Sacramento, Calif. – On Tuesday, the USL Championship announced Republic FC’s Damia Viader and Lee Desmond were named to the Team of the Week, and Rodrigo Lopez was named to Team of the Week Bench for Week 14. The trio helped Sacramento record the club’s second clean sheet in a row, while also become the first team this season to defeat Detroit City FC at Keyworth Stadium on June 11.
Viader set the tone for the club in just the 10th minute, taking control of an errant clearance in the midfield before pushing forward and striking an excellent shot from distance to open the scoring. In addition, he intercepted four passes, led the club in total touches, and completed 70% of his passing attempts in the final third of the pitch.
On the backline, Desmond helped Sacramento keep silent the hosts’ dangerous offensive unit, winning 10 of 16 one-on-one duels. The defender took possession from Detroit attackers five times, and alongside Dan Casey and Conor Donovan kept Detroit to just four shots on target for the match.
Lopez was fantastic on the offensive end, creating three chances and serving in five crosses. He tallied his fifth assist of the season, across all competitions, on a 56th minute score from Keko that doubled Republic FC’s lead.
The selection is the second all-time for Viader, and his first selection to the league’s Best XI. He previously was named to Team of the Week Bench in Week 6 following his performance against Orange County SC. Lopez’s selection is the 16th of his career and his third of the season after earning the honor in Week 1 and again in Week 4. This is Desmond’s first Team of the Week selection of his USL career.
Alongside Viader’s selection, the Spaniard’s 10th minute score has been nominated for Fan’s Choice Goal of the Week for Week 14. Voting is open now at USLChampionship.com through Thursday, June 16 at 9:00 a.m. PT.
Republic FC is back in action this Saturday, when the club hosts LA Galaxy II at Heart Health Park for the only time this season. Kickoff for the contest is set for 8:00 p.m., and the match will be broadcast live on FOX40, FOX40.com and the FOX40 App, and streaming on ESPN+. Tickets are available at SacRepublicFC.com/single-match-tickets.
