2026 Match Recap: Lexington SC 0, Sacramento Republic FC 0

Sacramento was looking to continue their start to the season against the Western Conference contenders as they made their first road trip to Lexington. And this match would end goalless, as neither side could find a breakthrough to secure the victory.

Lexington is a team many people think will finish at the top of the Western Conference by season's end. And on paper, that makes sense. Lexington is a team in a similar boat to Sacramento, having brought in a lot of proven talent at the USL level or from the MLS. One of these signings will be on the frontline, Phillip Goodrum. Goodrum moved from Louisville and will be leading the line for Lexington. In his time in the USL, the worst finish he's had in terms of the Golden Boot race was when he was off the leaderboard in his first season in the league in 2021. Since then, he was runner-up in 2022 behind Orange County's Milan Iloski. Last season, he scored 13 goals for Louisville on their way to the Players' Shield. He is consistently a 10+ goal scorer and someone the Republic will need to keep tabs on if they want to win. And then the other player the Republic should focus on is Aaron Molloy. He will be the conductor in the midfield, and the Republic will need to shut down his passing lanes to disrupt his impact on the match. Now that is easier said than done, as Molloy deals with the press at ease. The question surrounding Lexington is obviously there's an influx of talent into the roster, how long will it take new coach Masaki Hemmi to get this team to gel? In their last match, Lexington probably faced the hardest opponent to open their season, Louisville at Lynn Family Stadium. Lexington got the opening lead, but Louisville found their way back and sealed the match.

A lot of the press coverage after Sacramento's last match focused on how Tulsa was the better team that night. They just got unlucky that Sacramento converted both of their chances on the night. But it's not like Tulsa fared significantly better. They had three chances on goal, with two of them coming from outside the box. The only shot from inside the 18-yard box was a header that was bounced into the ground and easily caught by Danny Vitiello. And that's a credit to the Republic defense for keeping a quality side like Tulsa mainly at arm's reach for the match. The Republic attack looked dynamic throughout the match, testing the opposing backline and trying to stretch it. Freddy Kleeman got his first goal in a Republic uniform, and Kyle Edwards got a goal on his Republic debut coming off the bench to seal it. Can the Republic attack continue in this form and maintain that consistent movement against another tough Western Conference outfit on the road? The matches last season between these two sides were a pair of draws. The first contest was a goalless draw in Sacramento. And the second contest was a goalfest that ended in a 2-2 draw, with Cristian Parano and Sebastian Herrera leading the Republic's comeback.

Coach Masaki Hemmi had this lineup for Lexington:

Tonight's teamsheet 🔥📋#LexGo | #LEXvSAC | #YearoftheHorse pic.twitter.com/l14TZcAZOs

— Lexington Sporting Club (@LexSporting) March 14, 2026

Coach Neill Collins made this selection for Sacramento:

Tonights lineup ✔️#SACvsLEX | @TiemannLawFirm pic.twitter.com/3ijh3IJCV2

— Sacramento Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) March 14, 2026

Coach Collins opted not to make any changes to the lineup for the second match of the season from the opener against Tulsa.

The opening minutes featured both of the teams really testing each other's backlines. Both teams had some scoring chances, but neither could find the final pass to create a clear opportunity at the goal. The Sacramento press was giving Lexington some difficulty in trying to find their way out of their own half. But when Lexington got into an attacking position, all eyes were on Phillip Goodrum, trying to give him some service.

The Lexington setup was also making it hard for Sacramento to move forward. They stuffed the middle of the park with their own players, forcing Sacramento to play out wide. And when Lexington got the ball back, their wingers were flying down the pitch as Jacob Greene and Michael Adedokun were sending crosses into the Republic box.

The first real opportunity of the night came in the 40th minute for Lexington. The ball was being passed around the Sacramento box before it got to Aaron Malloy at the top. He took his shot from distance, which Danny Vitiello parried down and handled the ball.

At halftime, the match was scoreless. Neither side could find a breakthrough. The Sacramento box definitely saw more activity, as Republic midfielders and defenders did their best to intercept balls before they reached the Lexington strikers. The Sacramento attack was largely held in check, as they registered zero shots in the first half.

Much of the second half was similar to the first half. Both sets of midfielders were trying to find their way past the opposing defense, but neither could find a way.

Neill Collins opted to make a pair of substitutions in the 67th minute. Dominik Wanner and Pep Casas came on to take the places of Mayele Malango and Memo Rodriguez.

And then another substitution was made in the 75th minute. Coach Collins, looking for a last-minute attacking spark, brought Kyle Edwards on for Forster Aajago.

Sacramento got their first chance in the 80th minute. Danny Crisostomo won the ball in the midfield and took a couple of steps towards the Lexington box. He took his shot from distance and forced Oliver Semmle into a diving save to put the shot out for a corner kick.

One more substitution was used by Neill Collins in the 89th minute. Chibi Ukaegbu replaced Ryan Spaulding.

And perhaps the best chance of the night came to Sacramento in the 89th minute. Pep Casas sprung Dominik Wanner forward into a one-on-one chance against the Lexington keeper. Wanner dribbled into the box, but Oliver Semmle came out and deflected the shot out for a corner kick.

An ENORMOUS save from Oliver Semmle to keep @LexSporting level! 🙅‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/uxi7JrTwDQ

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) March 15, 2026

And with that, the match ended goalless. Not much to write about in this one as the two sides played an evenly matched contest. There wasn't a whole lot of attacking activity until the last 10 minutes of the match. Sacramento held Lexington to zero shots on target in the second half, which is a positive sign that the defense is holding strong as ever, even in a new formation. Sometimes in these kinds of matches, you only get one opportunity, and that fell to Dominik Wanner tonight. Unlucky to see that in the back of the net, but this was a fair result given the performances from both teams. Next up is the start of the Open Cup campaign as Sacramento welcomes El Farolito. Onwards!

Key Takeaways:

• 4 points against two teams that people thought would be at the top of the Western Conference table by the end of the season is a good start to the season.
• It's great seeing the team getting clean sheets against this caliber of team to start the campaign.
• Everybody is going to have to play everybody in the Western Conference, and I don't think a lot of the other sides will have a much better result than a draw away at Lexington.

Sacramento Republic FC: 0 goals, 7 shots, 2 shots on target, 50.3% possession, 2 corners, 1 offsides, 1 yellow card, 0 red cards.

Lexington SC: 0 goals, 9 shots, 1 shot on target, 49.7% possession, 2 corners, 0 offsides, 1 yellow card, 0 red cards.

Republic FC Lineup: Danny Vitiello, Michel Benitez, Lee Desmond, Freddy Kleeman, Ryan Spaulding (OUT, 89'), Memo Rodriguez (OUT, 67'), Danny Crisostomo, Forster Ajago (OUT, 75'), Mark-Anthony Kaye, Arturo Rodriguez, Mayele Malango (OUT, 67')

Republic FC Bench: Jacob Randolph, Rohan Chivukula, Chibi Ukaegbu (IN, 89'), Dominik Wanner (IN, 67'), Blake Willey, Pep Casas (IN, 67'), Kyle Edwards (IN, 75')

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

Follow me on Bluesky (@allisquail.bsky.social) for live match coverage and more!

Check out the stats from this match here!

(Photo thanks to Sacramento Republic FC)