This Sunday, Republic FC kicks off rivalry week with a quick trip to the Oakland Coliseum to take on the Roots.
Overview: SAC @ OAK
- Date: Sunday, May 4
- Kickoff: 4:00 p.m.
- Venue: Oakland Coliseum
- Watch: CBS Sports Network
Know Your Club – Republic FC
Sacramento is gearing up for a busy week featuring three matches in seven days, including a midweek Open Cup match against the San Jose Earthquakes. A strong performance in Oakland could be what the team needs to lay the foundation for positive results and an improvement in the Western Conference table.
Last week, the Indomitable Club opened up play in the USL Jägermeister Cup with a quality win over League One side AV Alta FC. Republic FC came out of the gates strong and built its possession throughout the first half. Just before the break, the team’s efforts paid off as Jared Timmer sent in a cross for Sebastian Herrera, who has scored in four consecutive matches. In the midfield, Rodrigo Lopez and Blake Willey were constant disrupters for AV Alta’s attacks, winning a combined 15 possessions and 10/13 duels.
Know Your Opponent – Oakland Roots SC
For the Roots, Sunday’s national telecast is an opportunity to forget last week’s USL Cup loss and build on the positive results they’ve seen in the last two league matches. In regular season play, Oakland is on a two-game win streak, one shy of its all-time record. In Week 7, they earned their first win at Coliseum against Orange County SC. Despite holding just 34% of the possession, Roots were able to capitalize on two OC mistakes to earn a 2-0 victory.
Last weekend, Oakland opened their Jägermeister Cup run with a 2-1 loss to USL League One’s Spokane Velocity. Down 2-0 at halftime, the Roots came out of the break with pressure in the offensive third and pulled one back in the 52nd minute, but that would prove to be the final chance of the match as Spokane’s defense hunkered down to see out the win.
Head-to-Head
Separated by just 81 miles, the Roots are a familiar opponent for Republic FC. Since Oakland joined the league in 2021, the two NorCal teams have faced off 11 times in league play with Sacramento holding the edge on four wins to Oakland’s two. In the first two seasons, five of the seven head-to-heads ended deadlocked. Since 2023, however, each match has had a winner. Last year, the clubs split the series as each team found success on the road – first with Oakland earning a 3-2 win in June and then with Republic FC impressing with a 5-2 victory in Hayward.
“You’ve got to play with a lot of heart these rivalry games,” said Neill Collins. “It’s going to be up to us to set the tempo, to set the intensity.”
