Want to catch a preseason game? Better go to ARC a week from Saturday. That, or road trip! Preseason schedule DATE: OPPONENT: LOCATION: Feb. 9 - Sacramento Gold FC @ American River College Feb. 13 - Ventura County Fusion @ Santa Barbara Polo Fields Feb. 16 - LA Galaxy II @ Dignity Health Sports Park Feb. 23 - Reno 1868 FC @ Stanislaus State March 2 - UC Davis* @ Papa Murphy's Park *Not open to the public. This might not be the final schedule, but the weekends are now booked so don't hold your breath for something better.
They list it as not being open to the public. Maybe they felt that previous incidents were caused (or made worse) by the audiences? That isnt how i remember it being reported though.
So, expert prognosticators, what are your predictions for the season? I predict another top-three finish in the west with a real shot at winning it all. However, I'm often overly optimistic this time of year. I do like that we've brought in, what seem to be, mostly proven USL players and not taken flyers on a lot of guys from other leagues. I'm glad the season is almost upon us. We can start focusing on what's happening on the field instead of marine-wildlife.
I agree with your prediction, although i think they would have been better if Matjasic had stuck around. Surprised Cohen is still here, i thought someone (MLS) would have snapped him up this year.
Preseason results so far: Republic FC 5:0 Sacramento Gold Republic FC 9:1 Ventura Co Fusion Goals Scorers: Tyler Blackwood (2) Quincy Butler (2) Stefano Bonomo (2) Cam Iwasa (4) Vilyan Bijev (2) Drew Skundrich Hayden Partain Galaxy II Saturday night.
Tailgating and new sod... https://www.sacrepublicfc.com/news_article/show/994569 "...the Raley’s Tailgate Zone will be located in the lot directly adjacent to the main Papa Murphy’s Park entrance and will be open two hours prior to kickoff. Fans will be allowed to bring their own food and beverages, including alcohol, small tents, and gas-powered grills to the tailgate. A rotating food truck on-site will provide additional food options for fans in the tailgating zone, while Raley's stores will offer made-to-order and ready-to-go trays, sandwiches and salads for pickup on the way to the game. Tailgating reservations will only be an additional $5 (above standard parking fees) and available for purchase online on a game-by-game basis. Fans can sign up to be notified when tailgating spots go on sale to the public by visiting SacRepublicFC.com/tailgating... Republic FC announced that the field at Papa Murphy’s Park has undergone a complete renovation. The grass has been completely replaced with ~90,000 square feet of Latitude 36™ Bermudagrass. The hybrid sod type and re-constructed drainage are designed to better withstand ...the wear and tear of games and events at the stadium.
Friendly v. Reno will now be played at Davis Legacy soccer club and will be two split-squad games, beginning at noon. Open to the public but you have to register ahead of time. More details: https://www.sacrepublicfc.com/news_article/show/997273
With two split-squad wins today, it looks like we may be a bit deeper than Reno 1868. Game 1 - SRFC 4:1 Reno Game 2 - SRFC 1:0 Reno Game 1 goals from Bonomo (2), Skundrich and Blackwood Game 2 goal from Partain Game 1 lineup: Josh Cohen Shannon Gomez Elliott Hord Drew Skundrich Haris Chantzopoulos Matt Mahoney Ray Saari Villyan Bijev Tyler Blackwood Cameron Iwasa Stefano Bonomo Game 2 lineup: Rafael Diaz Mitchell Taintor Hayden Partain Roberto Hategan Sam Werner Hayden Sargis (Academy) Trialists x5 Missing from today's games lineups are Dekel Keinan and Kevin Aleman. Looking at the makeup of the two lineups, I wonder if that game 1 lineup is what our starting XI will mostly look like to start the season.
In five games this preseason, we've outscored opponents 20 - 2, including a differential of 6-1 vs USL teams. Goal scored so far: Tyler Blackwood (3) Quincy Butler (2) Stefano Bonomo (4) Cam Iwasa (4) Vilyan Bijev (3) Drew Skundrich (2) Hayden Partain (2) Closed match vs. UC Davis next Saturday to close out the preseason.
The Sash is Back... The sash is BACK 🙌 Introducing our 2019 @Nike home jersey. Get yours now.➡️ https://t.co/4aiFMKBbDw#LetsGo pic.twitter.com/C8L51FWbuO— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) March 1, 2019
Hey, does anyone want to split creating game threads? My days are really full for the next several months. Maybe one of us do home and the other do away? Create your thread however you want, it's your thread.
I was hoping to keep a running tally of statistics like I did last season, but there simply hasn't been the time (yeah, poor me). Anyway, here's a midseason check-point from the league website comparing our 2019 team rankings to 2018, after 17 matches. The one stark difference here is in passing, we've gone from 2nd in the West to 18th (a.k.a dead last), with nearly 1,400 fewer passes. Here are some other observations: You'll notice from the Goals Scored, and Conversion Rate numbers that we're actually doing better statistically, but are lower in the rankings compared to last year. Likewise, even though we've conceded more goals, our ranking in the conference is better, suggesting the conference is better offensively than last year. I won't post the numbers, but looking over the league's stat page seems to show that. Along with Real Monarchs, we've only played 17 matches, fewest in the conference. All other clubs have played 18 or 19. Therefore, our numbers are probably somewhat suppressed. Fewer games played certainly helps explain our low ranking in the number of passes, but I also think that we're not patiently building play from the back this season. IMO, we seem to be trying to attack quickly with long passes on the ground hoping to spring runners into open space and pressure the goal that way. Perhaps our improved conversion rate reflects that. Looking at our remaining matches, we've played one of the more difficult schedules to date. We currently sit in a tie for 8th in an 18 team conference. Of our remaining games, 11 of the 17 come against teams in the bottom 1/2 of the standings. Finally, to a lesser note, most other clubs played that group of teenagers that are the bulk of the Tacoma Defiance roster. We faced a lot of senior roster players. I'm not even going to bother posting a comparison to last season of individual rankings. Outside of Cam's nine goals, we have absolutely no one, not a single guy, in the top ten in shots, passes, chances created or assists. I don't just mean not in the top ten, but anywhere close to it. Injuries and Simon's tinkering of the lineup probably go a long way in explaining that. It's been a frustrating season and the numbers reflect that. The good news, though, is that we should show better the rest of the way.
(Just watched 2-1 loss to second worst team in WC who had not scored a goal in better than a month) ...or perhaps not. Right now, this is a mid-table team, at best. I do not think The Braintrust was prepared for the increased level of competition in the west, particularly from the expansion sides.
In case anyone's interested, here's my graph tracking positions in the MLS and USL, updated weekly. LAFC's dominance in MLS, and Phoenix's in USL, are starkly apparent. Both have clinched playoff spots already. On the low end, Vancouver and FC Cincinnati are mathematically eliminated. No USL teams share that fate yet, but it won't be long. I think it's interesting to see the difference between the USL Eastern and Western Conferences. There's a big clump in the middle in the West, which we're right in the middle of. There are just a few teams at the top and the bottom. In the East, the teams neatly separate into the good teams and the bad teams, with just a couple in the middle. http://joelriphagen.net/StandingsTracker/ Enjoy.