Gallery: A Look Back at Republic FC’s Past MLS Cupsets

Sacramento Republic FC’s Danny Barrera and Trevin Caesar teamed up to get the Quails on the board in the 29th minute. Real Salt Lake equalized in the 35th minute on a Ricardo Velazco shot. The Indomitable Club logged its first win over an MLS side by closing out the first half in force. In the final three minutes of the first half, the Quails would find the net — Agustin Cazarez scored in the 43rd minute, and Jeremy Hall added the third in the 45th minute. Barrera added an emphatic goal in the 71st minute, securing the 4-1 win. Republic FC maintained their lead for the final 20 minutes, advancing to the Round of 16 of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.   

In the club’s fourth Round of 32 appearance, Sacramento would draw Seattle in the bracket for its second MLS home fixture. The Quails broke the deadlock in the 60th minute after Bijev intercepted a ball in midfield, worked the channel and resulted in a Cam Iwasa goal inside the box. Sounders FC snatched an equalizer in the final moments of the match on a deflected shot. With five minutes remaining, Republic FC would find the winner after a rebound from an Iwasa strike was smashed home by Jure Matjasic.

After three trips to San Jose that resulted in a tournament exit, Republic FC had the opportunity to host the Bay Area side for the first time in the Round of 16. A truly special night that jumpstarted Republic FC’s run to the final began with a Luis Felipe header in the 28th minute from a Rodrigo Lopez corner. Lopez would add his name to the scoresheet a second time with a rocket to the back of the 84th minute. The win would send the Quails to the tournament Quarterfinals for the first time.   

In the club’s first Quarterfinal appearance, Republic FC headed down to Los Angeles, looking to even its tournament record against LA Galaxy. In 2017, Galaxy would send Republic FC home with a 2-0 loss, but the June 2022 rematch was a different story. Rodrigo Lopez scored in the 4th minute on a brilliant counter to stun the home crowd. While LA Galaxy would equalize on an own goal, the Indomitable Club lived up to its name. Luis Felipe fizzed a shot to the lower right corner in the 70th minute to seal the win. History once again was made as Republic FC advanced to the U.S. Open Cup semifinal round for the first time in club history.      

In the history of Sacramento sports events, the hot July night when Republic FC defeated four-time US Open Cup Champion Sporting Kansas City is hard to top. While the match would end scoreless, the drama lived well into the night. After 120 minutes, kicks from the mark would determine who would head to the national championship final. Danny Vitiello would stop Agada’s third kick, only to be called back. After Agada backflipped to celebrate a successful retake, Republic FC’s Maalique Foster would etch his name into cup history with an utterly bold panenka that took the air out of the stadium. Even through four kicks, Vitiello would come up huge with a stop against USMNT veteran Graham Zusi. With one chance to send the Quails to the final, no one other than Captain Rodrigo Lopez would step to the mark and convert the fifth penalty in dramatic fashion.

Republic FC secured a thrilling come-from-behind extra time win over San Jose Earthquakes, 4-3, to advance to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal for the second time in three seasons. The match began with Kieran Phillips scoring the first goal in the 10th minute, only to be equalized by San Jose minutes later. The back and forth affair would result in another Phillips goal — his third of the tournament — in the 38th minute. San Jose would rally in the second half with a free kick to equalize again, and an extra time strike to take the lead. In the final 15 minute period of the match, the Quails wouldn’t be denied. Heart Health Park went berserk as Luis Felipe found the net against his former club in the 106th minute, and 60 seconds later, Sebastian Herrera netted the go-ahead score.