If Simon Elliott’s men advance beyond the New Mexican club, a trip to second-seeded Reno 1868 on Saturday, October 26 at 5:30 p.m. PT is a lock. ...SRFC has responded positively when held scoreless in the previous match. Since late-July, four times has Republic FC been kept off the scoresheet but the boys in Old Glory Red responded well with three wins (netting 10 totals goals during that trio of matches), all of which were headlined by a shutout of the opposition. Republic FC...finished the regular season with a tie for the third-best defense in the Western Conference, along with Orange County, after allowing only 43 goals all season. The boys in Old Glory Red also finished with the third-most clean sheets in the conference with 12 shutouts in league play. What about the other guys? New Mexico United (11-10-13, 46 pts) snagged the tenth and final postseason spot after blanking Las Vegas Lights 2-0 in Albuquerque over the weekend... United, competing in their inaugural USL Championship campaign, are a possession-focused team that have completed the second-most passes in the conference (16,155) and the third-best passing accuracy rate of 82%. United also boasts an impressive shot conversion rate of 17%, tied for third-best in the West... Leading the team in goals with 14 is Kevaughn Frater who started the season red hot with 10 goals from 11 matches but his form has since faded as he’s currently experiencing a 10-game goalless drought. Frater is also a wildcard on the pitch and is tied for the most yellow cards in the league with a dozen. New Mexico United has a pair of former Republic FC players including defender Justin Schmidt who made 17 starts with the Indomitable Club in 2018. United midfielder David Estrada made 18 appearances for Sacramento in 2015 and scored three goals during his time with the club.
Okay, so technically, this is a play-in game and not a play-off game, so our run of play-off appearances is still in jeopardy. A writer on the USL Championship website gave a power ranking of the eight play-in contenders, and placed New Mexico at #2 and Republic at #6: 6. Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC has lost its last three home postseason games, so overcoming that streak against New Mexico United will be its first challenge, but in the long term a Play-In Round victory might be the perfect spark for a side that has stagnated over the final stretch of the season. Republic FC looked likely to contend for a top-four finish when it added forward Thomas Enevoldsen in August but won just one of its final five games (at Tulsa Roughnecks FC) to finish the season in seventh. Republic FC would match up with No. 2 seed Reno 1868 FC should it reach the Quarterfinals, which certainly isn’t ideal for Head Coach Simon Elliott’s side as it suffered a pair of defeats by a combined 6-1 scoreline to Reno during the regular season. Sacramento’s overall away record wasn’t superb at 6-9-2, but it recorded impressive wins at New Mexico, Fresno, Austin and San Antonio. Enevoldsen and Cameron Iwasa certainly have the firepower to trouble opposing defenses, but the duo will need some help from its own backline – which conceded multiple goals in each of its final five games – to navigate a deep postseason run. 2. New Mexico United There’s no team in the USL Championship Playoffs more road-tested than New Mexico United, which played 22 competitive away matches this season thanks to its run to the Quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The expansion side won four consecutive road games in the knockout competition, including two against MLS opposition, and should feel right at home in this high-pressure environment. During that Open Cup run, New Mexico also showed that it is plenty capable of holding its nerve as it claimed two penalty shootout victories and won another game in extra time. The first of those shootout wins came against United’s would-be opponent in the Conference Quarterfinals, top seed Phoenix Rising FC, at Casino Arizona Field. NMU was one of just two teams in the West to go unbeaten against Phoenix this season (joining Fresno FC), posting a 1-0-2 record in all competitions and showing the offensive capability to keep pace with Rising FC’s high-powered attack. NMU scored the most road goals of any team in the Play-In Round (27) and could certainly trouble opposing defenses moving forward should it get past Sacramento Republic FC in its postseason debut. https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1058904
Helluva game winner... OMG what a ball by @SamWerner10 and what a STRIKE by Enevoldsen. 🔥SAC 2 | 1 NM#ForGlory | #SACvNM pic.twitter.com/0fIi3hefh4— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) October 24, 2019
The club played with a lot of heart and guile in the 1st half after gifting that goal. I'd pay more for that kind of effort.
good showing tonight & now we will get another edition of The Donner Pass Derby - should be a good show on Saturday
Might be the goal of the year. Off the volley and buries it on the far side net....ridiculous! Werner's pass was beautiful soccer, too.
Undoubtedly. Might be USL goal of the year. Certainly a candidate. I love goals where the ball is buried without having touched the ground. Just stellar! Pass was magic, without a doubt, too
Link to Tickets 5:30 kickoff!! RENO, Nev. – One of the strongest rivalries in the USL Championship will make its playoff debut when No. 2 seed Reno 1868 FC plays host to No. 7 seed Sacramento Republic FC in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2019 USL Championship Playoffs at Greater Nevada Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET. @Reno1868FC made a positive late surge to grab the No. 2 seed in the West as it recorded the most wins (18) in a regular season in club history. 1868 FC won five of its last seven outings, including posting back-to-back shutouts on the road against Silver State Cup rival Las Vegas Lights FC and Tulsa Roughnecks FC to close the campaign. Reno’s history against Sacramento could also be a big plus for the hosts, with 1868 FC having swept the regular season series this year as goals by Sergio Rivas and Raul Mendiola earned a 2-0 victory on home turf in their most recent meeting on June 29. For its part, @SacRepublicFC comes into the contest off the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 victory against New Mexico United in the Play-In Round that marked the first home playoff victory for the side since 2014. A stunning late volley by Thomas Enevoldsen lifted Republic FC to victory at Papa Murphy’s Park, continuing the Dane’s positive form since his midseason arrival from Indy Eleven. Enevoldsen has scored nine goals and recorded four assists – both team-highs – after arriving in California’s capital and will get his first chance to be part of this rivalry when Republic FC heads to Northern Nevada on Saturday. Opta Says 111.45 – Reno 1868 FC’s Danny Musovski’s 11 goals in the regular season came at a rate of a goal every 111.45 minutes, third-lowest among players to record at least 10 tallies. 2 – Republic FC’s Thomas Enevoldsen scored in two of his three previous meetings with Reno 1868 FC as a member of Orange County SC in the 2018 USL Championship season. FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Reno 1868 FC 70%, Sacramento Republic FC 30% Projected Lineups Reno 1868 FC – GK: Matt Bersano; D: Brent Richards, Emrah Klimenta, Zach Carroll, Duke Lacroix; M: Seth Casiple, Raul Mendiola, Eric Calvillo; AM: Lindo Mfeka; F: Danny Musovski, Corey Hertzog Sacramento Republic FC – GK: Bobby Shuttleworth; D: Jordan McCrary, Dekel Keinan, Mitchell Taintor, Juan Barahona; DM: Jaime Villarreal, Drew Skundrich; AM: Keven Aleman, Thomas Enevoldsen, Sam Werner; F: Cameron Iwasa Discipline Reno 1868 FC - None Sacramento Republic FC – None Officials REF: Malik Badawi AR1: Seth Martin AR2: Kali Smith 4TH: Reyna Fonseca
Excellent job by the lads. Short turnaround & playing in altitude. Busted Reno up real good. Now off to the semis
That second half may have been one of their best of this year. From 60 minutes forward they won the clear majority of 50/50 balls, and the finishes were solid. Great effort by everyone. (Had a good time watching at New Glory, too).
A solid win against a higher seed on the road. Better yet, Reno's owned us in league play. This was very satisfying.
Don’t know if anyone saw that Phoenix v Austin game last night. But it went to second round of PK’s. High anxiety all around