Republic FC is back on the pitch at Heart Health Park this weekend, welcoming local rival Monterey Bay F.C. to Sacramento for its final exhibition match of preseason.
The match marks the final tune-up for the club ahead of the season opener on March 9, when Orange County SC comes to town. Head Coach Mark Briggs will be looking for his side to make their final adjustments, as well as fine-tune their fitness and help kick off the season on a positive note.
“Obviously leading into the home opener, you want to start off on a positive foot. So you want to get the right result,” said Briggs at Thursday’s training session. “But I want to see what we’ve worked on throughout preseason, some of the some of the things that we’ve asked of them differently come out and put us in a good spot to then open up with Orange County.”
Of course, playing the first match of the season before fans at Heart Health Park offers excitement as well.
“It’s been a long preseason, there’s been a lot of hard work put in and I think you’re starting to feel more like the season’s coming around and it’s a proper game,” said Nick Ross. With fans here, it’ll be good to see everyone again and be back at home.”
Republic FC has performed well in each of its eight exhibitions to help the club prepare. The club’s young players have stood out, with their performances proving they belong on the first team roster. The club’s veterans have continued where they left off, performing at a high level just as they did last season.
“The young boys – Chibi [Ukaegbu], Blake [Willey], Da’vian [Kimbrough], they’ve been excellent. Nick Ross has just carried on from last year, hasn’t missed a beat and he’s been phenomenal throughout preseason,” said Briggs. “Jared Timmer has been excellent as usual, just Mr. Consistent, performs at a high level. Jared Mazzola’s come in and he’s had a fantastic preseason and Rafa Jauregui – I think he’s scored four and got four or five assists – he’s hit the ground running.”
“We’ve been able to make the chemistry a bit stronger,” said Jauregui of training camp. “[And develop] a strong mentality – we never want to settle for a draw. We want to score goals, and we want to keep the ball out of the net.”
Although points aren’t on the line on Saturday, the contest will have all the feel of a regional derby. Monterey Bay bested Sacramento in their one regular season visit in 2023, and since their entry to the league have always been a tough team to play against.
“They’re always very organized, they always come here and are excited to play,” Briggs said of the Seaside club. “So we have to get used to handling teams coming in here with the excitement of playing on this field and playing in front of a good crowd. It’s a preseason friendly, but it’s the final tune-up for everybody. So we want to make sure first and foremost we get through the game healthy and then secondly, we get the right result.”
