2025 Match Recap: Sacramento Republic FC 0, FC Tulsa 1

It was Pride Night in the park as Sacramento sought to get some revenge in this early summer matchup against FC Tulsa. Yet, it was Tulsa that walked away with all three points as they secured the season sweep on Sacramento. An early goal from Kalil ElMedkhar was enough to see Tulsa win, as Sacramento failed to break through their tough defense.

These two teams have already met once this season. Back in March, Sacramento struggled at ONEOK Field, and thanks to a late goal from Taylor Calheira, FC Tulsa came away with all three points. This match was the first time the Republic lost to a team from Tulsa. Since then, FC Tulsa has maintained their form and was towards the top of the Western Conference. That being said, they have only won one of their last six matches played across all competitions. That one win came from a 2-0 result against bottom-of-the-table Lexington SC. Their previous match was in the USL Cup, where they suffered a 1-2 loss to Birmingham Legion. Tulsa got off to a great start this season, but they haven't been able to match it since. 

Now to Sacramento, who is on the opposite trajectory. Since the last match against Tulsa, the Republic has been able to slowly turn their form around. This was evident with the pair of results against Las Vegas. A 5-0 win in the league. This was followed by a 4-0 win in the USL Cup. With players returning from their early-season injuries, the Republic has been able to execute Neill Collins' gameplans and show what a full-strength Republic should look like. But there were still some questions to be answered by Sacramento. Mainly, their attack seemed to be off-the-charts against Las Vegas, but how much of that was Las Vegas being in free-fall versus Sacramento finally clicking? We would get answers to that question as this frontline squared off against a defensively stout Tulsa side that was tied for 4th in clean sheets and has given up the 2nd fewest goals in the league. They were one of only three teams remaining to have given up a single-digit amount of goals, with only 8 goals conceded so far this season.

Coach Luke Spencer had this lineup for FC Tulsa:

Tonight's 11 😤 #ForTulsa | #StayGold

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— FC Tulsa (@fctulsa.bsky.social) June 7, 2025 at 7:10 PM

Coach Neill Collins made this selection for Sacramento:

Tonight's starting XI vs FC Tulsa ⚽ #SACvTUL

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— Sacramento Republic FC (@sacrepublicfc.com) June 7, 2025 at 7:45 PM

It seems that Neill Collins is solidifying his first-choice starting lineup, as there are minimal changes between the USL Cup match against Las Vegas and this one. Danny Vitiello returns to start as keeper. And Sebastian Herrera is back to lead the attack for the Republic. Remember, Lewis Jamieson went out with an injury in the last game, so it seems that the injury is preventing him from making an appearance here. It's also interesting to see that Michel Benitez earns another start in the midfield, especially with players like Luis Felipe, Rodrigo Lopez, and Justin Portillo on the bench. Benitez's form, wherever he is placed, seems to be making him a player who must be among the starters when Collins makes the selection.

Both teams were feeling each other out in the opening phases of the game, with Sacramento trying to find the feet of Russell Cicerone and Sebastian Herrera.

But it would be Tulsa that struck first on the night in the 10th minute. Kalil ElMedkhar made a line-breaking run down the right side of the Republic formation. He received the ball in stride from Jamie Webber inside the Republic box. ElMedkhar took a touch and then put up a well-placed shot outside the reach of Danny Vitiello and into the Republic net.

An absolute beauty from Kalil 😮‍💨 #ForTulsa | #StayGold

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— FC Tulsa (@fctulsa.bsky.social) June 7, 2025 at 8:29 PM

Tulsa nearly doubled their lead in the 13th minute. A low cross from the Tulsa right found a late run from Owen Damm into the Republic box. Jack Gurr was the first defender and stood in the way of the shot from Damm to deflect it out for a corner kick.

Sacramento was looking for a response and had the better spells of possession. However, Tulsa had the better of the chances with a pair of opportunities in the 37th minute. First, Jamie Webber sent in a low cross that was deflected onto the Republic goal by Jared Timmer, returning to position. Danny Vitiello was alert to the ball and deflected the own goal possibility. And then Kalil ElMedkhar was making a similar run that led to the first goal. This time, he aimed his shot low. Danny Vitiello got to the ground quick enough to put a hand on the shot to push it away.

Tulsa had a free-kick opportunity in the 40th minute. A long ball put into the Republic box was served by Jamie Webber. Delentz Pierre made the back post run to get on the end of the cross. The defender's shot left Danny Vitiello stunned, but it ended up hitting the post and being cleared by the Republic defense.

At halftime, Tulsa held the advantage over Sacramento. And they did well against this Republic's defense. They had the majority of quality chances and, in general, were more threatening despite conceding possession. Sacramento's attack was held to only one shot in the first half, and it wasn't on target. Tulsa had five shots, with two of them on the Republic net. Sacramento was struggling to generate any clear-cut opportunities and needed to look alive if they wanted to get something from this match.

Neill Collins needed to make an attacking substitution at halftime. And for this, he brought in Rodrigo Lopez to replace Sebastian Herrera. This shifted the Republic's formation. As Lopez lined up wide, this pushed Cicerone to a more central position in the front line.

This personnel change resulted in more opportunities for the Republic, but they were still searching for their first shot on target going into the 67th minute. 

Neill Collins made a pair of substitutions looking to press the Tulsa defense. Luis Felipe and Trevor Amann stepped onto the pitch to take the places of Russell Cicerone and Freddy Kleeman. Michel Benitez stepped back from the midfield and into the defense, with Luis Felipe taking his place.

Tulsa was sitting deep heading into the final 10 minutes of the game, with Sacramento passing around their box. The Republic, at this point, still had failed to register a single shot on the Tulsa net. Coach Collins made a final pair of substitutions in the 84th minute. Justin Portillo and AJ Edwards were put on the pitch to take the places of Nick Ross and Ryan Spaulding.

A red card was shown in the 86th minute to Tulsa's Owen Damm for a second yellow card.

Perhaps the closest chance of the night for the Republic came in stoppage time. AJ Edwards put a long throw into the Tulsa box. The deadball opportunity was flicked onto the path of Jared Timmer. The defender got a look at the net but put his shot on the wrong side of the post and out. And another opportunity came via an Edwards' long throw. This time, it was Jared Timmer who flicked the ball onto Michel Benitez. He ran onto the ball as it fell into his path, but the keeper Johan Penaranda sold out and blocked the chance for a corner kick.

Sacramento was scrambling to get one more chance, but they failed to find an equalizer before the full-time whistle blew. I have got to give props to Tulsa. They did what needed to be done, got their goal, and relied on their strength, the defense, to see them through. It took until that stoppage time opportunity from Benitez to register a shot on target against Tulsa this season. The Republic failed to get one in the match earlier in the season and only got one in this game. Well, this game halts a lot of the momentum built up from blowing out Las Vegas. The Republic attack will need to refind their form before the next match. We've got San Antonio coming into town next week. Onwards!

Key Takeaways:

• Ok, so we can score against the weaker defenses of the league. But what are we going to do against some of the stronger defensive units as we advance?
• This game was hard to watch up until the 67th minute. The players did not look dynamic out there until that point in the match.
• One shot on target in two matches against Tulsa. What happened to all that creative energy?

Sacramento Republic FC: 0 goals, 6 shots, 1 shot on target, 68% possession, 8 corners, 1 offsides, 3 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

FC Tulsa: 1 goal, 6 shots, 3 shots on target, 32% possession, 2 corners, / offsides, 2 yellow cards, 1 red cards.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Michel Benitez, Freddy Kleeman (OUT, 67'), Lee Desmond, Jared Timmer, Jack Gurr, Ryan Spaulding (OUT, 84'), Nick Ross (OUT, 84'), Sebastian Herrera (OUT, HT'), Russell Cicerone (OUT, 67'), Cristian Parano

Republic FC Bench: Jared Mazzola, AJ Edwards (IN, 84'), Chibi Ukaegbu, Rayan Djedje, Justin Portillo (IN, 84'), Luis Felipe (IN, 67'), Rodrigo Lopez (IN, HT'), Trevor Amann (IN, 67'), Da'vian Kimbrough

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 Credits to Sacramento Republic FC)