Following Republic FC’s opening night draw vs. Orange County SC, one thing was clear to fans in Sacramento and pundits across the league: Trevor Amann is the real deal.
The 2023 USL League One Player of the Year – signed in November to make the jump to USL Championship – put in a big performance in debut. A pair of scores made him just the second Republic FC player all-time to net a brace in his debut match.
Amann’s two scores showed off part of what made him such an exciting signing – his ability to score in any way. The Colorado native’s first score came through the air, as a perfectly timed run allowed him to meet a Cristian Parano cross from the left flank.
The second score was all him. With the ball at his feet, Amann drove towards goal and unleashed a rocket of a shot that neither the goalkeeper nor the one defender in his way could touch.
His 77th minute strike also earned some well-deserved praise across social media:
The forward was the only player across the league to net a brace in Week 1 – putting him atop the Golden Boot rankings to start the season. He also finished the night with a team and league-high four total shots and had the highest expected goals rating of the match between the Quails and Orange County.
“It feels good to score goals. That’s what I love doing, that’s part of my job on the team,” Amann said after the match. “I think it was a decent performance, so we got to build from here and just keep getting better every day.”
“He’s a goal scorer. He’s a striker. I think you saw his desire with the first goal to sprint into the box, to get on the end of the cross, said Head Coach Mark Briggs on his performance. “And then his second goal – what can you say? It’s just a top goal. And he’s going to score lots and lots of those goals this year, but to do it on his debut, we’re just really pleased for him and really pleased that we’ve got him on our team.”
Amann will look to continue his momentum as Republic FC heads East for its second match of the year – an inter-conference clash with Miami FC in South Florida. Kickoff is set for 4:00 PM PT from FIU Football Stadium. The match marks the first of back-to-back road contests for Sacramento before returning to action at home on March 30 to face Memphis 901 FC.
