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League: USL Championship
Conference: Western
Location: Sacramento, Calif.
Venue: Papa Murphy’s Park
Notable Players: Thomas Stewart, Rodrigo Lopez, Cameron Iwasa, Josh Cohen, Emrah Klimenta, Elliott Hord, Nemanja Vukovic, James Kiffe, Jeremy Hall, Octavio Guzman and Villyan Bijev
''Known for its passionate fan base and wild home game crowds, the Sacramento Republic FC is one of the most popular clubs in all of USL Championship—the second tier of American soccer behind the MLS. With the immense growth of soccer in the United States, businessmen Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner founded the club in 2012. During its inaugural season, the Sacramento Republic stormed into the 2014 championship game, beating the Harrisburg City Islanders by a score of 2-0 as the second seed in the Western Conference. More than 8,000 fans attended the championship game at Bonney Field in Sacramento. In 2016, the Republic finished at the top of the conference standings for the first time in club history. Forward Cameron Iwasa, who joined the team in 2015, has scored 47 goals and an additional 16 assists in 116 appearances, setting the club's scoring record and establishing himself as a fan favorite. Join in on the action when you get your Sacramento Republic FC tickets at StubHub.'
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On Oct. 21, 2019, an announcement was made that the Sacramento Republic FC would begin playing in the MLS during the 2022 season. The club will build a new $300 million stadium that seats around 20,100 people in Sacramento’s downtown Railyards District. This new stadium is expected to be part of a redevelopment project that includes housing, retail, theaters, parks, museums, hotels and a medical center. The Sacramento Republic will be the fourth California club in the MLS, along with the
LA Galaxy
,
Los Angeles FC
and the
San Jose Earthquakes
.
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The 2020 regular season will get off to an exciting start against
FC Tulsa
at home on March 7. Other important home games include
Reno 1868 FC
on March 25,
Orange County SC
on June 27,
LA Galaxy II
on July 18,
Portland Timbers 2
on Aug. 22,
Real Monarchs SLC
on Oct. 4 and
Phoenix Rising FC
on Oct. 17 to end the regular season. A second-round matchup against the
Oakland Roots
also looms in the 2020
US Open Cup
on April 8. The US Open Cup, which is the oldest and longest-running soccer tournament in the country, brings together all major American soccer clubs to crown a single champion.
''In the 2019 regular season, Sacramento Republic FC finished with a record of 14 wins, 14 losses and six draws. By accumulating 48 points, the club earned a seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Sacramento began the playoffs in grand fashion with an upset of the second seed Reno 1868 by 3-1. In the opening minutes of the match, Corey Hertzog from Reno and Sam Werner from Sacramento traded goals to tie the score at 1-1. The match remained tied until Cameron Iwasa broke it open in the 70th minute. Forward Thomas Enevoldsen added an insurance goal five minutes later. Despite the enormous upset, Sacramento Republic lost in the second round 3-0 to the six seed El Paso Locomotive FC.'
'Mark Briggs was hired for the top coaching job on Dec. 16, 2019. Following a long playing career with various clubs around the world, Briggs briefly joined the Wilmington Hammerheads in 2015 and 2016 as head coach. He was hired by Salt Lake City’s Real Monarchs the following season and became the 2017 USL Coach of the Year with a 29-8-7 record. Briggs was then hired by Sacramento as an adviser for the club’s academy prior to his role as head coach.'
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Sacramento’s home arena,
Papa Murphy’s Park
, which opened in 2014 as Bonney Field, has a capacity of 11,500 for sporting events. It is located on the grounds of the California Exposition and State Fair, more commonly known as Cal Expo, in Sacramento, Calif.
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