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Republic FC Brings Capacity Crowd to Feet

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 04/02/17, 10:14AM EDT

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11.569 fans see Ochoa’s double aided by Kneeshaw’s industry in 4-0 victory


Photo courtesy Sacramento Republic FC

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With the offseason departure for 2016 All-League forward Cameron Iwasa to Sporting Kansas City, Sacramento Republic FC was looking for someone who could replace his productivity in attack.

With three goals in his first two games for the club, veteran forward Sammy Ochoa is looking like he might just fit the bill. A pair of goals from Ochoa on Saturday night led Sacramento to a 4-0 victory against Orange County SC in front of a sellout crowd of 11,569 fans at Papa Murphy’s Park for the club’s second consecutive win to start the season.

“I am thrilled with Sammy,” said Republic FC Head Coach Paul Buckle. “I think he’s doing everything that I thought he would do. He came in two months prior to the season getting underway. The one thing he does is he affects the game. He scores goals and he creates goals which is nice. He can finish. We’ve been crying out for that and he’s dangerous. He’s been dangerous in training and that first strike set us off.”

Ochoa’s opening goal turned the game in Sacramento’s favor after Orange County had made much of the running early on. A big save by Evan Newton to deny Duke Lacroix was key for the hosts as they looked to avoid a repeat of the result that saw Orange County knock them out of the 2016 USL Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

The opener came against the run of play thanks to a marvelous pass by Republic FC midfield standout Danny Barrera. A chipped pass over the top of the Orange County defense found Wilson Kneeshaw in stride, and while the English forward had his first two efforts denied by a recovering OC defense, Ochoa calmly drove home from 20 yards into the left corner to give Sacramento the lead.

In his first start of the season, Kneeshaw was again pivotal in Ochoa’s second goal as he turned a ball into the penalty area by Elliott Hord onto the right post just before the hour-mark. Kneeshaw recovered the rebound, and his low effort toward the far post was tapped home by Ochoa.

“Just following the play,” said Ochoa of his two goals. “Being at the right time at the right place. It’s actually goals by Wilson that happened by me. I’m just here to pick up the trash. We have to win and that’s the most important thing.”

Kneeshaw was rewarded for his performance with a goal nine minutes later, and Harry Williams capped the performance in stoppage time as the growing chemistry between the returnees to the squad and newcomers Ochoa and Blackwood shone through.

“We work on it every day in training,” said Kneeshaw. “He’s [Blackwood] obviously English so we’ve got that connection there. We all work together, even with Sammy getting the assist, working together with him is like a partnership. It’s all coming together.”

After the disappointment of seeing the club’s season come to a swift end in the postseason last year, Republic FC has now set itself up to remain one of the major contenders in the Western Conference this season.

“You’re not going to get it all straight away from the start of the season,” said Buckle. “Orange County are a good side, they’ve added a lot of quality to their squad, but I think tonight we showed what a good team we can be this season.”

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