This Wednesday, Republic FC hosts the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 for the first time in club history. It’s sure to be an exciting night at Heart Health Park, as Sacramento looks to punch their ticket to a quarterfinal match in Los Angeles and claim NorCal superiority over San Jose Earthquakes.
At a Glance: #SACvSJ
- Wednesday, May 25
- 7:30 PM kickoff (Gates open at 6:00 PM)
- Heart Health Park, Sacramento, CA
- How to watch: ESPN+
- Tickets
The Latest – Republic FC
For Sacramento, Wednesday’s match has the full attention of the entire squad. The club’s loss to El Paso last week is firmly in the rear-view mirror with all of their focus now being dedicated to advancing to the Quarterfinal stage of American Soccer’s oldest tournament.
Coming in, the club will have had a full week of training and preparation under their belt to fine tune on the attacking end and work to maintain their defensive excellence. Should they keep consistent with their last few performances, they’ll have a great chance to get a win. Mark Briggs’ men have pulled out all of the stops to take advantage of every edge they believe they have – from the players on the roster who have previous history with the Bay Area side, to making sure the fine print of the game plan is just how they want it.
Know Your Opponent
San Jose enters Wednesday’s NorCal Derby in good form. Sunday, they drew with Sporting Kansas City in league play, and last Wednesday took a thrilling 3-2 win over Portland Timbers. Since April 23, the club’s dropped points just once, adding an Open Cup penalty-shootout win over Seattle Sounders on May 11. Excellence up top has fueled their surge, as they’ve risen to be one of Major League Soccer’s top scoring squads with 23 goals on the year.
The Quakes do have the short end of the stick when it comes to the schedule. On Wednesday, they will be taking the pitch for the fourth time in ten days, but like what happened with Sacramento on May 11 in their final game of a demanding stretch San Jose could be energized by their trip north. After all, the contest represents a lot for all fans, players, coaches, and more regardless of what leads up to it.
Head to Head History
Wednesday’s contest will be the fourth competitive match between Sacramento and San Jose, all of them in Open Cup play. San Jose has taken the victory in each fixture to this point, but did so with the benefit of home-field advantage each time. The two sides’ last meeting was a back-and-forth thriller, ending 4-3 after a flurry of late scores.
