Republic FC closed out its trip to the Tucson Desert Friendlies on Wednesday morning, playing to a 1-1 draw with USL League One debutant Spokane Velocity FC. The club will return home from Arizona with a great deal of progress made as preparations for the 2024 season continue.
Against the challenge of a third game in seven days, a strong second-half performance wrapped up the club’s trip south on a high note. After Spokane pulled ahead, Sacramento battled back to take control of the match. The club’s lone score came from newcomer Trevor Amann, who found the net for the equalizer. The goal opens his scoring account with his new club – offering a glimpse of what made him the League One Player of the Year and well as the second-highest scorer in all of American soccer in 2023.
It’s been a challenging week for the squad, filled with tough training sessions every day testing every player’s fitness. But Head Coach Mark Briggs was pleased with his squad’s resolve to bounce back from a slow start and play well.
“Having the guys fight through the heavy legs, fight through the time period to get their match fitness and to get their strength is the most important thing,” Briggs said. “[I was] really pleased with the with the second half and the intensity of which the group showed. The first half was not very pleasing at all, but the second half was much better and we controlled the game, dictated the game created a number of opportunities.”
Just as in the club’s previous contests, the squad’s young players shined. Briggs continued to sing praises for the club’s four homegrowns – Rafa Jauregui, Da’vian Kimbrough, Chibi Ukaegbu, and Blake Willey – as their strong performances continued. Ukaegbu contributed to the chance creating Amann’s second-half score. As a result, all four Academy products will return home having made significant contributions in camp.
“They haven’t looked out of place, have all been excellent on this trip and deserve a lot of credit,” said Briggs of the quartet following Wednesday’s draw. “They look like they deserve to be here, and they’re showing a hunger and a desire to want to play. Their performances over the three games down here – and even against San Jose before we came – I’ve just been really pleased with them.”
This weekend the club continues its preparations with its toughest preseason opponent – a visit to the Seattle Sounders. It’s a good test for Republic FC to see where they stand against top competition just over three weeks from the first game of the season.
“We’ve got three weeks to sharpen everybody, get everybody there from a fitness standpoint,” said Briggs. “Three weeks to get everybody there from a tactical and technical standpoint so we’re able to put our strongest foot forward on March 9.”
