SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento Republic FC and Rio Grande Valley FC meet for the first time on Saturday night at Bonney Field in a contest that pits two of the top five teams in the USL Western Conference against each other. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. PT.

Matchcenter: http://www.uslsoccer.com/game/show/13218316

Sacramento Republic FC news and notes

• Current record: 6-3-3, 21 points
• Sacramento is coming off back-to-back victories against Real Monarchs SLC last week, with the side taking a 1-0 win at Bonney Field and a 2-1 win at Greater Nevada Field in a contest hosted by 2017 USL expansion side Reno 1868 FC.
• Republic FC trailed at halftime in Reno, but goals by Adam Jahn and Cameron Iwasa early in the second half put the team in position for its sixth win of the season.
• Sacramento’s wins this season have come in pairs, but the side has yet to put together a three-game winning streak this season.
• Republic FC goalkeeper Dominik Jakubek is second in the USL with a 0.58 goals-against average.

Rio Grande Valley FC news and notes

• Current record: 6-3-4, 22 points
• RGVFC enters Saturday’s game one point and two places ahead of Sacramento in the Western Conference standings.
• The side took a 3-0 victory against OKC Energy FC last Saturday on home turf, snapping OKC’s eight-game undefeated streak in the process.
• The Toros will be without Jose Escalante on Saturday after he was sent off in the game against Energy FC, and is serving a one-game suspension.
• A handful of key players for RGVFC this season appeared midweek for the Houston Dynamo. Among them was T.J. Casner, who made his debut for the side after recording four assists so far this season.

2016 Team leaders

• Goals: Sacramento – Cameron Iwasa, 3; Rio Grande Valley – Memo Rodriguez, Jose Escalante, Robbie Lovejoy, 3
• Assists: Sacramento – James Kiffe, 3; Rio Grande Valley – T.J. Casner, 4

Series notes

• This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Officials

• REF: Reyna Fonseca
• AR1: Apolinar Mariscal
• AR2: Eric Ehrhardt
• 4TH: Tucker Schwarberg

Game hashtag:

• #SACvRGV

Twitter social handles

• Sacramento Republic FC – @SacRepublicFC
• Rio Grande Valley FC – @RGVFC