Oct. 13, 2025

2025 Match Recap: Hartford Athletic 3, Sacramento Republic FC 2

2025 Match Recap: Hartford Athletic 3, Sacramento Republic FC 2

Sacramento looked to get some payback after last week's loss as they went on the road to visit the 2025 USL Cup Champions, Hartford Athletic. But it would be Hartford to pick up the win after a late goal in stoppage time by Jonathan Jimenez.

Ok, so since we just saw this team, I won't go too in-depth with where they are at the moment. Since the Jagermeister Cup final, Hartford travelled down the road to play a midweek match against Oakland. And in that match, they posted another drubbing, getting a 3-1 result over the Roots. With that result, that extends their current hot streak to 12 games of the last 15, across all competitions, were wins for Hartford. They will look to clinch their berth in the playoffs with either a win or a draw in this matchup against the Republic. They could also clinch a berth with a loss and some help elsewhere in the league.

The Republic were looking to dish out an instant serving of revenge to Hartford. Having lost the USL Cup final last week 0-1, the Republic looked to return to form in this final stretch of the season and build some momentum into the postseason. They didn't have a midweek match like Hartford, so they had the rest advantage as they travelled to Hartford. A win in this game would clinch a home-field playoff match for the Republic. If the Republic drew in this one, they could still clinch home-field advantage if they got some help from El Paso.

Coach Brendan Burke made this selection:

Coach Neill Collins had this setup:

Coach Collins made a couple of changes to the lineup from the squad that lost to Hartford. Danny Vitiello returned to the goal. Dominik Wanner has taken one of the backline spots in place of Rayan Djedje. Blake Willey got the start in the midfield alongside Nick Ross, replacing Luis Felipe. And the front line is completely changed. If you remember, the Republic only got one shot on target against Hartford in the cup final, so Collins will hope to see more productivity with this setup. The starting frontline consisted of Lewis Jamieson, Cristian Parano, and Sebastian Herrera.

Both teams were finding chances early to start this match. The first shot on target came from Lewis Jamieson after Dominik Wanner set him up in the middle of the field. Jamieson took his chance from within the Hartford box but was blocked by Antony Siaha. Other chances during this period came from Dominik Wanner, Michel Benitez, and Cristian Parano, but weren't troubling Siaha in net.

And Hartford found the opener in the 18th minute. A beautiful long ball from Marlon Hairston was played into the Republic box from the midfield. Sebastian Anderson took it down from the air and kept control of the ball to get some touches before shooting it past Danny Vitiello and into the net.

Sacramento were pushing in the 29th minute. Cristian Parano played a through ball into Jack Gurr, making the run down the flank. He turned the corner and got a shot on the Hartford goal, but it was turned away by Antony Siaha. Sebastian Herrera picked up the rebound and fired two shots, one of which went off the post. Dominik Wanner got the next chance, but his shot was put over the bar.

Hartford got a second goal in the 39th minute. Athletic were building up play down the left. Michee Ngalina won possession from a long ball played down the flank and passed it to Kyle Edwards to get a quick combination passing sequence off. Ngalina continued his run and received the ball back from Edwards to get a chance against Danny Vitiello, and his shot got past the keeper to double the Hartford advantage.

Sacramento got a goal right before the halftime whistle. A cross from Dominik Wanner flew to the back post, and it was Jack Gurr making the late run into the box. He was the first to the ball and shot it straight from the air and past Antony Siaha and into the back of the net.

At halftime, Sacramento was at a deficit. The Republic's defense had two critical points of failure, where Hartford capitalized on and converted them into goals. The Hartford attack was brilliant on those two passing sequences to open up the Republic defense and create clear opportunities at the Republic net. In terms of Sacramento's attack, they were statistically faring better when looking back to last week's matchup between these two sides. They were going into the half with five shots on the Hartford net, after only managing to get one shot in the last match. There were some sparks of creativity coming from the Republic attack, and they were able to apply consistent pressure on the Hartford backline. But the Republic's defense would need to tighten up if the visitors wanted to get a result out of this one.

And Sacramento evened the match early in the 50th minute. Cristian Parano was drawing all the attention in the midfield. And that left Dominik Wanner to make a run down the flank and to receive Parano's through ball. Wanner took the ball and fired a strong shot past Antony Siaha to level the match for the Republic.

Coach Collins made a substitution at the 58th minute. Khori Bennett stepped onto the pitch to replace Sebastian Herrera.

Another substitution was made in the 69th minute. Ryan Spaulding took over for Lewis Jamieson. Dominik Wanner took over the winger position, as Ryan Spaulding slotted into the left-back spot.

And then a pair was brought into the match by Neill Collins in the 76th minute. Luis Felipe and AJ Edwards were tasked to take the places of Cristian Parano and Dominik Wanner.

And the match descended into a realm of chaos after a string of rough challenges that brought the match to a halt. This includes what appeared to be a punch by Antony Siaha on AJ Edwards when the play was stopped.

Hartford found the winner in stoppage time. Hartford had the ball down the right flank and sent in a cross aimed for Hadji Barry. He wasn't able to get a shot off and was turned around, but played the ball to Jonathan Jimenez. He creatively backheeled the ball to himself to get some space away from the Republic defenders and fired a low shot aimed at the bottom corner to give the lead back to Hartford.

AJ Edwards was sent off in stoppage time after a second yellow for a late slide tackle. He got his first yellow shortly after coming on after a rough tackle.

And the final whistle blew on the Republic as they once again fell to this Hartford side. The team looked better in the attack at generating chances and getting shots on the Hartford goal. But now in this game, the defense just wasn't there. Hartford took advantage of the chances they created, converting four shots on target into three goals. This game was the complete opposite of last week, where both sides came out firing and looking for goals, unlike the defensive showcase in the previous match. Next up for the Republic is the final road trip of the season with a visit to Lexington. Onwards!

Key Takeaways:

  • The Republic attack looked better with a lineup change in the front three.
  • The defense looked uncharacteristically out of sync in this one.
  • This was a missed opportunity to get some revenge and build momentum into the playoffs.

Sacramento Republic FC: 2 goals, 20 shots, 6 shots on target, 57.1% possession, 3 corners, 0 offsides, 1 yellow card, 1 red card.

Hartford Athletic: 3 goals, 12 shots, 4 shots on target, 42.9% possession, 4 corners, 3 offsides, 3 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Dominik Wanner (OUT, 76'), Freddy Kleeman, Lee Desmond, Jack Gurr, Michel Benitez, Nick Ross, Blake Willey, Lewis Jamieson (OUT, 69'), Sebastian Herrera (OUT, 58'), Cristian Parano (OUT, 76')

Republic FC Bench: Jared Mazzola, Cody Baker, Ryan Spaulding (IN, 69'), AJ Edwards (IN, 76'), Justin Portillo, Luis Felipe (IN, 76'), Khori Bennett (IN, 58')

What were your thoughts on the match? Sound off in the comments below!

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Check out the stats from this match here!

(Photo thanks to Sacramento Republic FC)

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Riyan Lacara

All Is Quail Blog Author/Co-Host

The “numbers guy”, Riyan! Riyan is a native of Sacramento and has been following the Republic since day one. He has covered the team across different media outlets including now his own, All is Quail Soccer. Aside from putting numbers in spreadsheets, he has a love of video games and finding a good book to put in his ever growing to-read pile.

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