This Wednesday, it’s survive and advance as Republic FC heads to Silicon Valley to take on familiar foe San Jose Earthquakes in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32.
Overview: SAC @ SJ
- Date: Wednesday, May 7
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
- Venue: Pay Pal Park
- Tickets: Making the trip to San Jose? Sit in the SRFC supporters section.
- Watch: Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network
Know Your Club – Republic FC
The Indomitable Club is heading into Wednesday’s match on the heels of two straight wins against in-state foes. On April 26, the squad defeated League One side AV Alta FC in the first group stage match of the USL Jägermeister Cup. That result was followed up by a 1-0 victory over regional rival Oakland Roots this past Sunday afternoon.
Neither side saw many chances in the match, but Neill Collins’ side was sure to take advantage of its best opportunity when Jack Gurr drew a penalty early in the half. For the second time this year, Russell Cicerone stepped up to the spot to find the back of the net. After taking the lead, Republic FC held strong defensively to hold Oakland without a shot on target for the remainder of the match and earn its first clean sheet of the regular season.
“It gives us confidence,” said midfielder Luis Felipe on Sunday’s derby win. “We know that we’ve been playing well, the stats show that we’ve been dominating games, but we needed this win and we got it. It’s going to give us confidence to move forward.”
Across all competitions, Sacramento is undefeated in its last four matches, a stretch that opened with the club’s win in the Third Round of the Open Cup in mid-April. Up against Cinderella team El Farolito, Republic FC came out with a 1-0 win. Captain Rodrigo Lopez made his first start since sustaining a season-ending injury in last year’s tournament, and his impact was quickly reflected on the scoreboard as his cross set up a Sebastian Herrera header for the game-winner. The goal extended Lopez’s record as the Open Cup’s all-time assist leader in the Modern Era (12) and marked Herrera’s fifth tournament goal.
Know Your Opponent – San Jose Earthquakes
This is a much different San Jose side than Republic FC faced in 2024. With the offseason additions of big names like Josef Martinez and Chicho Arango, as well as new Head Coach Bruce Arena, they are the highest-scoring team in MLS and is off to a much better start than last year.
The Quakes picked up some momentum over the weekend, snapping a three-game losing streak with a definitive 4-1 win over a Portland Timbers team that had gone unbeaten in its last seven matches. All three of San Jose’s forwards got on the scoresheet, led by Cristian Espinoza’s eight-minute brace and assist. Chicho Arango added a goal and two assists – and now is tied for the lead in the MLS Golden Boot race with seven goals on the year – as Ousseni Bouda scored his second goal of the season. Making just his second appearance for the Black and Blue, DeJuan Jones added two assists on the night.
Wednesday’s match will be San Jose’s 2025 Open Cup debut. The Bay Area team has an all-time record of 13-11-5 (2-3 in penalty shootouts) and has claimed nine home wins. In the last three years, however, they have been eliminated by teams from USL Championship.
Head-to-Head
Despite featuring in different leagues, there’s no shortage of passion in the rivalry between Republic FC and the Earthquakes. It has been a highly-competitive series since day one. San Jose had the early edge and advanced in the first three meetings, including a penalty shootout in 2015, but the Indomitable Club has begun to turn the tide in recent years and has won the last two head-to-heads. All but one have been decided by just one goal – the only outlier was Republic FC’s 2-0 win that springboarded the squad to a historic run to the 2022 Open Cup final.
Last year, they delivered a back-and-forth thriller at Heart Health Park that resulted in Sacramento taking a 4-3 extra time win. San Jose took the lead in the first half of extra time, but the Indomitable Club lived up to its name with two goals 60 seconds apart to advance to the Round of 16.
