Earlier today, the USL Championship nominated Republic FC goalkeeper Danny Vitiello for Week 31 Save of the Week. The fan vote is open now through Thursday, October 8 at 9:00 p.m. PT at USLChampionship.com.
Vitiello came up huge with a close-range save against Las Vegas Lights FC last Wednesday. In the 62nd minute, Las Vegas’ Oalex Anderson delivered a ball to Johnny Rodriguez inside the 18-yard box. Rodriguez – the Lights’ all-time leading goal scorer – put a one-touch shot on target, but a quick-acting Vitiello got a hand up to push the ball away.
The highlight stop laid the foundation for Republic FC to deliver its eventual game-winner in the 82nd minute as Memo Rodriguez connected with Kyle Edwards on a corner kick. As the Lights threw numbers forward to try to find the stoppage time equalizer, Vitiello would have none of that, stepping up with two more saves in the final moments to secure all three points.
Now in his fifth season in Sacramento, Vitiello continues to add to his résumé as one of the USL Championship’s all-time greats. On opening night, he became the league’s all-time clean sheets leader and later this year, Vitiello became the first player in USL Championship history to record 50 regular season clean sheets for a single club. Across all competitions, he has tallied 13 shutouts this year.
Just three games remain in the regular season, starting with Saturday’s home match against Colorado Springs Switchbacks on Noche Latina. From a pre-game Noche Latina Fiesta featuring live entertainment, to exclusive limited-edition merchandise, to special ticket package options – this is a night that fans won’t want to miss. The match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. and tickets are available now at SacRepublicFC.com.
