SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As the ball caromed off a defender, leaving Sacramento Republic FC goalkeeper Josh Cohen suddenly moving in the wrong direction to corral a long-range shot by Seattle Sounders FC’s Harry Shipp and bounded into the open net, it could have been a deflating moment for the hosts at Papa Murphy’s Park who had been just three minutes away from booking their place in the Round of 16 in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
But with all that had happened in the previous 45 minutes, and the look that their opponents had as they whistle blew to send the game to extra time on Wednesday night, there was little doubt in the minds of Republic FC’s players that they still had a major edge over their tiring opponents.
“It was disappointing, but if you look at it, it was a fluke goal, it hit off the inside of somebody’s leg, bounced to the other post, there’s not much you can do in that situation,” said Republic FC forward Cameron Iwasa. “We came off the field after regular time and you took a look at their sideline and they’re dead, so we have 30 minutes to run them off the field. We felt like we still had our legs underneath us, we felt like we could control the play like we did during regular time and came out and got a good goal.”
That goal arrived with five minutes to go after Iwasa’s initial shot was parried by Seattle goalkeeper Bryan Meredith, which allowed Jure Matjasic to put home the rebound and send the home faithful into celebration. The 2-1 victory against the Sounders marked the second consecutive season Sacramento had felled an MLS opponent on its home turf, setting the side up for another big game in two weeks that will be revealed on Thursday when the draw is made.
As in last year’s 4-1 victory against Real Salt Lake, Republic FC’s victory didn’t come by way of good fortune. The hosts controlled much of the game, and it took a fine display in goal by Meredith and some profligate finishing by Republic FC to allow Shipp’s late goal to send the game to extra time. Once into the extra session, though, Sacramento looked by far the more likely side to take victory.
“You can’t drop your heads just because you concede a goal,” said Republic FC Head Coach Simon Elliott. “You’ve got to pick yourself up and keep going and I thought they responded really well. We controlled the game for large periods, but we just weren’t clinical enough, and when you leave the door open a good team is going to kick it down. We need to tidy up that part, being more clinical in front of goal, but I was very pleased with the response after Seattle got the goal, we kept pushing and trying to find ways to get the goal.”
Photo courtesy Sacramento Republic FC
Iwasa had given Republic FC the lead on the hour-mark with his first goal in the Open Cup this season, sliding home a close-range finish from Elliot Hord’s low cross from the right. With five goals in the league already this season, the 2016 USL All-League selection has been one of Republic FC’s shining lights this season, and the local standout believes the side is now coming into its best form of the season.
“We’re really hitting our stride in general,” said Iwasa. “To be able to come out and control the tempo like that it makes it a lot more fun to play instead of just chasing the game. We probably should have had more than one in regular time, but to be able to have that kind of momentum and keep them on their heels the whole time it definitely makes it a lot more fun.”
With a clash against another MLS foe set to be revealed on Thursday – against either the LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC or the Portland Timbers – Republic FC is hoping its form in both the league and Open Cup will see it rise to the occasion once again and continue to burnish the reputation of the club.
“This is why these guys play,” said Elliott. “It’s to find out how good you are.”
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