The Indomitable Club’s Round of 16 win on Wednesday did not disappoint. Behind an electric crowd at Heart Health Park, Republic FC delivered a convincing win over the San Jose Earthquakes to advance to the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals for the first time in club history. Stout defending, timely touches, and a SportsCenter-worthy dagger from Rodrigo Lopez sent 11,569 into a frenzy as Mark Briggs’ Men bested ,San Jose for the first time.
Another Clean Sheet
Sacramento started a bit slow – in the opening minutes, it’s possible that nerves were getting the best of them. But after Danny Vitiello made a pair of stellar saves at the tail end of the 17th minute, it kicked the Indomitable Club into gear on all fronts. Sacramento’s backline returned to being impenetrable – sending away 12 corners on the night from San Jose and keeping them out of goal for their fifth clean sheet. Even as the visitors’ brought in some very dangerous reinforcements – Christian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse, and Cade Cowell – they still couldn’t break through, failing to put a shot on frame for the entire second half.
Transition Opportunities
From start of the match to the final whistle, persistence and pressure up top allowed Republic FC to overcome holding just 30% possession for the contest. Consistently, Sacramento’s ability to put pressure on San Jose in transition led to their biggest offensive chances. The club beat Quakes defenders off the line throughout the night, taking advantage of possibly their biggest edge over the visitors. The first half saw Sacramento nearly score on three other occasions – all from opportunities on the break created by a one-on-one mismatch from the physical Douglas Martinez and speedy Zeiko Lewis.
Nail in the Coffin
As time ticked down, Sacramento knew parking the bus wouldn’t be an option. The club kept pushing to take advantage of some tired legs on San Jose’s backline, bringing in Luther Archimede and Keko late.
Their hard work paid off in a big way with just six minutes to go. After Archimede drove into the attacking third, the ball was poked away, but San Jose showed little urgency to keep Sacramento from finding another opportunity. A great run by Jack Gurr allowed Matt LaGrassa to find Rodrigo Lopez with tons of space to work with, and after a quick move, unleashed a deadly rocket from the right. San Jose’s keeper, who had kept his club in the match to that point, had no chance to stop the attempt before it went in the upper 90 and made for mania in the stands. The score made Lopez Sacramento’s all-time leading scorer in Open Cup play, and also was featured in the #4 spot on the following morning’s SportsCenter Top 10.
