In the first-ever matchup between Major League Soccer side Minnesota United FC and United Soccer League (USL Championship) Sacramento Republic FC, it was the visitors who escaped Heart Health Park Tuesday night 9-8 in penalties, after both teams failed to score through regulation and extra time.

When it was all said and done, it took 12 rounds of penalty kicks (second longest in the Open Cup Modern Era) for Minnesota to advance to the Round of 16. With the win, Minnesota moves to 11-6-2 all-time in the Open Cup tournament, 4-0-1 against the USL Championship and 3-0 in Open Cup penalty shootouts.

For Republic FC, it was a difficult end to a match where they played incredibly hard, had some solid chances in the final third — especially in extra time — but just couldn’t get over the hump. For a brief moment in penalties, it was started to feel reminiscent of the penalty shootout against Sporting Kansas City in 2022 that sent the Quails to the Open Cup Final. However, this time there would be no Open Cup magic.

“I’m disappointed for the team, because I thought we deserved to win the game,” said Republic FC Manager Neill Collins. “We created the best opportunities particularly those last 15 minutes of extra time. [We] really came on strong and then in penalties, we gave ourselves two great opportunities to win it, but didn’t quite manage it.”

All things considered, Republic FC have no reason to hang their head. They gave Minnesota everything they could handle, and it was a match that could have gone either way. The backline was outstanding, led by Lee Desmond and Freddy Kleeman and midfielder Blake Willey and forward Forster Ajago also played well. Goalkeeper Danny Vitiello put in another shift between the sticks (notching five saves) and the Tower Bridge Battalion were LOUD all night, which made the atmosphere electric.

With the loss, Republic FC move to 25-10-2 all-time in the Open Cup competition and an impressive 21-4-1 at home. Despite the loss, if they can play this well moving forward in league play and get key players back like defender Jack Gurr and midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye, they should be in good shape.

The Quails return to USL Championship play on April 21 when they face newcomers Brooklyn FC on the road.

Behind an extra time brace from Sacramento Republic FC forward Forster Ajago, the Quails defeated 1993 Open Cup champion El Farolito 2-0 Wednesday night in Round 1 of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. With the win, Republic FC move their home record to 21-3-1 all-time at home and punch their ticket to Round 2.

To say the match was chippy would be an understatement. To give some perspective, there were 10 yellow cards and THREE red cards. We’ll get into the mayhem that led to those red cards momentarily.

Throughout the match, it was whistle after whistle, which made it hard for either team to really get into any flow. Playing physical, wasting time and trying to get to penalties certainly seemed like the game plan from the visitors.

“There is a lot to digest about that [match], but I think the biggest thing is we’re through to the next round, said Republic FC Manager Neill Collins. “You didn’t want to have extra time, but we managed to see that through.”

With few chances from either side across the first 90 minutes, in the 95th minute, it was Ajago who headed home a beautiful cross from Dominik Wanner on the left side of the pitch to give Republic FC a 1-0 lead.

In the 102nd minute, the referee issued a straight red card to El Farolito midfielder Kipre Sacre on a dangerous tackle near the half line, which put “The Burrito Boys” down a man for the remainder of the match.

Twenty minutes later (122nd minute), Ajago secured his brace when he stepped in front of El Farolito goalkeeper Kevin Gonzalez and blocked his attempted clearance. The deflected ball found its way behind Gonzalez and trickled into the net.

Following the goal, a scuffle broke out on the field between players, which took roughly 10 minutes to sort out. The second goal was the breaking point in a match that had been physical all night, and you kind of felt something was going to happen. In the end, red cards were given to the Republic’s Mark-Anthony Kaye and El Farolito’s Jhohann Yabur in the 127th minute, and fortunately, the referee decided to blow the final whistle.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, but I think this is a big experience for some of our players,” continued Collins. “These tests will always bring us closer together, make us stronger, and we’ll be better for it, no question. Especially when you’re able to come through it with the win.”

Republic FC will find out who they will play in Round 2 of the Open Cup via a draw by U.S. Soccer this Friday. The match will either be on March 31 or April 1.

It has been two months since Sacramento Republic FC legend Rodrigo Lopez announced his retirement following the 2025 season—and I have to admit—I am still bummed about it.

In truth, it wasn’t a total surprise. I teased it a bit for a U.S. Soccer story I did when we caught up earlier this year during the Republic’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run. However, as I have had time to reflect on it, it finally dawned on me why his retirement hit so hard—Lopez is one of the reasons why I fell in love with soccer. Let me explain.

I have had the privilege of experiencing many great moments in sports live. Too many to mention here, but nothing quite eclipses the Miracle at Bonney, where Republic FC overcame a two goal deficit to beat LA Galaxy II on the back of Lopez who had a hat trick in the second half. For anyone who was there, it was like this out-of-body, euphoric experience that still gives me goosebumps when I watch highlights. As we all know, the Quails would go on to win the final over Harrisburg City Islanders 2-0 a week later, securing the club’s first championship in its inaugural season.

In 2022, Republic FC made another historic run all the way to the Open Cup Final where they defeated three MLS sides to get there—San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City. While they would ultimately fall to Orlando City SC in the Final, the 5-4 Semifinal penalty shootout against Sporting Kansas City at home was almost as legendary as the Miracle at Bonney.

Lopez had a tournament best four goals, four assists and was the co-Golden Boot winner. Additionally, TheCup.US voted him the Overall Player of the Tournament and Lower Division Player of the Tournament. He became only the second player ever to sweep both awards in the tournament (Chris Eylander did it in 2008).

If the Miracle at Bonney pulled me firmly into the sport, the 2022 Open Cup served as a reminder of just how incredibly transcending those moments can be. Through both competitions, it was Lopez, the Republic’s first ever signee, leading the way for his club and community.

“Sacramento and I like to have a good time”, said Lopez laughing when we discussed the Miracle at Bonney and the 2022 Open Cup run last May. “Having lived through the 2022 year with our team and making it to the Final, for me, personally, that was one of my favorite moments in my career, one of my favorite memories playing and some of the best moments of my life.”

Of course, there were so many memorable games in between these two pinnacle moments in Republic FC history. Who can forget his goal from midfield in 2015 against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC2? The guy was simply electric. When the ball was at his feet, especially during a free kick outside the box or a corner kick, you watched in wonder of what he might do. I’ll never forget that feeling.

As great as Lopez was on the pitch, he was equally great off it—a true champion for his Club, teammates and Sacramento. He was always accessible to the fans. I am forever grateful for all the time he gave me over the years to answer my questions in the most thoughtful way. Lopez never gave canned responses to things and I always appreciated that authenticity.

His accessibility and kindness is part of the reason why I pursued writing about the Republic— first for now defunct Sports Glutton and Indomitable City Soccer, to today some freelance work with U.S. Soccer. It made for many great nights at Cal Expo and equally many late nights writing about what I had just witnessed.

While it is awesome Lopez will stay connected to Republic FC in a player development role in 2026, I think fans are really going to miss him running around Heart Health Park on Saturday evenings. I know I sure will.

All I can say is thank you, RoRo. Thank you for always making time and being an ambassador for the game and Sacramento. Most of all, thank you for growing my love for the beautiful game and inspiring me to want to write about it. Gracias, mi amigo!

Photo courtesy of Sacramento Republic FC

While Capital City Footy has been awfully quiet since my inaugural post back in January (where has the time gone?), I have been busy contributing several pieces in support of the 2024 Lamar Hunt Open Cup with TheCup.Us and USSoccer.com. In case you missed any of that coverage, I have included links below:

• 2024 US Open Cup Round 5: Sacramento Republic strikes quickly in OT to complete comeback vs. San Jose Earthquakes. Read here.

• Sacramento Republic FC Breakaway Podcast. Listen here.

• FC Folsom father-son duo out to make debut open cup noise. Read here.

• 2024 US Open Cup Round 1: Late goal by Central Valley Fuego gives coach Jermaine Jones first USOC win. Read here.

• 2024 US Open Cup Round 4: Danny Vitiello leads Sacramento Republic to shutout win over Monterey Bay. Read here.

Moving forward, my hope is to start generating new content on Capital City Footy. This could include USL Championship, USL W League, MLS, and more. If you have ideas on soccer features you’d like to read about, please let me know. In the interim, thanks to the dozen of you who are following. :)

You need to start somewhere right? Be well all.

I recently had the privilege of sitting down with California Storm Executive Director and Assistant Coach Jamie Levoy. Throughout our conversation, Levoy and I discussed the California Storm, being part of the ownership group of the NWSL expansion team Bay FC, growth of the game, state of women’s soccer, and more.

Thank you to Levoy for making time to talk. This is the first of hopefully many posts on Capital City Footy and I am grateful for her trust and willingness to be interviewed. Without further delay, below is my conversation. I hope you enjoy.

2023 was another successful season for the California Storm. Obviously, the team fell short in the playoffs, but how do you feel it went?

I think it was fantastic — obviously coming off a national championship with the Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) in 2022, there is an expectation and hope to do that again. It is extremely hard to do, but you still strive to do that. The team was doing really well in the WPSL and USL W League and we had a couple of injuries that was rough. For instance, Eleanor Dale pulled her groin and now she’s the leading goal scorer in the entire country in Division I. We still had phenomenal players — Giana Riley, Camryn Lancaster, and the list goes on. The players, staff and everyone gave everything they could — it was such a great year.

It was definitely an adjustment playing in two leagues, but that was something the players really enjoyed because they got extra games in, got to see different opponents and it mixed things up. There are definitely things that I learned from that I am going to adjust for the upcoming season.

Talk a little more about year one competing in the USL W League. Do you feel the club got the support it needed?

I thought the league did a great job. They have the structure as they’ve done the men’s side for so long. It was kind of a plug and play on the women’s side. They gave us the resources to be successful and media [exposure]. There are areas to improve, but the overall consensus from the other clubs competing [for the first year] is that it was a really good step. [We’re] happy with the league.

I see the Storm doing a lot to connect in the community — in particular, ensuring there is access to soccer for underserved youth. Is this an area of focus for the club?

It’s all about community. I have found that kids want access to soccer year round. [Not everyone] can play on a competitive team, whether it’s kids with disabilities or kids that maybe financially can’t do it. The sport is meant for everybody. All you need is a ball. For us, we want every single person to know that they are important and that they’re seen. Soccer is a common language we can all find togetherness in. Nothing else matters. It’s just the ball and those on the field.

I imagine planning for the 2024 California Storm season is already underway. Anything exciting you can share on the horizon?

I can’t go into too much detail, but I am very excited to be soon launching a new program that will elevate girls and women not just on the pitch.

You are now part of the ownership group of NWSL expansion club Bay FC. How did you get involved in that and how are excited to be a part of it?

It’s super exciting. I always wanted to [bring] the NWSL to Sacramento. The Storm would have been perfect, we have a great community fanbase, [and I thought] we could build something great for women, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

But I was talking with Brandy [Brandy Chastain] and Leslie [Leslie Osborne] one day, and they were like, hey…we’re trying to bring the NWSL to the Bay Area. And I was like, how do I get in on this [laughs]? They got me connected and I have been all in every since. It’s so exciting.

I love what we’re doing with the Storm, but we’re always wondering where players go? Do we send them overseas? There’s just not enough opportunity here in the United States, and so with adding another team that is local, it’s just going to be massive for players and for young girls to say….wow, I can actually see these players on the field, they’re accessible…I can be that. We’ve done that with the Storm, but now this is another level.

I believe Bay FC just signed the largest sponsor in NWSL history — $13 million for naming rights to their kit. As someone who has been involved in the game both as a player, coach and executive, how gratifying is it to see what is deserved finally coming to fruition?

It’s one of those goosebumps, tears in your eyes moments because it’s something you feel like when you’re in the women’s soccer industry, you’ve been banging on doors and saying…look, we have something great here….these women are amazing, the community needs this, and nobody is opening that door.

[The investment] has been better, but it’s still a massive uphill battle. You look at what comes in on the men’s side..even USL-wise, the deals that are being done…and you’re like, why are women not getting that? These are full top professional players in the country.

But yeah, when seeing that kit sponsor and just how excited people are getting about the women’s game…not just fans, but now businesses see there is value in this…it’s huge. It’s not just we’re supporting women….this is a great market for businesses to be in.

What is your overall thoughts on where the women’s game is at?

The women’s game is at an interesting point, because if you look at the game in the United States versus the women’s game in other countries, it’s really evolving. In other countries they develop these high-end academies and not the pay-to-play model…it’s let’s get the best players in and give them the resources to be extremely successful. In the United States, we’ve always been so dominate, [but] as you saw in this last World Cup, we’re not able to just kind of ride the wave of being the best of the best anymore. We’ve got to pay attention to the details and get better that way.

So the women’s game is absolutely evolving. It’s getting faster, more technical, it’s just so exciting to watch. As much as I love that the United States is the strongest, I think it’s also exciting to see these other countries come up and be challenging.

I’m a big fan of iron sharpens iron. Without the competition, it’s hard to be pushed to hit your peak. This is just a fantastic time for the game.

Hodges is a contributor @opencup, @usopencup. Formerly, he was the editor of Indomitable City Soccer covering Sacramento Republic FC. You can follow him on Twitter @william_hodges.

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