance of continuing this Cup run. “Overall I thought we played a lot of good football and we advanced in the Cup and I look forward to playing Portland on the 18th,” said Bradley about leading his expansion team to the Quarterfinals.

2018 US Open Cup Round 4: Sacramento Republic claim another MLS upset with OT win over Seattle Sounders

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The Sacramento Republic FC defeated the Seattle Sounders FC of MLS in the Fourth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC
The Sacramento Republic FC defeated the Seattle Sounders FC of MLS in the Fourth Round of the 2018 US Open Cup. Photo: Sacramento Republic FC

For the second year in a row, the Sacramento Republic were able to pull off another upset in front of their home fans as they topped the four-time US Open Cup champion, Seattle Sounders FC, by a score of 2-1. The USL side was on the front foot for much of the night before eventually grabbing the late winner with a goal by substitute Jure Matjašič in the 115th minute of play.

“It’s another step forward,” said Sacramento head coach Simon Elliot about the massive win. “We are pleased to win and we are pleased to get to the next round.”

The Republic controlled most of the first half as the Sounders only had one shot on target very early on in the match. Sacramento was able to create loads of chances but was unable to convert any of those chances into a goal.

“We dominated for long periods but we weren’t clinical enough,” said Elliot about his team’s performance.

The best of those chances came first in the 8th minute when Elliot Hord was just barely unable to finish on the back post. The other major chance in the first half fell to captain Adam Moffat who missed his long range effort just wide in the 35th minute as the half finished 0-0.

The second half began much like the first half as the home side was in control and looked comfortable though out. The breakthough goal eventually came in the 60th minute when the hometown kid, Cameron Iwasa, finished off a cross from Elliot Hord to give the home side the deserved 1-0 advantage.

“Elliot absolutely worked his tail off,” said Simon about the man who set up the opening goal.

Sacramento continued to control the possession and most of the play on the field as they searched for a second goal to seal the match. The Republic came close in the 71st minute when Iwasa forced a huge save out of Sounders goalkeeper Bryan Meredith.

Then again in the 83rd minute, the man of the match, Vilyan Bijev, forced another save out of Meredith. It appeared that the home side would kill the match off as they continued to push for their second goal. Not too long after that, Sacramento’s Justin Schmidt just missed his effort on the doorstep, which surely would have ended the match in the 90th minute.

However, the Republic were hit with a deflected equalizer in the 92nd minute of play when Sounders substitute, Harry Shipp, came up with the goal to send the match to extra time and silence the home crowd on the Sounders’ second shot on target.

Sacramento did not let the goal affect them however as they went right back to dominating in the extra time.

“I was very pleased with the response after Seattle got the goal,” said Elliot. “You can’t drop your heads just because you lose a goal. You have to pick yourself up and keep going.”

Sacramento found the game-winning goal through Jure Matjašič in the 115th minute when a rebounded effort off the foot of Bijev fell kindly to Matjašič who calmly finished off the goal to give his side the 2-1 lead late.

2018 US Open Cup Round 3: Kevin Aleman’s stunning free kick lifts Sacramento Republic past Reno 1868 FC

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USOC SAC-RNO FINALUSL sides Sacramento Republic and Reno 1868 FC tangled in a Third Round match in Nevada, with the Republic coming out victorious. The away side held control for most of the match, but couldn’t break through until about twenty minutes from time. Keven Alemán’s free kick just outside the box hit the back of the net, sending Sacramento through to the Fourth Round, earning the right to play an MLS side.

The first half was wide open, with the Republic creating the few major chances that occurred in the half. They started in the 8th minute, when Hayden Partain was played in by Jaime Villarreal, but missed the cross. Again in the 28th minute, the visitors had another chance, but Alemán saw his effort tackled away at the last possible second. Their best chance of the first half came in the 32nd minute, when an awful Reno back pass played in Cameron Iwasa, but 1868 keeper Kyle Ihn expertly saved Iwasa’s effort.

“We had the better chances in the first half. We didn’t take them. Ian’s teams are tough and well organized,” said Sacramento Head Coach Simon Elliott, as the game went into the half scoreless. “It is always a battle whenever we play them.” Elliott elaborated, “I think when you are on the front foot, we need to take advantage and be more clinical. You let good teams stick around like Reno and they will punish you. They punished us last time, but this time we got away with it.”

The second half played out much like the first half, as Sacramento controlled possession and pushed for the break through goal. The goal eventually came from Man of the Match Keven Alemán. He expertly curled in a free kick from the top of the box, giving the Republic the 1-0 advantage. “He was motivated,” said Elliott about his star player on the night. “He’s been out for a little while with an injury, so he was motivated to play. He got a little frustrated at times in the first half, but what was really pleasing is that he kept going and kept going and got his reward with a really nice goal. So we are delighted for him.”

Following the goal, Reno finally started to build their way into the match, with most of their best chances coming late in the game as they searched for an equalizer. They had a chance in the 83rd minute from Danny Musovski, but the visitors expertly blocked the effort. This began a spell of heavy pressure for the final 10 minutes of the match. 1868 got close to an equalizer three times in stoppage time. First, Christian Thierjung fired over the bar, then Danny Musovski’s diving header hit the post, and finally Connor Johnson fired wide from range as the match ended 1-0 in favor of the Republic.

The win puts Sacramento Republic back in the Fourth Round for the fourth time in their five year existence. They will attempt to improve on their 1-2-1 (0-1 in PKs) record and repeat a win over MLS from last year, when they beat Real Salt Lake 4-1 in the same round.

2018 US Open Cup Round 2: Sacramento Republic overcome slow start, eliminate San Francisco City

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USOC SFC-SR FINALSacramento Republic fans and players were a bit worried for the first 45 minutes in the game against their lower league opposition, San Francisco City FC, as the match was balanced throughout the first half. However, in the end, the professionals from Sacramento showed their experience as they went on to win the match 3-1 off of a comfortable second half performance to advance to Round 3 of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

“I thought we were slow to get started. Turnovers from simple pressure were a problem for us. That’s something we need to tidy up,” said Sacramento Republic’s head coach Simon Elliot about the sluggish start to the game for his side.

For the opening 20 minutes of the match, both sides looked comfortable as they felt each other out. They both saw a few half chances during this period, but neither side was able to find the breakthrough chance.

The first major chance of the match fell the way of the PDL side from San Francisco when in the 22nd minute Aaron Lombardi saw his shot from the top of the box blocked. A rebound effort fell to Robert Hines, whose point blank effort was saved excellently by Sacramento’s keeper, Rafael Diaz.

Less than a minute later, Sacramento was able to hit the back of the net when Kevin Aleman found the ball off a rebound to put the home side in front 1-0.

“After about 20 minutes, I thought we got going,” said Elliot.

City did not get their heads down however, and eventually found an equalizer in the 31st minute when Robert Hines played a perfect left footed cross that Aaron Lombardi expertly finished to level the score at 1-1.

The rest of the half played out similar to the first 20 minutes, as neither side took control of the game. The half ended all square.

The second half was a different story as Simon Elliot made two changes and obviously said something to his players to get them to kick it up a notch. “I’m not sure I can tell you that,” said Elliot about what he said to his players at the intermission. “You probably get the idea. You can make something up. It’s just that high standards are always important. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing in the park or at Papa Murphy’s Park in front of 11,000. If you are wearing the badge and you got the shirt on, it’s high standards. It has to be all the time.”

The Republic found the go-ahead goal and what turned out to be the winning goal in the 60th minute when Mitchell Taintor found one of the substitutes, Villyan Bijev, who managed to get the ball across the line. “I think the second half was better. I think the subs helped. We still need to understand a little bit of game management. We eventually got the message and had enough quality to take care of the game.”

Sacramento then went on to put the game to bed in the 68th minute when Adam Moffat finished after a scramble in the box to all but seal the game for Republic as the two-goal cushion was too big a hill to climb for San Francisco.

“Every game is important. It’s professional soccer,” said Elliot on the importance of a good Cup run. “Every time you go out there, it’s a tough game. In the USL, it’s tough games with good players and good coaching and this is no different.”

Sacramento will travel to play their rivals ,Reno 1868, in Round 3 of the Cup next week.

2017 US Open Cup Round 5: Young Galaxy players take care of business vs. Sacramento Republic

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Ariel Lassiter of the Los Angeles Galaxy scored his second goal of the tournament in a 2-0 home win over the Sacramento Republic. Photo: LA Galaxy
Ariel Lassiter of the Los Angeles Galaxy scored his second goal of the tournament in a 2-0 home win over the Sacramento Republic. Photo: LA Galaxy

MLS side LA Galaxy relied heavily on its youngsters to help the team advance from the Round of 16 of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Wednesday night.

Ariel Lassiter and Bradford Jamieson found the back of the net as the Galaxy defeated Sacramento Republic FC (USL), 2-0, at the StubHub Center’s Track & Field Stadium.

“We’ve talked about getting production out of our younger players and they stepped up,” Galaxy head coach Curt Onalfo said. “Guys need an opportunity to see if they can do it, and it’s encouraging what we’re seeing right now.”

It was Lassiter’s second goal in as many US Open Cup games for the Galaxy, which advances to play at San Jose Earthquakes in the USOC Quarterfinal Round on July 10.

“Getting a goal tonight was a plus, and a confidence booster for sure. We just need to keep it up,” Lassiter said. “I’m always looking to get minutes with the first team and get better.” Onalfo was forced to again stretch his roster as the team completed its fifth game in just two weeks across all competitions. “It’s good to use the entire roster because it is busy right now,” Onalfo said. Sacramento Republic FC forward Tyler Blackwood had two shots on goal, both of which were turned away by Galaxy goalkeeper Jon Kempin during a scoreless first half. Galaxy captain Jelle Van Damme entered to begin the second half and quickly put his team in motion, attacking up the middle before earning a foul and a free kick about 22 yards from goal. Lassiter, who scored in a 3-1 win over Orange County SC (USL) in the 4th Round, stepped up and laced a left-footed free kick into the upper right corner out of the reach of Republic FC keeper Evan Newton for the game’s first goal. “I knew (Newton) couldn’t see the ball if I hit it right over the wall, and I just focused on connecting well, keeping it on target and it went into the back of the net,” Lassiter said. Not settling for a one-goal lead, Bradford Jamieson unleashed a shot from the right side that took a deflection and beat Newton for a 2-0 lead.

“It was all instinct pretty much,” Jamieson said. “The defender hesitated and I just took the hit.”

Galaxy continued to produce attacking moments late into the game, with Lassiter beating a Republic FC defender to the goal line before crossing to the middle for Jose Villareal to fire just over the bar.

“We put in a good performance. I thought it should’ve been more than 2-0 but we were really aggressive in our approach,” Onalfo said.

With the win, the Galaxy earned the club’s 30th Open Cup game (30-14-1, 1-0 PK), the 7th most wins in the Modern Era. The Galaxy’s home record improves to an impressive 21-3-0 all-time.

It was the end of the line for Sacramento Republic FC, which had earned a historic victory over Real Salt Lake (MLS) in the Fourth Round en route to the club’s deepest tournament run.

2017 US Open Cup Round 4: Sacramento Republic conquer RSL to earn first win over MLS team

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sacramento-republic-vs-real-salt-lake-2017-usoc-bigMaybe they just like to play in the U.S. Open Cup.

Starting the USL season in indifferent form, Sacramento Republic FC are having statistically their worst-ever season, scoring just 11 goals in 13 games, en route to a 4-6-3 start that has the club on the outside looking in of the playoff race.

But at the same time, the Republic’s cup form has been impeccable, especially Wednesday night at Papa Murphy’s Park when Sacramento picked up their first-ever victory against an MLS club in the competition, defeating Real Salt Lake 4-1 in a dominating performance.

In doing so, the Republic have now scored ten goals in just three Open Cup matches, a far cry from their league form.

“We’ve had so much disappointment this season with results, not performances,” said head coach Paul Buckle. “I was delighted with the performance in the end, the character, great fitness levels, we kept the ball very well, we scored some good goals and we looked very dangerous.”

The city of Sacramento was pretty excited on social media after the club's first-ever win over an MLS opponent.
The city of Sacramento was pretty excited on social media after the club’s first-ever win over an MLS opponent.

After dominating the possession and coming up short on four corner kicks in the first half, the Republic finally hit pay-dirt on the fifth, in the 29th minute of the game.

Though the initial chance was cleared out by the Real Salt Lake defense, the ball fell to Sacramento left back James Kiffe, who played a cross far post to Danny Barrera. Barrera made his name in the competition playing for the 2012 Cal FC side that reached the fifth round of the tournament.

Barrera laid out full stretch to head the ball back across the box to Trinidad and Tobago international Trevin Caesar, who rippled the back of the net on the half volley for a 1-0 lead.

It was a lead that would last just six minutes as Real Salt Lake equalized completely against the run of play on a slaloming run through the heart of the Republic defense that ended with Ricardo Velazco rifling a shot low and hard past Sacramento goalkeeper Evan Newton.

But a Republic side that had played poorly in the USL as of late wouldn’t stop fighting, and again took the lead two minutes before half time, again off of a service from Danny Barrera on a cleared corner kick.

With the ball on his cultured left foot, Barrera whipped a cross into the near post that defensive midfielder Augustin Cazarez flicked to the far post and into the back of the net for a 2-1 lead.

For Cazarez, a quiet-spoken defensive midfielder, it was his first competitive goal for the club in exactly two years and one day, dating back to a 2-1 USL victory over Arizona United in 2015.

Just two minutes later it went from bad to worse for Real Salt Lake, who fouled Caesar in the box, leading Jeremey Hall to step up and blast the ensuing penalty off the post and into the goal for a 3-1 halftime advantage.

Barrera sealed the game late, getting on the scoresheet himself with a diving header off of a Kiffe cross that sent the home crowd into pandemonium, and for the first time, the Republic into the last 16 of the Open Cup.

2017 US Open Cup Round 3: Sacramento Republic’s “complete performance” leads to win over Reno 1868

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Sacramento Republic logoSacramento Republic had their most complete performance of the year to top new rivals, Reno 1868, 2-0 in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

The Republic were led by a goal and an assist from forward Trevin Caesar to earn the right to host their first ever MLS side in their home stadium in the Fourth Round against Real Salt Lake.

“I thought it was a complete performance from our boys tonight and now we face an MLS team,” said Republic head coach Paul Buckle.

The Republic took control of the game straight from the first whistle and were all over Reno from the start. Their best effort came in the 11th minute when Trevin Caesar dribbled the ball to the center of the box before firing it just wide.

They created more chances in the 18th minute when Reno goalie Russ Klabough was forced to parry the shot from Danny Barrera wide before a follow up shot from Agustin Cazarez forced a second save out of the Reno keeper.

Sacramento continued its relentless pressure for most of the first half. They were eventually rewarded with a goal when Caesar slipped the ball into Harry Williams who buried his chance to give the Republic the lead just before the break, 1-0.

“I was thrilled to see Trevin Caesar build on Saturday. That’s the Trevin Caesar the fans want to see, and I want to see running in behind teams, using his pace,” Buckle said.

The second half played out very similar to the first as the Republic were clicking on every level.

“It was a wonderful performance tonight. I thought the players were magnificent tonight,” Buckle said. “You saw fight, you saw energy, you saw goals, you saw chances created and a clean sheet, against a good side.”

Caesar went on to cap his performance when he found the back of the net in 59th minute.

“Trevin’s finish was excellent. I was wanting him to pass it into Sammy and he just drove it bottom corner,” Buckle said.

Reno would push for a goal, which left them exposed at the back, allowing Sacramento a few more chances to kill the match off, but they were unable to capitalize. For the expansion side, they are the first professional team from Nevada to ever qualify for the tournament.

“I desperately wanted to win the game, you know, so we can get an MLS side,” Buckle said. “It’s what we want to see. It’s what ownership wanted. We all wanted it, and we got it and I’m proud of the boys, I’m very proud of the team tonight.”

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