Republic FC Academy Finishes Stellar 2024/25 Season

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USL Sacramento Republic FC

Republic FC Academy Finishes Stellar 2024/25 Season

June 27, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sacramento Republic FC News Release


Republic FC's academy continues to prove itself as one of the best in the nation, finishing the 2024/25 season with each age group either winning trophies or contending for them. The academy's successes included 4 Northwest division titles, a Copa Rayados trophy, a combined 67-13-9 record, and all 4 senior squads advancing to the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs.

The Quails remain competitive on a national level, with Republic FC signing six academy players this season and sending two U14 athletes to a U.S. Soccer ID Camp.

The academy took the field for its final action of the year this past week. U15, U16, U17, and U19 all traveled to Nashville for the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs, while U13 traveled to Las Vegas to defend their 2024 Copa Rayados title.

U13 go back-to-back

For the second year running, the U13's took their yearly flight south to compete in the Copa Rayados, an international competition featuring top teams from both within and outside the US. The team continued their Sin City dominance, winning the 2025 tournament without conceding a goal. No team was a match for the Republic, as the U13s closed out their repeat run with an 8-0 win in the tournament final.

On top of collecting silverware for the second year in a row, the U13 squad ranked 1st in Northwest Division for quality of play with 86.2, 5th highest offensive rating in all U13 MLS Next.

Academy Director Eder Quintanilla emphasizes the significance of players' early academy years, and how that experience translates into the rest of the players' careers.

"Teaching them the expectations, the standards, the way we train, it's important starting earlier," Quintanilla said. "Because you can build that that player and that team, so it's important to recruit strong."

Quality of play is a new metric implemented in U13 and U14 MLS NEXT league play, where teams are measured on the quality of individual plays, passes, and decisions throughout the game, rather than just a final score. Teams receive an offensive and defensive rating, which are averaged to create their overall score for each game.

The U14 team finished 3rd in the Northwest division with a 82.4 quality of play rating. The squad did not compete in any end-of-season tournaments despite qualifying for the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs.

U17's deep MLS NEXT run

All four senior academy teams traveled to Nashville, TN for the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs, where the U17 team made the most impressive run of any Republic academy team in the last three years.

The Northwest Champion U17s opened their tournament with a dominant 5-1 win over Lou Fusz Athletic, a match that would by far be their most comfortable victory. Facing Orlando City Youth SC two days later, the teams battled to a 1-1 scoreline at the end of regulation, forcing what would be the first of three penalty shootouts in three rounds for the U17 Republic. The Quails prevailed in their first two shootouts, moving on to the quarterfinals with a 4-2 penalty win over Orlando, and on to the semi-finals with a 1(5)-1(4) victory against Strikers FC.

After three victories, the most by any Sacramento academy team in the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs since 2022, the squad's hard-fought run came to an end on penalties against Weston FC, 0(4)-0(5). The Quails finished the year as one of Republic FC's best academy teams of the 2020s, boasting a 19-3-4 overall record and a regular season regional title on top of their deep playoff run.

Quintanilla spoke about the team's playoff run, which wasn't fully expected when it came into the season.

"Building the team and having the success that they had. It speaks a lot about the program and the coaches," Quintanilla said.

Senior Squads at the MLS Next Cup

Republic FC's U15s also found success in Music City, coming out of the gates with a 4-2 victory over Queen City Mutiny FC. Their hot start came off the back of 4 goals from Liam Chinchilla Oporto, who finished the tournament as the top goal scorer in the entirety of the U15 field. They faced MLS academy St. Louis City SC in the Round of 16, where they also fell in PKs 2(6)-2(7).

Both other senior squads also were coming off strong regular seasons of their own. The U16s and the U19s won their Northwest divisions and faced MLS academy squads in the Round of 32. Sacramento's U16 squad exited the tournament after a 3-1 defeat to FC Dallas, finishing their stellar season 17-4-2. Meanwhile, the oldest Republic academy team fought hard against LAFC but ultimately ended their season 16-3-3.

The senior squad showed up with moments of greatness, like a beautiful half-volley goal from Freddy Simonelli, but it wasn't enough to keep them in the fight.

Quintanilla sees the postseason success as an absolute positive, but it's also not the only thing Republic FC's academy is aimed to achieve.

"We want to continue with the success collectively," Quintanilla said. "But we want to increase individual success as well. Our objective is not winning the MLS NEXT cup. Our real priority is to develop players."

Republic FC's academy squads take a break this summer and will return in August to kick off training for next season. There is still youth team action this summer, as Republic Elite sessions, a five-week training program, begin on July 6.

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