SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A goal five minutes from the end of extra time by Jure Matjasic handed Sacramento Republic FC its second consecutive trip to the Round of 16 in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after a 2-1 victory against Seattle Sounders FC at Papa Murphy’s Park on Wednesday night.  

Sacramento had initially taken the lead 15 minutes into the second half as Cameron Iwasa opened the scoring for the hosts, but Seattle leveled the game through Harry Shipp in the first minute of second-half stoppage time to force extra time.

Seattle’s Felix Chenkam then tried to break the deadlock three minutes into the first period of the additional 30 minutes with a flicked finish off a low cross from the left that went well wide, and two minutes later Sacramento’s Villyan Bijev had a low shot tipped just wide of the right post by Seattle goalkeeper Bryan Meredith with a low strike from the top of the penalty area.

Sacramento went close in the second period of extra time as Matjasic’s free kick was headed wide by Mitchell Taintor in the 111th minute, but the hosts finally earned the goal they were looking for with five minutes to go when Bijev slipped Iwasa into space for a shot that was initially parried b Meredith, only for Matjasic to put home the rebound.

In regulation, both teams had chances early as Seattle’s Shandon Hopeau forced a simple save by Republic FC goalkeeper Josh Cohen, and Sacramento’s Elliot Hord couldn’t quite connect in front of goal with a cross through the penalty area three minutes later. Republic FC’s Wilson Kneeshaw then had a shot blocked in the 24th minute, while Justin Schmidt shot high for the hosts two minutes later as Sacramento started to apply more pressure.

The Sounders went close to taking the lead just past the half-hour mark as Lamar Neagle shot wide of the right post from close range after a corner kick, but Sacramento continued to have more of the run of play before the halftime break as both Bijev and Kneeshaw missed the target on opportunities in the closing stages of the first half.

Seattle threatened again early in the second half as a low cross by Henry Wingo skipped through the Sacramento penalty area but couldn’t find a finishing touch, and Bijev made an important defensive interception for the hosts as Hopeau tried to find Chenkam with a header in the penalty area in the 56th minute.

Sacramento took the lead on the hour-mark, however, as referee Alejandro Mariscal played advantage when Adam Moffatt was brought down in the build-up into the attacking third which allowed Hord to pick up possession on the right side, and the fullback’s low cross to the top of the six-yard area was turned home by Iwasa with a first-time finish.

Iwasa almost played a role in Republic FC adding a second, when after he was forced wide on a break in on goal he turned back to find Moffatt for a first-time shot that was saved by Meredith, with the Scottish midfielder’s second effort blocked behind for a corner. Iwasa then went close to his second of the night, but Meredith made a great save to keep out the Republic FC forward’s first-time finish in the 74th minute to keep it a one-goal game.

Sacramento continued to press for an insurance goal, and Moffatt sent a long-range effort on target with seven minutes to go that Meredith saved comfortably, but Seattle’s goalkeeper just kept out a long-range effort by Bijev that was pegged for the left corner moments later and a chance in the 90th minute that kept out Justin Schmidt off a corner. Both of those late saves proved big for the visitors as a deflected shot by Shipp that left Cohen helpless found the left corner of the net and sent the game to extra time. But while it took almost all the additional 30 minutes to get there, Republic FC came through before the game went to a shootout to claim another famous victory.

Scoring:
60’ – SAC – Cameron Iwasa (Elliot Hord)
90+1’ – SEA – Harry Shipp
115’ – SAC – Jure Matjasic

Sacramento Republic FC: GK Josh Cohen; D Shannon Gomez, Mitchell Taintor, Justin Schmidt, Elliot Hord (Jure Matjasic 76’); M Adam Moffatt (Jaime Villarreal 99’), Carlos Rodriguez, Jeremy Hall; F Cameron Iwasa, Villyan Bijev, Wilson Kneeshaw (Luis Espino 108’)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Rafael Diaz, Christian Eissele, Cole Seiler, Josh Turnley

Seattle Sounders FC: GK Bryan Meredith; D Waylon Francis, Tony Alfaro, Rodrigue Ele, Jordy Delem; M Nick Hinds (David Olsen 82’), Ray Saari, Henry Wingo, Shandon Hopeau (Harry Shipp 76’); F Felix Chenkam, Lamar Neagle (Alex Roldan 37’)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Calle Brown, Kelvin Leerdam, Nouhou Tolo, Marlon Vargas