2025 Match Recap: Sacramento Republic FC 0, Lexington SC 0

Sacramento was looking to continue with another great performance in front of the State Fair crowd. However, a brand new opponent in Lexington SC was looking to play as spoiler. Neither side was able to earn all three points as an early red card was dealt to Lexington, but Sacramento couldn't find a breakthrough.

Lexington is new to the USL Championship this season after spending their first two years of existence as a club in USL League One. They entered this league hoping for some better luck, as they had failed to make the League One playoffs in both of their previous attempts. Led by Terry Boss, Lexington had a rough start to their first campaign in the championship. The Greens had a 13-match run from March to June that saw them fail to record a win across all competitions. Since then, they have rattled off a 4-match winning streak before seeing that come to an end with a 1-1 draw to THE Miami FC in their last game. Marcus Epps is the player to watch, as he leads the team in goals, assists, and chances created. He is also ranked second in the team for shots taken. The Republic will have to neutralize Epps as a threat, along with the Lexington midfield, to get a victory in this one. Lexington was just below the playoff line in 9th place heading into this match.

After their last match, people were wondering if Sacramento was back or if we were seeing another false positive in their performance. The Republic got a 3-0 victory at home to El Paso, building a 3 match winning streak in the league. Later on in the week, it was announced that Sacramento had made a roster move. Striker Khori Bennett was announced to have signed with the team. Bennett has a history of being a prolific goalscorer in the league. In 2024, Bennett helped lead the Las Vegas Lights to the playoffs with 15 goals in that campaign. The Republic were hoping for Bennett to carry that goalscoring form to his new team, where there have been struggles in front of goal. The Republic was able to put together some great team attacking displays. But the club still lacked that prolific goalscorer who could deliver goals on a consistent basis.

Coach Terry Boss brought out this lineup for Lexington.

Our Starting XI pic.twitter.com/dWv9f3KMpz

— Lexington SC (@LexSCMens) July 20, 2025

Coach Neill Collins had this setup for Sacramento.

Your starting XI tonight ⚔️ #SACvLEX

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— Sacramento Republic FC (@sacrepublicfc.com) July 19, 2025 at 7:24 PM

Only one change was made to the starting lineup of the Republic from the last match against El Paso. Jack Gurr returned to the starting lineup in place of AJ Edwards. New signing Khori Bennett was not available.

The early phases of the match were marked by Lexington holding possession and attempting to generate passes from deep to counter the Republic's high press. Sacramento would look to counterattack, trying to capitalize on turnovers in the midfield.

There were a couple of half-chances for both sides. Sacramento skied a couple of opportunities. And Lexington had shots that were blocked by the Sacramento defense.

Lexington got the first real opportunity in the 22nd minute. The ball was swung into the Republic's box with Daniel Wu getting his head on the ball. It was headed back across to Forster Ajago, who headed it on target. Danny Vitiello stood in the way to stop the opportunity. In the ensuing play, Daniel Wu received a yellow card for holding back Blake Willey, trying to break away with the ball.

🧱🧱🧱 @dannyvitiello_ pic.twitter.com/v5iRbyQCBR

— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) July 20, 2025

And Lexington would go down to 10 men in the 37th minute. A second yellow was issued to Daniel Wu after going through the back of Rodrigo Lopez on a challenge. The free kick was hammered in by Rodrigo Lopez from distance. But Brooks Thompson came up with a similar save as Danny Vitiello did last week to keep Lopez from putting the ball in the upper corner. Lee Desmond would get the follow-up, but Brooks Thompson would do enough to deflect the shot away.

Sacramento was trying to press their man advantage. Sebastian Herrera lofted a ball in the 43rd minute that went over the Lexington backline, which allowed Russell Cicerone to make a run. He got inside Lexington's box and got a low shot aimed at the far post. Brooks Thompson again came up with a save with his back leg to stop the effort. Cicerone got another chance in the first half stoppage time. Jack Gurr was allowed space going down the right and whipped in a cross to Cicerone. He backheeled his effort, but it was caught by Brooks Thompson.

Neither side held the scoring advantage going into the half, but Sacramento did have a man advantage. And the Republic would have to capitalize on this advantage if they were to come away with all three points. We saw a couple of flashes of the Republic attacking, already testing the backline, but were unable to come away with their award. Generating chances and converting them into goals against a Lexington defense that would be sitting even deeper down, a man would be the theme going into the second half.

Sacramento got the first chance in the second half in the 57th minute. Some quick buildup led to Rodrigo Lopez making a run down the middle of the park. He played a ball across the box to find Jack Gurr running into the Lexington box. The first shot was taken at the top of the box and was blocked by Brooks Thompson. The follow-up again came from Jack Gurr, as that was deflected out for a corner kick by the Lexington defense.

The first substitution came in the 65th minute. Cristian Parano came on to the pitch to replace Rodrigo Lopez.

The Republic were on the front foot heading into the final phase of play. With Lexington content to sit back and concede possession, it was up to the Republic to find a breakthrough. But, we've seen the Republic in similar positions this season where they are facing a low block and are unable to generate chances.

Coach Collins made a pair of substitutions in the 77th minute, trying to find an attacking spark. Luis Felipe and Dominik Wanner would take the places of Blake Willey and Freddy Kleeman.

The goal was in the back of the net in the 85th minute for the Republic. Jack Gurr got in a low cross into the Lexington box that Russell Cicerone finished cleanly. But the goal was called off as there was a foul by Sebastian Herrera in the build-up of the play.

Coach Collins made some substitutions in stoppage time. Trevor Amann and AJ Edwards replaced Sebastian Herrera and Jack Gurr.

The Republic made a couple more efforts but were unable to come away with any goals as the match ended goalless. Disappointing performance from the Republic as they held the advantage and a good majority of the possession. The Republic just are unable to break down a team that sits back, and that's why we signed a player like Khori Bennett. The team just didn't test Brooks Thompson and the Lexington net enough in the second half when they held the man advantage apart from the Jack Gurr opportunity. This game was a prime opportunity to secure all three points, but the team fell short. Next up is a must-win for the USL Cup as they make a visit to Spokane. Onwards!

Key Takeaways:

• The Republic still struggles against a team that will sit back and absorb pressure. Hopefully, Khori Bennett is the answer to that.
• There were some questionable calls from the referee, but the Republic needed to do more in the second half to test the Lexington goal.
• There needs to be a game plan for when we come across that kind of opposition because we've been seeing this strategy a lot.

Sacramento Republic FC: 0 goals, 20 shots, 6 shots on target, 59.9% possession, 10 corners, 3 offsides, 1 yellow card, 0 red cards.

Lexington SC: 0 goals, 8 shots, 2 shots on target, 40.1% possession, 2 corners, 1 offsides, 1 yellow card, 1 red card.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Lee Desmond, Jared Timmer, Freddy Kleeman (OUT, 77'), Jack Gurr (OUT, 90+'), Michel Benitez, Nick Ross, Blake Willey (OUT, 77'), Russell Cicerone, Sebastian Herrera (OUT, 90+'), Rodrigo Lopez (OUT, 65')

Republic FC Bench: Jared Mazzola, Ryan Spaulding, AJ Edwards (IN, 90+'), Chibi Ukaegbu, Rayan Djedje, Dominik Wanner (IN, 77'), Luis Felipe (IN, 77'), Trevor Amann (IN, 90+'), Cristian Parano (IN, 65')

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Check out the stats from this match here!

(Photo Credits to Sacramento Republic FC)