2025 Match Recap: Sacramento Republic FC 1, Monterey Bay FC 0

Another HellaCup matchup was on the docket as Monterey paid a visit to Sacramento. And thanks to a dominant first half, it would be Sacramento winning over their California rivals thanks to a goal from Rodrigo Lopez.

Monterey started the season off strong, being the early leaders of the conference. But since then, their performances have tapered off as they came into this match just inside the playoff line. In their last eight matches across all competitions, Monterey has only managed one win. And that was a 2-1 victory against Orange County. The last win for them before the Orange County result came in early June, with another 2-1 win against Lexington. The other seven matches across that stretch were all losses. They came into this one on a three-match losing streak, which included two losses against FC Tulsa and the upset loss in the Jagermeister Cup against AV Alta. The player to watch for Monterey would be Nico Campuzano in between the sticks. Campuzano currently leads the league in saves. But that's because the Monterey defense has been leaky. Monterey were tied for 7th in goals conceded in the league, with 26 goals against so far. The last clean sheet they had came all the way back in April, in a 0-0 result against Lexington. Sacramento's attack will be looking to pull apart the Monterey backline, and it will be up to Nico Campuzano to keep his side in the contest.

Now a side on the opposite trajectory is Sacramento who has been on the ascendancy lately. Sacramento were unbeaten in their last five matches, winning four of them. The Republic went unbeaten in the month of July and got August off to a great start with a 3-1 win on the road against San Antonio. The goal scorers on the night were Lee Desmond, Cristian Parano, and new signing Khori Bennett. This run of form helped them rise in the conference standings to 2nd place before this match. Tactical adjustments from Neill Collins to have Sacramento play off the counterattack have been the driving force. Conceding possession and breaking opponents at pace seems to be the way forward for the Republic. The last match between these two was a 2-2 draw late in 2024, with Cristian Parano and Nick Ross finding the net.

Coach Jordan Stewart made this selection for Monterey:

XI guys ready to battle pic.twitter.com/wUplok0lj0

— Monterey Bay FC (@MontereyBayFC) August 10, 2025

Coach Neill Collins had this lineup for Sacramento:

Starting lineup ‼️ #SACvMB

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— Sacramento Republic FC (@sacrepublicfc.com) August 9, 2025 at 7:32 PM

There was only one change made to the starting lineup from the last game against San Antonio. Rodrigo Lopez got the start in the midfield, taking the place of Blake Willey.

Sacramento opened the match brightly, putting Monterrey under some early pressure. The Republic was able to draw some early fouls deep within Union territory and set up some dead-ball opportunities. Looks from Rodrigo Lopez, Nick Ross, and Cristian Parano threatened the keeper, Nico Campuzano, but none were on frame.

The Republic continued their pressure in the 17th minute as they continued to probe away at the Monterey defense. The buildup play led to Russell Cicerone getting the ball at the top of Monterey's box. His through ball got to Sebastian Herrera, making a run down the right and getting a chance at the keeper. Nico Campuzano stepped out to close out the angle and blocked the shot.

Monterey was struggling to deal with the Sacramento press as a turnover in the 26th minute led to another Republic opportunity. Jack Gurr put in an early cross that got to the head of Sebastian Herrera, fading away from the ball. His header was put into the ground but handled by Nico Campuzano.

And the pressure finally broke Monterey in the 36th minute. There were some shouts for a penalty as Cristian Parano fell in the box. But the play continued on with Jack Gurr sending in a cross to the back post and Russell Cicerone. His header was deflected back across the box to where Rodrigo Lopez was positioned. Lopez ran onto the bouncing ball and slotted it home past Campuzano to give the Republic the lead.

Never in doubt when it falls to Roro 😴 pic.twitter.com/NKkPilARKr

— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) August 10, 2025

Sacramento was pressing for more goals just before halftime. Russell Cicerone chested the ball down for Cristian Parano, who was sprinting past the Monterey backline. He dribbled further in on goal, but his shot was saved by Nico Campuzano.

Sacramento was poised to add more goals to their tally, but only had one goal to their name heading into the halftime break. Monterey's strategy of sitting back and attacking on the counter was struggling in the face of Sacramento's press. Monterey was struggling to find their strikers on the break as they couldn't get past the Republic's midfield and defense. The Republic held 63% of the possession and converted that into 16 shots in the first half, with 5 of them being on target. This is compared to Monterey's 3 shots, with none of them challenging Danny Vitiello. Sacramento would need to hold Monterey deep within their own territory and put away their chances to make this game out of reach.

Sacramento kept their foot on the gas as they looked to widen their league early in the second half. More set-piece opportunities and crosses from out wide kept Monterey pinned in their own territory, but nothing was converted.

As the second half continued, it seemed the roles were switched as Sacramento was sitting back on their defense and conceding possession to Monterey.

Neill Collins made a pair of substitutions in the 67th minute. Blake Willey and Khori Bennett took the places of Nick Ross and Sebastian Herrera.

Monterey got their first shot on target in the 71st minute. Mobi Fehr sent an in-swinging cross into the Sacramento box that got flicked on by Johnny Klein. Danny Vitiello was aware of the shot and came up with the save.

Another pair of substitutions was made in the 76th minute. Lewis Jamieson and Luis Felipe stepped on to the pitch to take the places of Cristian Parano and Rodrigo Lopez.

And in the last minute of regulation, the final substitution was made from Neill Collins. AJ Edwards would help the Republic's defensive effort, as Russell Cicerone would be taken off.

And it turns out that the chance in the 76th minute would be Monterey's only test for Danny Vitiello as they struggled to find a way past the Republic backline. Another solid display from the Republic where they did enough to get the three points. My only gripe is that there could've been more goals, but we saw what the Republic attack was capable of in the first half. And then in the second half they locked out Monterey from creating chances despite conceding more possession. The rivalries keep going as the Oakland Roots are next up to visit. Onwards!

Key Takeaways:

• That first half display was a solid showing. But it was again against a defense that is not near the top of the league. But it's good to see the Republic beat teams they should be beating.
• I would like to see the Republic put more games out of reach instead of sitting back and locking out the opponent, but that's just personal preference.
• Sacramento is hitting its stride and will look to push for the top spot heading into the final stretch.

Sacramento Republic FC: 1 goal, 23 shots, 6 shots on target, 53.7% possession, 10 corners, 1 offsides, 1 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Monterey Bay FC: 0 goals, 5 shots, 1 shots on target, 46.3% possession, 3 corners, 3 offsides, 2 yellow cards, 0 red cards.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Lee Desmond, Jared Timmer, Freddy Kleeman, Jack Gurr, Michel Benitez, Nick Ross (OUT, 67'), Rodrigo Lopez (OUT, 76'), Russell Cicerone, Sebastian Herrera (OUT, 67'), Cristian Parano (OUT, 76')

Republic FC Bench: Jared Mazzola, AJ Edwards, Ryan Spaulding, Dominik Wanner, Chibi Ukaegbu, Luis Felipe (IN, 76'), Blake Willey (IN, 67'), Khori Bennett (IN, 67'), Lewis Jamieson (IN, 76')

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)