Sacramento Republic FC

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Sacramento Republic FC
File:Sacramento Republic FC.png
Full name Sacramento Republic Football Club
Nickname(s) Republic FC, SRFC, Sac Republic FC, The Quails
Founded 2012
Stadium Bonney Field
Ground Capacity 11,569
Owner Sacramento Professional Soccer, LLC
(Warren Smith)
President Warren Smith
Head Coach Paul Buckle[1]
League USL
2015 Western Conference: 4th
Playoffs: Conference 1st Round
Website Club home page
Current season

Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California. Founded in 2012, the team made its debut in the United Soccer League in 2014.

History

On December 3, 2012, USL Pro announced that a Sacramento expansion team would join the league for the 2014 season.[2] On July 15, 2013, Predrag "Preki" Radosavljević was announced as head coach of the new franchise.[3] The official name of the team and team shield were decided by fan vote. On July 18, 2013, the franchise officially announced the team name Sacramento Republic FC during the first annual Sacramento Soccer Day.[4] As of April 2015, the team had sold more than 9,500 season-tickets.[5]

2014: First-year Championship

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Main article: 2014 Sacramento Republic FC season
Republic huddle before second half of a friendly against Atlas FC

Republic FC made their home debut on April 26, 2014 at Hughes Stadium, losing 2-1 to the Harrisburg City Islanders, before a sellout crowd of 20,231.[6] This figure nearly doubled the previous USL Pro regular season single game attendance record of 10,697.[7] The following match, a 2-1 win over Orange County Blues FC, drew a slightly smaller crowd of 17,414. Eventually, all their home games were sellouts except this one.[8]

Republic FC inaugurated their new 8,000 seat, soccer-specific stadium, Bonney Field at Cal Expo, on June 20, 2014. They defeated the Colorado Rapids Reserve team 4-3. Mike Fucito scored the winning goal in the 84th Minute.[9]

On July 27, 2014 the team broke the USL Pro regular season attendance record of 112,748 previously set by Orlando City SC. Their total attendance was 182,107 (158,107 regular season; 24,000 in the playoffs).[10]

Republic FC finished the regular season in 2nd place behind Orlando City SC with a 17 Win, 4 Tie and 7 Loss record. They defeated the Wilmington Hammerheads 4-1 in the Quarterfinals. Rodrigo López scored a hat trick, including the game winner in stoppage time, to defeat LA Galaxy II 3-2 in the Semifinals. Sacramento won the USL Pro Championship by defeating the Harrisburg City Islanders 2-0 on goals from Octavio Guzman and Thomas Stewart. López was named the Championship MVP.[11][12] Preki was named Coach of the Year. Nemanja Vuković was named Defender of the Year. Both López and Vuković were named to the All-League First Team.[13]

2015: Second year

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Main article: 2015 Sacramento Republic FC season

Republic FC's second season saw them play in an expanded Bonney Field. They lost their first game of the season 4-2 away to Seattle Sounders FC 2.[14] They soon picked up form and saw them beat Sonoma County Sol and Chula Vista FC 4-2 and 7-3 respectively in the US Open Cup to reach the Fourth Round two years running.[15][16][17] On July 7, the Republic announced that Head-Coach Preki would be leaving and was being replaced by Paul Buckle.[18] Buckle's first game with the Republic was a friendly with Premier League side Sunderland on July 14, which Sacramento won 1-0.[19]

Sacramento placed fourth in the USL Western Conference standings after a season-concluding draw with conference champions Orange County Blues.[20][21] The Republic qualified for playoffs for the second consecutive year, losing to LA Galaxy II 1-0 in the first round.[22]

On December 9, 2015 Sacramento Republic FC announced the signing of Goalkeeper Evan Newton.[23]

Colors and crest

Republic FC's colors are old glory red, maple and egg shell. The club crest is a classic shield that honors the Bear Flag, taking several colors from the flag itself. The crest also carries an image of a California grizzly bear, which is found on the state's flag and is California's official state animal, along with a nautical star, which is representative of, and in the same color as, the star on the Bear Flag. Below the bear is the motto of the city of Sacramento, "Urbs Indomita," in Latin meaning "The Indomitable City."[24]

Kit

The club released the design of their inaugural home and away shirts on December 5, 2013. The kit manufacturer was Italian sportswear company Lotto, with UC Davis Children’s Hospital as the shirt sponsor through the 2016 season. The home kit’s dominant color is the club’s signature color “Old Glory Red,” and the away shirt is be primarily white. Both Lotto kits featured a diagonal stripe of dark maroon, with the club crest positioned on the left side of the wearer’s chest. The club’s motto, “Urbs Indomita,” was printed on the right sleeve.[25] The third kit, unveiled before the 2015 season and US Open Cup, featured horizontal eggshell and white stripes and a star over the crest to commemorate the previous season's USL Championship.[26]

On November 21, 2015, Republic FC announced a new partnership with Nike and unveiled new home and away kits for the 2016 USL season. The home kit is once again "Old Glory Red," while the away kit is now white and gray. Both designs omit the diagonal stripe in favor of vertical patterns. The new designs feature "Urbs Indomita" written on the back neckline.[27]

Kit manufacturers and shirt partners

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
2014–2015 Lotto UC Davis Children’s Hospital
2016– Nike

Supporters

Tower Bridge Battalion

Republic FC draws fans from a large region of Northern California, with many fans traveling from the eastern areas of the bay and as far north as Redding to watch matches.

The club's independent supporters' group is called the Tower Bridge Battalion.[28] The group gets their name from the Tower Bridge, a central structure in downtown Sacramento that connects Sacramento proper to West Sacramento. The Tower Bridge Battalion occupies one area of the team's home stadium. Several chants have been coordinated for the Tower Bridge Battalion, which they yell throughout the match. Common instruments used by the Battalion are large drums, megaphones, and other noise making items. The group has several coordinators that help to keep the crowd in unison during the match.[29][30] When a Republic FC player scores, it's customary for the player and his teammates to run towards the Tower Bridge Battalion section and celebrate with them.

The Tower Bridge Battalion have been central in organizing fan support of a Major League Soccer expansion team in Sacramento. On September 19, 2014 the Battalion led a crowd of thousands through the streets in downtown Sacramento designed to showcase the areas fanbase for MLS officials.[31][32]

Stadium

When the club was originally proposed, officials had planned on using Hughes Stadium, a 20,311 seater, open, multi-purpose stadium at Sacramento City College.[33] On November 14, 2013, however, it was announced that Republic FC planned to play in a new 8,000 seat soccer-specific stadium being built on the grounds of Cal Expo.[34] The proposed stadium would be funded and owned by Ovations Food Service and, if approved, was expected to be completed in time for the first match of the 2014 USL season.[35] Because the new stadium at Cal Expo was not completed in time for the start of 2014 season matches, the club played its initial 2014 matches at Hughes Stadium.[33] The new stadium was named Bonney Field, following a sponsorship deal for naming rights with Bonney Plumbing, Heating, Air and Rooter Service.

On June 20, 2014, the club played its inaugural match at the completed Bonney Field against the Colorado Rapids Reserves, winning the match 4-3. The game drew a sellout crowd of 8,000, significantly lower than the regular crowds at Hughes Stadium due to the smaller size of Bonney, but this number still remains very high for regular season USL Pro matches.

In January 2015, expansion efforts at Bonney Field began to increase the seating at the stadium.[36] Capacity for 2015 was expanded to 11,442,[37] with added seats in the north endline and east sideline.

As part of President Warren Smith's ambition for the club to join MLS as an expansion team, Republic FC has announced intentions to build an 18,000 seat soccer-specific stadium in Downtown Sacramento.[38] In August 2015, Republic FC announced the hiring of HNTB Corp as lead architects of the stadium project, which will be on the former site of the Sacramento Railyards. (HNTB previously designed two Northern California venues, Raley Field in Sacramento and Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.)[39]

The concept design of the new stadium, based in part on fan input from a web survey and a series of workshops, was unveiled on December 1, 2015.[40][41] Though designed with a closed bowl, the stadium will have separate stands on different sides to create a unique character for each one, an homage to classic English stadia like St James' Park. To meet the designer's stated goal of creating MLS's best home court advantage, the seating will feature the steepest grade in the MLS in and an untiered east side reminiscent of Westfalenstadion's Yellow Wall.[42] On December 1, the evening of the design unveil, the Sacramento City Council voted 8-0 to approve a term sheet promoting construction of the 25,000-seat venue, with a target 2018 completion date if the club is accepted into MLS. The stadium is estimated to cost $226 million, $180 million of which will be covered by private funding.[43]

Team records

Year-by-Year

As of September 22, 2015
Season United Soccer League Play-offs US Open Cup Top Scorer
P W L D GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
2014 28 17 7 4 49 28 55 2nd Champions 4R Northern Ireland Thomas Stewart 11
2015 28 13 8 7 43 31 46 4th Conference 1R 4R United States Rodrigo Lopez 10
2016 8 4 3 1 6 3 13 4th -- -- United States Tommy Thompson 2

Head Coaches

  • Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and U.S. Lamar Hunt Open Cup
Sacramento Republic FC Coaching Stats
Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Loss Draw Win %
Preki  United States July 15, 2013 July 11, 2015 56 33 16 7 58.93
Paul Buckle  England July 12, 2015 Present 8 4 2 2 50.00

Average Attendences

Sacramento Republic FC Average Attendances
Year Reg. Season Play-offs
2014 11,293 (USL Record) 8,000
2015 11,329 (USL Record) 11,442

Club Captains

Sacramento Republic FC Club Captains
Dates Player Nationality
2014–2015 Justin Braun  United States
2016 Danny Barrera  Colombia

Honors

United Soccer League

  • USL Champions: 2014
  • USL Regular Season Runners-up: 2014

First team roster

As of April 18th, 2016.[44]

No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Dominik Jakubek (Vice Captain)     United States
2 Defender Derek Foran      Ireland
3 Defender Mike da Fonte      United States
4 Midfielder Alfonso Motagalvan      United States
5 Midfielder Danny Barrera (Captain)     Colombia
6 Midfielder Agustin Cazarez      United States
7 Forward Joaquin Rivas      El Salvador
8 Defender Chris Christian      United States
9 Forward Harry Williams      England
10 Forward Thomas Stewart      Northern Ireland
11 Midfielder Max Alvarez      United States
12 Goalkeeper Evan Newton      United States
13 Forward Adam Jahn (On loan from San Jose Earthquakes)     United States
14 Forward Cameron Iwasa      United States
15 Defender Carlos Rodriguez      Mexico
16 Midfielder Matt LaGrassa      United States
17 Midfielder Octavio Guzmán      Mexico
18 Midfielder Daniel Trickett-Smith      England
19 Forward Mackenzie Pridham      Canada
20 Defender James Kiffe      United States
21 Forward Tommy Thompson (On loan from San Jose Earthquakes)     United States
22 Midfielder Chase Minter      United States
23 Defender Emrah Klimenta      Montenegro
24 Midfielder J. J. Koval      United States
26 Forward Mark Sherrod (On loan from San Jose Earthquakes)     United States
27 Forward Kip Colvey (On loan from San Jose Earthquakes)     United States

Technical Staff

As of August 22, 2015.

Position Name
Director of Football England Graham Smith
Head Coach, Technical Director England Paul Buckle
Head Assistant Coach United States Adam Smith
Assistant Coach United States Antonio Sutton
Assistant Coach/Goalkeepers England Simon Sheppard
Strength & Conditioning Coach United States Luke Rayfield
Head Athletic Trainer United States John Duncan
Team Chiropractor United States Jesse Saenz
Video Analyst United States Chris Malenab
Academy Director United States Rod Underwood

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ "Republic FC reaches season ticket cap at 9,500", Sacramento Bee, June 11, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Republic FC loses home opener before sellout crowd at Hughes Stadium", Sacramento Bee, April 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Sacramento Republic FC opener sells out, sets league record", Sacramento Bee, April 25, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Sacramento pleases large crowd with win ", Sacramento Bee, May 3, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Republic FC thrills sell-out crowd at new Bonney Field", Soccer America, June 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Sacramento Republic FC sets USL Pro attendance record", Sacramento Bee, July 28, 2014.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found..
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ http://www.sacbee.com/2014/04/23/6344863/tower-bridge-battalion-ready-for.html
  29. ↑ http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/millennials-kick-soccers-popularity
  30. ↑ https://sports.vice.com/article/sacramento-is-already-an-mls-city
  31. ↑ http://latestnewsfootball.com/sacramento-republic-fc-fans-turnout-for-mls/
  32. ↑ http://www.kcra.com/news/sacramento-republic-fc-fans-turnout-for-mls/28146058
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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