Match Previews

Later in the half, another Quail hit a career first as Blake Willey became the youngest homegrown player to record an assist for the first team. The academy grad played a precision ball to Russell Cicerone on a run through the heart of Vegas’ back line. Cicerone’s strike put him at the top of the team’s goal scorers standings with four. Cicerone, Lopez, and Willey all earned selections to Team of the Week for their performance.

Head coach Wilmer Cabrera has turned things around in Texas in his first full season at the helm for Los Locos, after finishing in last place at the end of the 2024 season. El Paso sits two points behind Western Conference leader New Mexico United through 15 matches.
Wilmer “Andy” Cabrera – Coach Cabrera’s son – has been the engine for the borderlands club. Cabrera leads the team in goals (10) this season – ranked second across the league. He is the first Locomotive player to score in four consecutive games, helping the team advance to the Round of 32 in the U.S. Open Cup. The Locos will be without striker Amando Moreno, the conference’s shot leader, after he committed two cautionable offenses against San Antonio.

Head-to-Head

Saturday’s face-off marks the 11th overall meeting between the two western sides. Locomotive’s last visit to Heart Health Park resulted in a 2-0 victory for Republic FC. Defender Jared Timmer – who announced his new multi-year deal to stay in Sacramento – netted his first professional goal in last year’s clash. In the last four matches – dating back to 2019, Republic FC has claimed all three points each time out, and only conceded one goal in the six year stretch.  

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Republic FC’s Danny Vitiello is up for Mid-Season Goalkeeper of the Year.
Voting is open now through July 11 at 10:00 a.m.

Know Your Club – Republic FC

Friday’s match up draws Republic FC’s four-game road run to a close – with two special State Fair home matches to follow. The middle-third of the season sets the stage for the Indomitable Club to climb the table with home and road matches even at four a piece. The Quails sit 4 points out of third place in a tight Western Conference, with one game in hand over most of the division.

Know Your Opponent – Las Vegas Lights FC

Las Vegas also acquired forward Stefan Stojanovic from FC Tulsa. The 24-year-old attacker scored 16 goals and produced 7 assists throughout his three seasons of professional play. Stojanovic brings a new energy to the Lights’ offense, but the player to watch for Friday’s matchup is Las Vegas’ leading scorer.

Forward Johnny Rodriguez leads the Lights with 5 goals and 17 shots on target in the 2025 USL Championship, including two in a 2-0 against Monterey Bay FC earlier in June. Lethal from both the penalty spot and open play, Rodriguez has given Las Vegas an offensive spark this season and is responsible for half of their goals in the USL Championship. The striker is always a threat when on the field, and his contributions have the Lights in the playoff hunt

On Saturday night, Vegas wrapped up its USL Jägermeister Cup group play with a 2-0 win over League One side Spokane Velocity. The three points put Lights at the top of Group 1, but they’ll have to wait for the final weekend of group play to see if they’ll go through to the knockout rounds. Republic FC holds the head to head advantage with a win on May 30 that featured 4 goals from four different players.

Head-to-Head

Las Vegas had Sacramento’s number last year with Former Academy Director Dennis Sanchez at the helm. Vegas swept the season series 2-0 and eliminated Republic FC in the first round of the 2024 Western Conference Playoffs. But Sanchez is now with New Mexico, and the Indomitable Club has taken the first two matches of 2025 in emphatic fashion. A 4-0 win in cup play was followed up with a 5-0 league win over the Silver State side. Friday night’s clash will close out the season series, barring any playoff action.  Sacramento is 9-4-4 all-time against the Nevada squad, and they can pick up their 10th win against Las Vegas on Independence Day.

Know Your Club – Republic FC

Cristian Parano caused havoc for Rhode Island’s backline all night and played a key role in both goals. In the 53^rd minute, he shook off two defenders before drawing the foul that set up Rodrigo Lopez’s perfect set-piece finish. Just eight minutes later, Parano found the back of the net himself as Russell Cicerone made the unselfish choice to lay the ball off for an unmarked Parano inside the box, and the Argentinian put his left-footed strike on target.

The back-to-back goals showed how lethal Republic FC’s attack can be once it gets going. Of Sacramento’s six multi-goal games this season, four have come with rapid-fire goals within 15 minutes of each other.   

Saturday’s victory was doubly special for goalkeeper Danny Vitiello, who recorded two saves to become the third player to earn his 50^th USL Championship regular season clean sheet.

Know Your Opponent – Orange County SC

Head-to-Head

A familiar face indeed – Republic FC and Orange County SC have played 29 times since 2014, making this the third-most contested series in USL history. The Indomitable Club will be looking to flip the script from the teams’ first head-to-head this past April when two own goals set OC up for the win.

USL Jägermeister Cup – Group 1

Both teams need a win to secure their spot in the competition. For Republic FC, three points would keep the team at the top of the Group 1 standings and put the squad in prime position to advance to the knockout rounds following the final group stage match in July. Last time out in Cup play, The Quails took a 4-0 victory over Las Vegas Lights. Jared Mazzola became the first goalkeeper to record two clean sheets in the tournament and earned Team of the Round honors alongside defender Lee Desmond.

“We know that three points will put us in a good place,” said Head Coach Neill Collins. “This is about putting our destiny in our own hands. We want to get through to the next round and this will give us the best chance.”

On the bottom half of the table, Orange County has to pick up a win to stay alive in the USL Cup. They are currently 0-2 in the tournament, losing 3-1 and 3-2 to Las Vegas Lights and Monterey Bay FC, respectively.

by Matthew Muren

For the second time on their four-game road trip, a familiar face greets Republic FC for their match against Rhode Island. Defender Aldair Sanchez, who made 68 appearances across two seasons with Republic FC, signed with Rhode Island FC for the 2025-26 season to bolster a solid defense that has produced four clean sheets so far this year. Rhode Island also ranks No. 9 in the USL for fewest goals conceded. 

Head-to-Head

Both Republic FC and Rhode Island have the chance to claim their first head-to-head victory this Saturday. The teams have only faced off once, the contest ending in a 2-2 draw last year.

Know Your Club – Republic FC

In the defensive third, the Indomitable Club made it nearly impossible for San Antonio to get anything going all night and held them to just one shot on target, which didn’t come until the 88^th minute. Since the beginning of May, Republic FC has allowed just two goals in league play, the lowest mark across USL Championship.

Know Your Opponent – Birmingham Legion FC

Haitian international Damus is signed to Swedish club GIF Sundsvall, but has spent the majority of the last three seasons on loan in USL Championship. Last year, he led Colorado Springs with 14 goals to claim his second league title.

Head-to-Head

Republic FC could claim its first-ever win over the Three Sparks on Wednesday night. The two clubs have only faced off on three occasions. Birmingham claimed the first-ever head-to-head in 2022, but since then the clubs have split the points.

Know Your Club – Republic FC

Saturday’s game closes out a stretch of five straight home games for Republic FC. Last weekend, the squad suffered its first home defeat of the 2025 campaign in a 1-0 battle against FC Tulsa. It was a match with few shots from either side as a plethora of fouls blocked either team from getting into a rhythm. After Tulsa cashed in on one of its lone opportunities in the 10^th minute, they opted to sit in a low block and allow Republic FC to control the possession.

Across the pond, Blake Willey represented the 916 on the international stage. The Sacramento native helped the U.S. U18 Men’s National Team claim silverware in the UEFA Friendship Cup with a 4-0 record against some of the top teams across the globe. Prior to his call up, Willey had appeared in every match for Republic FC, including the Open Cup Round of 32 contest against the San Jose Earthquakes.

After Saturday’s game, Neill Collins’ squad will head out on the road for four straight contests. “It’s so important to walk away with three points in home games,” said forward Russell Cicerone. “We’re looking to do that on Saturday so that we can carry that forward on our road trip.”

Know Your Opponent – San Antonio FC

After missing out on the postseason for the first time since 2019, San Antonio FC has quickly turned things around under new Head Coach Carlos Llamosa. They opened the season on a high note with four straight wins and now sit in a three-way tie for 2^nd place in the table with 20 points.

Head-to-Head

The rivalry between Republic FC and San Antonio FC continues to evolve each season. Sacramento holds the edge in the series with a 7-5-3 record with six of those wins coming at home – including the last four head-to-heads. The matches are typically physical and passionate. All but two of them have been decided by one goal or less and the teams have combined for nearly 400 fouls and 80 yellow cards.  

Know Your Club – Republic FC

Goalkeeper Jared Mazzola put in a stellar performance between the sticks, coming up with five saves to earn Team of the Round honors alongside Lee Desmond. Mazzola is now the only goalkeeper with at least two appearances in the tournament who has yet to concede a goal. The win moved Sacramento up into first place in the Group 1 standings with six points and six goals scored.

Across its last two matches, Republic FC has put up impressive numbers, outscoring the opponent 9-0. Goal contributions have come from all over the pitch with nine different goal scorers and assists from eight different players.

Know Your Opponent – FC Tulsa

First-year USL Championship player Taylor Calheira has lived up to the hype following his standout campaign in MLS NEXT Pro. The 23-year-old forward opened his league scoring card against Republic FC in March and hasn’t slowed down since. He leads the team with six regular season goals (nine across all competitions) and recently went on a four-game scoring streak.

Head-to-Head

Tulsa will be the first team that Republic FC faces twice in the 2025 regular season. When the Western Conference teams met in Oklahoma in March, the hosts claimed their first-ever win in 15 contests against Sacramento by a score of 1-0. But Republic FC still has Tulsa’s number in the all-time head-to-head with a 9-1-5 record and a +20 goal differential, as well as an undefeated showing at Heart Health Park.

Know Your Club – Republic FC

After a bye week, the Indomitable Club will look to duplicate the impressive performance it put in against the Lights in league play just two weeks ago. Republic FC was dominant from the first minute and controlled the game through possession. The pressure paid off in the 30^th minute when Jared Timmer and Sebastian Herrera connected for the third time this year and Herrera’s 100^th career goal. The milestone goal opened the scoring floodgates for the Quails, who added two more before the half as Michel Benitez set up Jack Gurr and Herrera assisted fellow striker Lewis Jamieson.

“Everything starts here at training and even when the performances weren’t excellent on the weekends, we could see it was going to click,” said defender Lee Desmond. “We could see for weeks that it was working in training, and we just needed to deliver on matchdays and we did last time against Vegas. But we don’t want to rest on our laurels there, we just want to keep going and get in a really good run of games.”

Know Your Opponent – Las Vegas Lights FC

USL Jägermeister Cup – Group 1

The 2025 tournament is still young and with the majority of Group 1 teams with just one match under their belt, the top spot is still anyone’s to claim. Six of the seven squads are in action on Saturday, creating an opportunity for plenty of movement in the table.  

“I’ve emphasized to the team that Vegas has won their first two group games, so this is an important game in order to continue in this tournament,” said Head Coach Neill Collins. “The group is competitive and to advance we need to win games, and we need to score goals. So it should make for a good game on Saturday.”

Republic FC’s five-game homestand continues this Saturday as Las Vegas Lights FC comes to the Indomitable City.

Know Your Club – Republic FC

“We’ve got to take advantage of being at home,” said Head Coach Neill Collins. “We’ve been good at home. We’ve got great support behind us, a great atmosphere, a great pitch, and the team loves playing there. So I’m looking forward to building on that over these next games.”

Making his second straight appearance after exiting the season opener early, Desmond earned his first Team of the Week selection of the 2025 campaign. He closed out the match with 10 duels won, four possessions won, and two interceptions to help hold Indy to just six shots all night.

The Western Conference table remains incredibly tight as the first third of the season wraps up. Heading into the weekend, just six points separate first and tenth place teams. Including Las Vegas, the Sacramento’s next three opponents sit higher in the standings, giving the squad the opportunity to shake up the table.

“We know we have the quality, we know we have the players we need to win games and go far in this league,” said goalkeeper Danny Vitiello.

Fortunately, it’s a challenge that Republic FC will get to take on at home, where they have gone undefeated across all competitions in 2025.

Know Your Opponent – Las Vegas Lights FC

Following a historic turnaround season and the team’s first-ever postseason appearance, the big question surrounding the Lights this year was whether it could replicate that success under new coach Antonio Nocerino. So far, it looks like they’re up to the task, currently sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference table.

Coming into Saturday the Lights haven’t conceded a goal in 207 minutes and are undefeated in their last two matches. In Week 10, they played to a scoreless draw against defending champions Colorado Springs Switchbacks. It was a defensive-heavy contest as the two teams combined for just three shots on target.

Head-to-Head

Republic FC is ahead in the all-time series (7-4-4), but in 2024 the Lights would be one of the club’s most difficult opponents. They were the only team to defeat Sacramento twice during the regular season and ultimately eliminated the Indomitable Club from the playoffs in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

At Heart Health Park, Republic FC has seen plenty of success against Las Vegas with four wins, two draws, and just one loss.

The Indomitable Club returns to league play this Saturday, when Eastern Conference side Indy Eleven comes to town.

Know Your Club – Republic FC

Saturday will be an opportunity for Neill Collins’ squad to build on an important win in its last league game, a 1-0 victory over NorCal rival Oakland Roots. Sacramento capitalized on an opportunity early in the second half as Russell Cicerone scored the game-winner from the penalty spot after Jack Gurr was brought down inside the box. On the defensive end, a tough defensive performance earned the club its first clean sheet of the regular season.

Russell Cicerone leads the squad with three goals in league play, followed by Sebastian Herrera with two. Herrera, who is now just one shy of eclipsing the 100 career goals mark, saw 90 minutes of action against Oakland last week, just the second time he’s played through an entire match since joining the team in 2023. He’s also the only Republic FC player to score in all three competitions this year (USL Championship, USL Jägermeister Cup, U.S. Open Cup).

On the defensive end, Freddy Kleemann continues to put up numbers that put him on track for a Defender of the Year nomination. He leads the league with 65 clearances and 47 aerial duels won, earning him a team-best three Team of the Week selections.

Know Your Opponent – Indy Eleven

Also facing schedule congestion this week, Indy will be looking to get back on track after going winless in its last five regular season games. Last weekend, they picked up a hard fought point in a 2-2 draw against Detroit City. After conceding two goals in the first 15 minutes, Elvis Amoh led the Boys in Blue to pull one back before the break. Indy’s comeback hopes became more difficult in the 60^th minute when they went down to 10 men as Hayden White was sent off with a second yellow card, but Amoh once again delivered to take a point.

Wednesday, they made they made the trip to face off with Philadelphia Union in the Open Cup. Down a goal early, it was Elvis Amoh who once again brought his team back into the match, netting the equalizer in the 48^th minute. After neither team could find the game-winner through 120 minutes, the match was decided in penalties and Philly advanced with a 5-4 edge in the shootout.

Amoh is on a scoring tear as of late. Across all competitions, the Ghanaian international has found the back of the net in the last four games, with six total goals over that period. He’s put in strong performances against Republic FC in his career as well. With the Switchbacks in 2022, he recorded a goal and an assist in a 3-0 victory and in 2023, he added another assist for Hartford Athletic.

Head-to-Head

SACvIND is still a young series. The two clubs have only met twice before. Last year, they played to a 1-1 draw at Michael A. Carroll Stadium. In the first ever head-to-head – a 2023 contest at Heart Health Park – Russell Cicerone recorded his second career hat trick to secure a nomination for Player of the Month.