Oct. 20, 2025

2025 Match Recap: Lexington SC 2, Sacramento Republic FC 2

2025 Match Recap: Lexington SC 2, Sacramento Republic FC 2

Both of these teams were seeking to improve their playoff positioning before the season came to an end. The points were shared as Lexington raced out to a two-goal lead, but Sacramento managed to make a comeback and level the game.

For their first season in the championship, Lexington is still in the hunt for the playoffs come season's end. The Greens were in the 7th place in the Western Conference standings heading into this one. And we all know how tight the Western Conference is. A win for them could propel them all the way to 5th, but a loss, combined with results from other matches, could see them fall below the playoff line. And they will need some results in their final two matches to go their way to secure their bid to the postseason. It has been a gauntlet of potential playoff opponents as Lexington was currently on a three-game losing streak. This string of games saw the team lose to New Mexico, Tulsa, and El Paso in that order. The El Paso match was their most recent matchup, where Lexington lost by a scoreline of 1-2. The last time these two sides met was in the middle of July, resulting in a 0-0 draw. The story of that contest was an early red card being handed out to Lexington, which Sacramento failed to capitalize on.

The top spot of the Western Conference had already been clinched by FC Tulsa. But there was still a race for positioning among the top seeds, and Sacramento was firmly in the battle for one of them. The Republic were in 2nd place in the conference at the start of this match. But they were level on points with New Mexico, and El Paso was not that far behind. The Republic already clinched a home-playoff game, but where they were going to land in the bracket was still a question up in the air. The team was looking to build some momentum and get back to winning ways after two heavy losses at the hands of Hartford. The first one being the final in the Jagermeister Cup. And the second one came last week with a scoreline of 2-3. Sacramento would need to snap out of those losses quickly and get back into the race for seeding.

Coach Terry Boss had this lineup for Lexington:

Coach Neill Collins made this selection for Sacramento:

The starting lineup remained unchanged from the matchup against Hartford. The one question looming was the absence of Russell Cicerone for a second straight match. Rodrigo Lopez returned to the teamsheet as he started this one on the bench.

Lexington opened this match on fire. They were pinning Sacramento back deep in their own half as the Republic players couldn't maintain possession without coming under immediate pressure from Lexington. And this pressure paid off in the 4th minute as Lexington got the opening goal. A long ball from the midfield was played down the left to Marcus Epps. He made a couple of moves to get some space and sent in a cross into the Republic box. The ball flew to the far post, and it was Cory Burke to rise above the Republic defenders and head it over Danny Vitiello and into the back of the net.

Sacramento was struggling to find any foothold in this match. There was a clear gulf in possession as the Republic couldn't consistently string together a couple of passes. Lexington was able to fire off a couple more chances at the Republic net, but couldn't get anything to show for it.

A pair of chances was generated by Lexington's Alfredo Midence. The midfielder got the ball going down the right flank and, going against Michel Benitez, got some space to get his first shot on the net. Danny Vitiello stepped up to block the opportunity. Midence got the rebound and another chance, this time lofting the effort towards the net, but Danny Vitiello caught the chance.

The halftime whistle blew with Lexington holding the advantage thanks to an early goal. From the Sacramento perspective, that first half is up there in terms of most uninspiring halves of football played this season. Sure, the early goal happens, but what was the response? The Republic put up zero shots on target in return, to Lexington's three. And they were outshot in general, six shots to eight. I know the case for the Republic is that they are better without the ball. In the first half, the possession favored Lexington 69 to 31. But the Republic just wasn't present in that first half. The defense was being taken advantage of. The midfield was lacking. And the attack wasn't testing the keeper. Hopefully, the Republic could come out in the second half with better intentions, but that is a low bar that was set in the first half of action.

At halftime, Coach Collins inserted a new midfield duo into this match. Rodrigo Lopez and Justin Portillo were tasked with controlling the midfield and replacing Blake Willey and Nick Ross.

The Republic got their first shot on target in the 51st minute. Rodrigo Lopez was shifting his way down the right flank to put a cross into the Lexington box. The ball got cleared to the top of the box, and Michel Benitez was the first to respond. He took his chances from distance and got a shot to challenge Logan Ketterer, who deflected it out for a corner.

Sacramento was continuing to attack with intent as another chance came in the 58th minute. Jack Gurr put in a looping cross that got punched out by Logan Ketterer. The ball fell to the feet of Dominik Wanner as he fired a quick shot on the momentarily open goal. Logan Ketterer was able to scramble and get something on the ball to deflect it out for a corner.

And as Sacramento was building their way back into this match, Lexington doubled their advantage in the 64th minute. Their first attacking opportunity of the second half came as they built their way across the top of the Republic box. The ball got to Marcus Epps as he squared off against Jack Gurr. Epps took a touch, found enough space to get a shot, and placed it perfectly into the upper 90.

Another pair of substitutions was made for Sacramento in the 75th minute. Khori Bennett and Ryan Spaulding took to the pitch to replace Lewis Jamieson and Michel Benitez.

Cody Baker was the final substitution of the night in the 80th minute as he replaced Dominik Wanner.

Rodrigo Lopez was still pressing to make his presence felt, and it got something going for the Republic in the 85th minute. Some quick passing down the middle led to Lopez getting the ball in the Lexington box with some space. He was able to get a cross going to the far post, where Cristian Parano was surrounded by Lexington defenders. Despite the close quarters, Parano was still able to get a head on the ball and get it into the Lexington net.

And the Republic found an equalizer deep in stoppage time. The Republic was continuing to build through Jack Gurr as he kept putting crosses into the Lexington box. He got one to connect with Sebastian Herrera as the striker put the ball into the ground. The ball bounced into the bottom corner and out of the reach of Logan Ketterer.

Lexington had one final crack at it off a free kick that was cleared back out. Blaine Ferri got a shot from outside the Republic box as it got past all the bodies in the box. Danny Vitiello came up with a diving save to keep the game level at the end.

And the match ended in a draw, with both sides having two goals apiece. There is definitely an argument that Khori Bennett should've found the winner but was called off because of an errant offside call. But with that being said, the Republic came out of the second half swinging, thanks to the substitutions made at halftime. Rodrigo Lopez was key to the Republic's comeback in the second half. Lopez was able to combine passes and get the Republic into attacking positions that they could capitalize on. That's the form we need to see the Republic in on this final stretch of games heading into the postseason. They came out so flat-footed in the first half and were taken advantage of. The second seed is still up for grabs. Next up is a home match against Charleston. Onwards!

Key Takeaways:

  • Lexington definitely knew what matchups to take advantage of. Marcus Epps had himself a game going down the left.
  • A terrible first half. Followed by a dangerous second half. The Republic needs to be consistently dangerous and not have those lulls that allow teams into these matches.
  • Rodrigo Lopez and Justin Portillo stepped up in the midfield to take control of this match in the second half.

Sacramento Republic FC: 2 goals, 15 shots, 5 shots on target, 46.3% possession, 6 corners, 2 offsides, 2 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Lexington SC: 2 goals, 14 shots, 5 shots on target, 53.7% possession, 4 corners, 2 offsides, 2 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Dominik Wanner (OUT, 80'), Freddy Kleeman, Lee Desmond, Jack Gurr, Michel Benitez (OUT, 75'), Nick Ross (OUT, HT'), Blake Willey (OUT, HT'), Lewis Jamieson (OUT, 75'), Sebastian Herrera, Cristian Parano

Republic FC Bench: Jared Mazzola, Cody Baker (IN, 80'), Ryan Spaulding (IN, 75'), Chibi Ukaegbu, Justin Portillo (IN, HT'), Luis Felipe, Rodrigo Lopez (IN, HT'), Khori Bennett (IN, 75')

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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