USL Sacramento Republic FC

Match Preview: Republic FC vs. Portland Timbers 2

Published on August 31, 2020 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sacramento Republic FC News Release


At a Glance: #PORvSAC

Wednesday, September 2

12:00 p.m. PT kickoff

Providence Park, Portland, Oregon

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

What's the latest on the team?

Republic FC (5-1-3, 18 pts) made it four straight wins from the last four consecutive fixtures after Mark Briggs' men came-from-behind to earn all three points at home against Portland Timbers 2 on August 22, 2-1.

T2 took an early lead in the 23rd minute when Jorge Gonzalez scored for the visitors. The goal was just the second time all season Rafael Diaz - who recently earned the USL Championship Fans' Choice Save of the Week for his stunning stop against Reno to preserve a crucial 1-0 win - has been beaten in net. Diaz made a pair of stellar stops in the first half to keep his side within one strike of Timbers 2. The save was one of four Diaz made on the night to help preserve the win.

In the 60th minute, Ashkanov Apollon delivered a cross that found Drew Skundrich in front of net and all the midfielder had to do was guide his attempt into goal and register his second strike of the season. Ash's assist was the first of his Sacramento career and his USL Championship Team of the Week selection in Week 8 from his performance against Tacoma was also his first.

Skundrich bagged his second strike of the season.

A resilient Republic FC side finally secured its first lead of the match in the 69th minute when Jordan McCrary steered a perfectly weighted ball into space for Cameron Iwasa to fire by the visiting goalkeeper. McCrary's performance earned the defender USL Championship Team of the Week honors after setting up Iwasa's game-winner and providing a solid performance on both the offensive and defensive fronts.

In the 84th minute, Shannon Gomez made his first appearance since playing the full 90 minutes against Orange County SC in late-July 2019 when the right back entered the match as a second half substitute for Belmar.

Gomez led the team in minutes and appearances in 2019 before his surgery.

What about the hosts?

Since the last time Sacramento played Portland Timbers 2 (0-6-0, 0 pts), the Pacific Northwest club was dealt a 3-2 loss at home against LA Galaxy II on August 26.

Los Dos took a first half lead before Max Ornstil leveled the match for T2 in the 69th minute. LA nabbed two more goals to go up 3-1 before an Aaron Molloy strike nine minutes into injury time cut the deficit in half but the late goal wasn't enough as Portland continued its search for its first point on the 2020 campaign.

Timbers 2 was expecting to play Tacoma Defiance in Oregon on Sunday, but the match was postponed.

Portland's 28 goals conceded is the most allowed in the USL Championship this season and T2's seven goals scored offensively is tied for the least number of goals scored in the Western Conference alongside San Diego Loyal SC, OKC Energy FC and Real Monarchs.

Iwasa scored SRFC's second against T2 on August 22.

Head-to-Head

Republic FC will look to make it two wins from two trips to the City of Roses when the two Group A rivals clash midweek in Portland. Wednesday's game will be the third of four total fixtures between the two sides during the regular season.

Heading into the last match between these two clubs - a 2-1 win for Republic FC in Sacramento - the last 11 straight meetings were won by the team that found the back of the net first. But the boys in Old Glory Red broke that trend after bagging a pair of second half strikes to overcome a first half deficit and earn all three points to keep pace with Reno at the top of the Group A standings.

SRFC is 3-4-0 against T2 in Portland.

Not once have these two Western Conference clubs played to a draw.

Overall (USL Championship Regular Season): 8-5-0

Home: 5-1-0 (GF: 11, GA: 3)

Away: 3-4-0 (GF: 7, 5)

Check out the Sacramento Republic FC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 31, 2020


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