February 26, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Sacramento Republic FC News Release
As the 2024 season opener draws closer, Republic FC was on the pitch again this past weekend to continue preparations for the season. Oakland Roots SC visited the Indomitable Club for a preseason double header from Cosumnes River College. The Bay Area side took the first match of the day by a 2-1 score line, before the two sides played to a 3-3 draw to close the day.
The pair of games marked an important milestone for the club, stretching out every player to 90 minutes for the first time this preseason. The squad responded well to the challenge, showing little signs of heavy legs and maintaining their quality on the ball all the way to the final whistle. It was a positive indicator of the club’s progress and dedication to their preparations over the past month.
“I thought we moved the ball well, we got into dangerous spots,” said Mark Briggs on the team’s performance. “I think we’ve still got to be a little bit sharper in the final third, which is what the focus will be for the final two weeks as we build up to Orange County. But overall, we feel like we’re in a good spot and trending in a great direction.”
“The attitude, the mindset, and the focus to try and deliver what we’re asking has been a really pleasing thing to see,” said Briggs. “And then executing what we’re asking – understanding why certain movements are important. Overall, we’re happy with the group’s focus and the group’s energy. But now we have to step it up a level with two weeks to go until opening night.”
The matches marked the final closed-door contests of training camp for Republic FC. Through both games, the club showed strong in possession and created high-quality scoring chances at an impressive clip. Rodrigo Lopez found the net for his first score of camp in the first match, while Rafa Jauregui netted two goals and an assist to Russell Cicerone in the second. Jauregui’s scores were the 19-year-old’s fourth and fifth goals of training camp and marked his second brace in as many games after bagging two last Wednesday against Central Valley Fuego FC.
“It’s huge to get competition against teams that you’re going to compete against. From a fitness standpoint, I thought we were strong, we were solid, we looked like we could keep going, which is always a good sign,” Briggs said. “But now we’ve just got to fine-tune some of the football aspects of it.”
The squad’s final preseason contest…
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