Sports stats



USL Sacramento Republic FC

Match Preview: Republic FC V Oakland Roots SC

June 18, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sacramento Republic FC News Release


The boys in Old Glory Red will visit Oakland this Saturday in what will be the inaugural home match for Roots SC in USL Championship play.

Having already met once, the match will be the second of four regular season clashes, but Saturday's showdown will be the first-ever league match in Oakland in Roots SC's history.

The historic kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. PT as Republic FC looks to secure all three points in the East Bay.

At a Glance: #OAKvSAC

Saturday, June 19

5:30 p.m. PT kickoff

Laney College Stadium, Oakland, California

How to Watch: KQCA My58, Estrella TV Sacramento (Spanish,) ESPN+ (digital)

What's the latest on the team?

After competing in four regular season games in a dozen days, Republic FC (2-4-1, 7 points) are finally back on the pitch after ten days off when the Indomitable Club lines up against Oakland Roots SC this Saturday.

Sacramento's last match was a 2-0 loss in Utah against Real Monarchs and Mark Briggs' men will continue their two-game road trip this weekend before returning home on June 26 when Phoenix Rising FC visit Heart Health Park.

Against Monarchs, a pair of former Republic FC Youth Academy players made their first starts this season as Rafael Jauregui started and logged 74 minutes while Nabi Kibunguchy earned his first-ever professional start and played 63 minutes.

Returning to the squad this week were a trio of SRFC players who were recently called into international duty for World Cup Qualifiers. Goalkeeper Rafael Diaz manned the net in both of the Dominican Republic's matches, forward Khlarton Belmar made a pair of appearances for Grenada and defender Shannon Gomez made his first-ever start for Trinidad and Tobago during World Cup Qualifying play.

What about the hosts?

The first-ever home match during league play for Oakland will be full of energy as the East Bay club will be looking to secure its first win in its last three matches.

After opening the season with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Phoenix Rising FC, Oakland snagged its first-ever win with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over LA Galaxy II in Southern California. The East Bay club followed up the victory with a 3-3 draw to Republic FC in Sacramento before being dealt a 1-0 loss on the road to Orange County SC last Saturday.

Roots SC has claimed four points from its first four fixtures and currently holds claim to seventh place in the Western Conference Pacific Division.

Head-To-Head

In terms of competitive play, the two Northern California neighbors have met just once before - but it certainly was a memorable one.

The first-ever USL meeting between Roots SC and Republic FC did everything but disappoint as the boys in Old Glory Red bounced back from a goal down on two separate occasions to secure a point following a 3-3 result. The six-goal thriller in Sacramento saw Mark Briggs' men take an early lead through Dariusz Formella before the visitors bagged two goals before the break.

Cameron Iwasa leveled the match in the second half before Oakland restored its lead but a resilient Republic FC side stormed back and equalized two minutes later by way of Jordan McCrary to share the spoils on June 2.

Overall (USL regular season): 0-0-1

Home: 0-0-1 (GF: 3, GA: 3)

Away: 0-0-0 (GF: 0, GA: 0)

Check out the Sacramento Republic FC Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 18, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central