September 3, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Sacramento Republic FC News Release
Louisville, Ky. – Republic FC fell 3-1 to Eastern Conference leader Louisville City FC on Saturday night, their first-ever match with the Kentucky club.
Due to lightning, a lengthy weather delay interrupted action for over an hour just after the start of the second half. Academy Contract signee Jose Ponce made his first-team debut, joining fellow Academy products Tiago Suarez and Fernando Venegas in making his first career appearance with his hometown club.
Louisville wasted little time pulling ahead, striking first in the 9th minute. A gentle flick from Wilson Harris on a deep cross found its way over the line to give the Kentucky club an early advantage. The lead wouldn’t last for long, however, as Sacramento struck back just before the half-hour mark to even the score line. A great cross from Douglas Martinez was headed through by Emil Cuello for his second of the season.
Sacramento fielded additional pressure as the opening half continued. The outstretched arm of Carlos Saldaña denied a set piece opportunity headed on target by Louisville’s Jorge Gonzalez. Just a few moments later, the Kentucky club converted on a corner kick to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Louisville came out of the gate strong in the second half – and if not for another great save from Saldaña would have stretched their advantage to two. The Vallejo native denied a point-blank opportunity from Wilson Harris searching for another score. Moments later, Deshorn Brown nearly evened things up for Sacramento, but a shot from distance went just wide of the target.
The long weather delay allowed Mark Briggs’ men a chance to reset. After restarting play, the club showed great pace and aggression on the attacking end. At the hour mark, Zeiko Lewis corralled a deflected ball at the top of the penalty area and sent in a well-paced shot, but it was blocked by a Louisville defender at the line. Ten minutes later, Brown missed the target by inches after getting a head on a cross from Martinez on the left. But the club couldn’t get one over the line before a third score for the hosts found the net in the final moments.
Republic FC now heads south to Florida for the highly-anticipated U.S. Open Cup Final in Orlando Florida on Wednesday, September 7. Kickoff from Exploria Stadium is set for 5:00 PM PT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+, as well on the radio locally on SacTown Sports…
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