The off-season starts with a bang. Lopez is gone.. Nothing but ❤️ #Sacramento#sinceitsbeenleaked pic.twitter.com/AAILqnRvQn— Rodrigo Lopez (@Lopez_Roro) October 16, 2020
Full text: “I never thought it’d be saying goodbye again to this amazing city and organization,” Lopez said. “This past Wed I was informed I would not be returning to the club for the 2021 season. Been hard to process for my family and myself. But we are true believers that everything happens for a reason and God has better plans for us. I do know I am not done. I gave everything I had in me every session and every game as I knew the responsibility and commitment that came with putting on the Sacramento Republic FC crest. I'm leaving with not regret. Thank you Kevin Nagle, the fans, and everyone behind the scenes for believing in me and welcoming me back to a place I considered home." Hasta Luege, RL8 Sad to see him go. He clearly had more left in the tank.
A pretty newsy article from the Bee... https://www.sacbee.com/sports/mls/article246507575.html It includes: "All transactions the club makes won’t likely be official until either the end of November or early December. One point coach Mark Briggs made in a Friday news conference was indicating the team seems committed to goalkeeper Rafael Diaz." Regarding Hayden Sargis: “There are so many words being said about Hayden,” Briggs said. “I think the most praise you can give him is that he is a future captain of this futbol club. The way he carries himself and the maturity he has on and off the field… the sky limit for Hayden.” The deal to bring a NWSL club to Sac is not finalized. Start of stadium construction will begin in the fall. Wait, what time of year is it?
Timbers 2, Orlando Cith B and Phil Union II have left the USL leagues for destinations unknown. Oakland Roots enter next season. One of the western conference teams (Tulsa?) would have to move to the east in order to have balanced conferences of 13 each.
Werner is a tough one for me. Behind Bijev, he was probably SRFC's best all-around player, certainly in the top-3 for team MVP. I think if he had not gotten hurt in the last two weeks, he could have made a HUUUGE difference in the PHX game.
First off, Sac Republic have told all-time leading goalscorer Cameron Iwasa that he's no longer in their plans. HOWEVER, Iwasa has a guaranteed contract meaning that the club will have to negotiate a buyout with him or he will remain on the books hoping to change Sac's opinion— Evan Ream (@EvanReam) November 4, 2020
This is my first attempt to track roster changes this off-season. Wish me luck. This may or may not be accurate. The following return by virtue of the club exercising their option for 2021: GK -Rafael Diaz D - Shannon Gomez D - Jordan McCrary M - Jaime Villarreal M - Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu Signed to new contracts: F - Kharlton Belmar F - Cameron Iwasa (I think it's a new contract) Academy Returnees: D - Hayden Sargis (professional contract) M - Mario Penagos (professional contract) F - Rafael Jauregui (professional contract) New signings: MF - Petteri Pennanen (last in Findland's top league) D - Markhus "Duke" Lacroix (last with Charlotte Independence) MF - Maalique Foster (last on loan with Rio Grande Valley & Kiryat Shmona in Israeli Premier League) Don't know about these guys: F - Dariusz Formella D - Dekel Keinan M - Julian Chavez (Academy contract in 2019) GK - Diego Ramos (Academy contract in 2019) Club options declined. These guys won't return: D/M- Ashkanov Apollon M/F- Villyan Bijev GK- Adam Grinwis MF - Rodrigo Lopez MF - Drew Skunrdrich Loan ended: F - Frank Lopez GK - Brady Scott Retired: MF - Sam Werner D - Tomas Hilliard-Arce Expired contracts: D - Juan Barahona D - Matt Mahoney Updates and corrections welcome
Republic re-sign Dariusz Formella and are bringing back Mitchell Taintor. Very pleased about Taintor, he's solid. I guess Keinan is the only senior roster player from 2019 that we're waiting to hear back on.
Competition for Diaz... MLS Super Draft Selection & Veteran Goalkeeper Led 2019 USL Club to US Open Cup Quarterfinals Appearance Tomas Gomez: The 27-year-old shot-stopper is set to join Republic FC after a season with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, where he started 8 matches and earned three clean sheets... Gomez spent two seasons with Saint Louis FC, recording 42 starts across USL Championship and US Open Cup competitions – including a 2019 Open Cup run to the Quarterfinals after defeating MLS side FC Cincinnati. In 2016 and 2017, he manned the net for the Rochester Rhinos earning the league’s Golden Glove award for lowest goals-against average in back-to-back seasons (.69 GAA in 2016, 0.73 in 2017.) Over his five-year USL Championship career, Gomez has made 87 appearances, made 202 saves, tallied 35 clean sheets with a .98 goals-against average.
2021 season format: Flexible kickoff date, clubs can begin play somewhere between 4/24 and 5/15 32 regular season games All clubs split between four divisions Division assignments and playoff format will be announced later https://www.indomitablecitysoccer.c...-season-format-tentative-start-date-announced
First kick is roughly 8-10 weeks away so, theoretically, training should begin soon. Here's a look at the roster. GK -Rafael Diaz GK - Tomas Gomez (Five seasons USL with Rochester, St. Louis & Pittsburgh; 87 starts; .98 GAA) D - Shannon Gomez D - Jordan McCrary D - Hayden Sargis D - Mitchell Taintor (returning from one season in San Antonio) D - Markhus "Duke" Lacroix (last with Charlotte Independence) M - Jaime Villarreal M - Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu MF - Luis Felipe (21 appearances for San Jose over three seasons) MF - Mario Penagos MF - Petteri Pennanen (last in Findland's top league) MF - Maalique Foster (last on loan with Rio Grande Valley & Kiryat Shmona in Israeli Premier League) F - Tucker Bone (last year with Reno, preceded by one year with Colo. Springs) F - Kharlton Belmar F - Cameron Iwasa F - Rafael Jauregui F - Dariusz Formella GK - Although Gomez appears to have a good track record, he appears to have been only a part-time starter in Pittsburgh last year. Diaz closed the season strong and I think he's probably the presumptive starter with Gomez tasked to clearly outperforming Diaz to win the job. Backline - Taintor and Sargis are the obvious starters in a four-man backline, likely even on a three-man line with Taintor and McCrary playing wide. Gomez and Lacroix vie to start on the left. Lacroix has logged a bunch of starts with Reno and Charlotte and is probably the front-runner to start but Gomez should see plenty of action with the compressed schedule. Midfield - Felipe and Villareal are the clear DM's. As for attacking MF's, Foster and Prennanen have only 11 games USL experience. Foster was productive during his brief stint with RGV. Forward - Belmar, Iwasa and Formella are known quantities, with the question being will Belmar recapture his Swope Park magic. Bone was a solid contributor in Reno and figures to be a part-time starter. With 18 rostered players, Republic are coming close to filling their roster. The question is, will remining signings be experienced professionals, recent collegians or academy promotions? No tryouts have been announced. In the age of the pandemic, do Burkle and Alvarez invest to win now or conserve financial resources? Is this roster improved over 2021? Signing Taintor upgrades the CB position, but there is virtually no depth. It would be good to have Matt Mahoney right now. Until we see Foster and Prennanen it's hard to say how the midfield compares. Werner was definitely a loss but I am cautiously optimistic about the additions. Will Bone bring a scoring threat inside the box? Or, will our best scoring opportunities remain just outside of the 18 and springing Iwassa for 1 v 1 runs at the 'keeper?
I missed a CB signing back in January. Dan Casey, 20, comes over from Bohemians FC in the Irish Premier league. Open tryouts are this weekend.
Club signs Fatai Alashe Let's get to work, @FataiPrince27 🏆 pic.twitter.com/FdaDLxoSCC— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) March 24, 2021 Never lived up to expectations of a #5 overall pick in MLS Super Draft. That being said, he has lots of MLS starts and should be a very useful player in USL.
Preseason matchups, short on details... Republic FC will open their preseason schedule against MLS side Real Salt Lake in Utah this Saturday in a limited capacity match. The club will also face off against San Jose Earthquakes first team and U23 squad, as well as USL newcomers Oakland Roots in closed-door scrimmages. Edit: The club plans to welcome fans for the first time this year on April 24, when the club hosts Real Monarchs at Noon.