Republic FC’s Youth Development Academy has gotten off to a hot start in its ninth all-time campaign.
Through the season’s opening two months, the club’s youth squads have posted an outstanding combined record of 33-5-4, taking on Northern California’s top youth competition along the way. Two of the club’s youth sides – the U-13 and U-15 squads – have opened the year unbeaten in MLS NEXT play, while the U-14, U-16 and U-17 sides each have just one loss to their records on the season.
The results have not been a surprise to the Academy’s staff. The club’s taste of the MLS NEXT Cup playoffs in 2022/23 have driven each squad to improve and work hard, as has seeing a collection of their peers – now-pro Da’vian Kimbrough, academy-contract signees Blake Willey, Ermias Yohannes, and Ethan Kelly, and others – earn opportunities with the first team and youth national team programs.
“Every player has shown incredible drive, character, and a strong work ethic through the opening part of the season,” said Republic FC Academy Director Eder Quintanilla. “Every night, each team has trained at a very high level and made each other better on and off the pitch. We’re happy with what we’ve accomplished – but there’s still a lot of work to be done this season.”
Recent Results
On the heels of an unbeaten weekend vs. Bay Area counterpart San Jose Earthquakes last week, Sacramento again posted a remarkable run of results. The club’s U-15, U-16, and U-17 combined to claim five wins from six contests against Napa United and De Anza Force from October 28-29. After a tough loss Saturday at Napa United, the U-17 side bounced back Sunday at home with a strong 2-0 win over De Anza Force. Behind a pair of braces – one each from Rylan Hashimoto and Sean Hanafee – the U-15’s recorded their seventh and eighth straight unbeaten results to open the season. In a 3-1 win, the U-16’s tallied their fifth straight victory since falling in a hard-fought contest on the opening weekend of the year.
What’s Coming Up
As the calendar changes to November, Sacramento has a collection of big games on the schedule. This weekend, Sacramento will look to defend home turf with all five squads up against Silicon Valley SA from the road in Palo Alto. It’s the first of three meetings between the two academies this season. On November 11, the U-15, U-16, and U-17 sides each head to Utah to face off with their counterparts from Real Salt Lake. Republic FC and RSL have faced off in each of the past two seasons, with the two clubs each protecting their home ground. Sacramento went unbeaten in two contests in February 2022, before RSL had the upper hand last November.
