SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Going into Wednesday night’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup clash against Real Salt Lake, there’s a sense of optimism for Sacramento Republic FC midfielder Danny Barrera.

After all, it’s not like the Republic FC playmaker hasn’t faced longer odds against MLS opposition at this stage of the tournament.

As one of the members of the famous 2012 Cal FC side that upset the Portland Timbers, he knows this is a tournament where anything can happen. Barrera provided the 95th minute assist on Artur Aghasyan’s game-winning goal five years ago, one of the biggest highlights of his career.

“That’s definitely a game I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Barrera told the Sacramento Bee’s Mark Billingsley. “We had never trained together before and had to win a tournament just to qualify for the Cup. But we clicked immediately.”

RELATED: USL Clubs Seek Open Cup Glory

Now one of the top midfielders in the USL, Barrera is hoping Republic FC’s first home Open Cup game against MLS opposition will provide another memorable night. Sacramento has reached this stage twice before, and fell agonizingly in a penalty shootout to the San Jose Earthquakes two years ago after holding a 2-0 lead early in the second half.

With Real Salt Lake struggling for form in Major League Soccer, the visitors are also well aware of what lies ahead as they visit Papa Murphy’s Park.

“I don’t believe or consider us a favorite (Wednesday), and the only reason people say we’re the favorite is because we are an MLS organization,” RSL Head Coach Mike Petke told Billingsley. “Sacramento is a very good, hardworking, talented group and they have a major-league environment. They’ll be completely up for this. Traditionally, there have been tons of upsets in this tournament because one team gets up for it and the other doesn’t.”

With RSL’s current form, and an important MLS game against Minnesota United FC coming up on Saturday night, the visitors will hope to get a boost for the players added to the squad from USL high-flyers Real Monarchs SLC. While RSL side 10th out of 11 teams in the MLS Western Conference, the Monarchs are sitting on top of the USL standings after winning 11 of their first 12 games this season.

“This Monarchs team is one of the most talented rosters in the USL and they’re hungry,” Petke said. “We know Sacramento will be hungry, too, and this is a huge game for them.”

RELATED: Monarchs Keeping Streak in Perspective

After his experience five years ago, though, Barrera and fellow veterans like Sammy Ochoa have voiced their confidence to those teammates stepping into the Fourth Round for the first time.

“I explained to them that this is a wonderful opportunity to expose their game, to show that they can play at [the MLS] level,” Barrera said. “I have no doubt that we can win.”