Sacramento Republic FC Head Coach Paul Buckle will always try to prepare his side for anything it might encounter going into a contest.

OKC Energy FC defender Michael Harris’ flip-throw-in, though – which set up Miguel Gonzalez’s No. 1 ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 bicycle kick tally – was a bridge too far even for him.

“We daren’t try to recreate in training beforehand because I’m sure I’d have a few injuries if I tried to get any of our guys to try and do what that guy did with the throw,” Buckle said with a laugh. “It was an incredible throw-in. Did it catch us out? Yeah, it probably did catch us out, because normally you prepare for long throws from the side, but never a vertical one. It came in, we had numbers around it, [James] Kiffe traveled so far he sort of misjudged it, and then [Gonzalez] scores when he’s goal-side of us.

“We could have been closer, but he still has an awful lot to do to finish how he did. You have to say it was an incredible goal that’s gone viral, and if you’re going to lose an unbeaten run that goes back to [last] July, you take that one and say ‘well done.’ It was something I’ve never seen before.”

That it took a goal that remarkable to hand Republic FC its first defeat since a 2-1 setback to Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on July 26 last year is testament to how well the side had picked up where it left off a season ago. A three-game winning streak to start the new season was the best in Sacramento’s history, and put the team where it has become accustomed to near the top of the Western Conference. 

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While Buckle believes the quality of the conference has improved each season since he joined the club midway through the 2015 campaign, he also believes Republic FC still carries a target at home and on the road.

“Make no mistake about that, we know that with the teams that come into Papa Murphy’s Park or on the road, we’re the team to beat because we have that reputation,” Buckle said. “There’s no easy games. There’s always surprises. I suppose there were a lot of people that wouldn’t have seen us losing to OKC, but they’re a tough nut to crack as well.”

This year an early start to the club’s training camp at the end of January has helped the newcomers to the squad come together with the returning group. A trip to Mexico for a second consecutive preseason also helped the team bond, and certainly the club’s pattern of play so far has seen little if any drop-off from the side that finished at the top of the Western Conference standings a season ago. Sacramento leads the league with 1,931 passes this season – an average of 483 per game – and is fourth in the league with a passing accuracy rate of 80 percent.

“We’re thrilled with the start that we’ve made,” said Buckle. “We’re proud of what the players have put together so far. Our first home game was excellent against Orange County, and the other night we made more than 600 passes in the game, so we’re doing a lot of things right.”

One of the teams that sits just above Sacramento in passing accuracy is its opponent on Saturday night in the Swope Park Rangers, who have notched an 83 percent mark in their two wins. The defending Western Conference champions are close to Republic FC with an average of 473 passes per game, too, which has observers viewing the contest at Children’s Mercy Victory Field as one of the highlights of this weekend’s slate.

Buckle is among them, and is looking forward to the chance to get back in the win column to start another streak.

“I’ve watched them play. I love the way they play,” Buckle said. “I love them games where they open the field up. They want to pass the ball. We want to pass the ball. I think it’ll be an exciting game, I really do, and we’ll certainly have to be at our best if we’re going to be successful on Saturday.”