Tag: USL Championship

Orlando City avoids Sacramento Republic cupset to take 2022 U.S. Open Cup

Midnight struck for Sacramento’s Cinderella story, as Orlando won their first-ever trophy

Orlando City, it’s time to go get a trophy case for Exploria Stadium.

Orlando won the 2022 U.S. Open Cup final Wednesday night, as a quick-fire double from Facundo Torres and a late strike from Benji Michel gave the Lions a 3-0 win over an upstart Sacramento Republic FC side.

Fittingly for a cup final that played out amid accusations of spying, the atmosphere was tense. Hard challenges from both teams were frequent, while ESPN’s broadcast reported that coaches Mark Briggs and Oscar Pareja were exchanging words along the touchline.

In front of goal, however, there was little to report. Orlando’s Ercan Kara didn’t react fast enough in a scramble to tuck a great chance away, while Maalique Foster’s long-range effort for Sacramento flew a yard wide soon thereafter.

The second half carried on in that vein, with the Republic successfully slowing play down and frustrating an MLS opponent, just as they had against Sporting Kansas City, the LA Galaxy, and the San Jose Earthquakes on their path to the final. The first non-MLS club to make an Open Cup final since 2008 were dictating the terms, even as Orlando had most of the possession.

In the 75th minute, though, a disaster for Sacramento, and for neutrals everywhere. A giveaway deep in the Republic half from defender Dan Casey was blocked by Orlando forward Iván Angulo, and Michel—a game-changing substitute brought in just minutes earlier by Pareja—adroitly passed back for the Uruguayan international Torres to fizz a shot into the top corner.

Sacramento had not trailed at any point in the competition, and seemed rattled at the deficit. Minutes later, things went from bad to worse: a ball over the top drew goalkeeper Matt Vitiello, but Michel beat him to it. Michel nodded it over Vitiello, only to be wiped out from behind by Casey. Referee Ramy Touchan will rarely have as easy a penalty to call, and Torres suddenly had himself a brace after making no mistake from the spot.

Sacramento went direct trying to come up with one more miracle, but the goal came at the other end, as Michel raced onto a through ball, drew Vitiello to an angle, and then slipped a finish past him and into the bottom corner.

Watch the goals that gave Orlando the Open Cup

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Tim Tebow invests in expansion USL team in Jacksonville

The former NFL quarterback is aiming to bring pro soccer to Jacksonville in 2025

Tim Tebow has been announced as co-owner of an expansion USL Championship franchise in Jacksonville, which is aiming to begin play in 2025.

The former University of Florida star joined lead investor Ricky Caplin, with the club set to feature men’s and women’s professional soccer as well as a youth academy.

The club would be Jacksonville’s first soccer franchise in a fully professional league since 2017.

“This is a fantastic and exciting development for our community here on the First Coast,” Tebow said in a release. “I’m thrilled to be part of the new ownership group that seeks to bring some incredible pro teams and world-class facilities to our area that will be accessible to the whole community.”

The club’s 2025 kickoff date is, according to the release, “contingent on securing a home venue on the First Coast for the club.”

Tebow played three seasons in the NFL from 2010 to 2012, before he switched to baseball and spent three years in the New York Mets farm system between 2016 and 2019.

The 35-year-old attempted an NFL comeback last year as a tight end, but was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars in training camp.

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LA Galaxy deny claim they are trying to evict Orange County SC from their stadium

The USL Championship side has said its local MLS rival is trying to evict the team from its home stadium in Irvine

The LA Galaxy have denied that they are attempting to evict Orange County SC from its home stadium in Irvine.

OCSC released a fiery statement over the weekend accusing the Galaxy of eyeing Championship Soccer Stadium as the exclusive home for its upcoming team in MLS NEXT Pro.

“We are stunned and extremely disappointed by yesterday’s news that the city could undo all the great work we have done in soccer and in the local community in Orange County,” OCSC owner James Keston said.

Ahead of an Irvine City Council meeting on Tuesday to discuss the matter, the Galaxy did not deny they are aiming to use Championship Soccer Stadium but insisted they are not looking to evict any of its current tenants.

“The LA Galaxy are a proud partner to the local soccer community and are committed to positively growing the sport of soccer in the Southern California region,” said a statement released on Monday night.“LA Galaxy are not interested in an exclusive arrangement for LA Galaxy II to play at the Orange County Great Park Championship Soccer Stadium and have advised all parties of our willingness to open conversations with the City of Irvine and other stakeholders on mutually-acceptable arrangements pertaining to the use of the stadium moving forward.”

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Orange County SC ‘stunned’ as they claim LA Galaxy are trying to evict them behind their back

The USL Championship side is furious with its local MLS rival

Orange County SC has said they were “stunned” to learn that the LA Galaxy are trying to evict them from their home stadium in Irvine.

In a fiery statement released on Friday, OCSC said that the Irvine City Council will consider a proposal on Tuesday that will give the Galaxy exclusive rights to the club’s current home of Championship Soccer Stadium.

OCSC, the current USL Championship title holder, said the club is exploring its legal options in response to a proposal it claimed was “developed without OCSC’s input or awareness.”

“Our club is built in Irvine, 100 percent Orange County proud and now under attack,” OCSC owner James Keston said. “We are stunned and extremely disappointed by yesterday’s news that the city could undo all the great work we have done in soccer and in the local community in Orange County.”

The Galaxy announced this week that they will field a team in MLS NEXT Pro beginning in 2023. Though the Galaxy said a venue for the developmental team would be announced in the coming months, OCSC said the MLS side is targeting their current home stadium.

“The USL is disappointed by the news that the City of Irvine would even consider terminating Orange County SC’s tenancy at Championship Soccer Stadium in Great Park and provide exclusive use to the LA Galaxy’s developmental team. In response, we are working closely with OCSC to explore legal and contractual options,” said USL president Jake Edwards.

Pro Soccer Wire reached out to the Galaxy for a statement on the matter, and will update this piece when we have a response.

OCSC has played at Championship Soccer Stadium inside Orange County Great Park since 2017.

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Reeling from MLS heartbreak, Sacramento embarks on memorable U.S. Open Cup run

Sacramento was awarded an MLS team; then it was taken away. The club is now responding in a big way on the field

If there ever was a team and a fanbase that earned the collective chip on their shoulder, it would be Sacramento Republic FC.

This was supposed to be the Republic’s expansion MLS season. Three years ago, there was an official event with commissioner Don Garber, city luminaries and thousands of fans celebrating Sacramento’s official arrival in MLS.

And then it was all taken away. 

Still reeling from the setback, Sacramento has embarked on a U.S. Open Cup run this year that has seen the club’s name in the headlines, finally, for positive reasons. But that lingering sting from the biggest disappointment in club history hasn’t gone away. 

“The deck has been stacked against us in a lot of ways,” Todd Dunivant, a former LA Galaxy mainstay who is now the Republic’s president and general manager, told Pro Soccer Wire. “But it’s sort of a story of Sacramento, it’s the story of our club. We keep going and we don’t take no for an answer.”

The Republic will host Sporting Kansas City in the Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday, marking just the second time since 2011 that a non-MLS team has reached the final four. The run through America’s oldest soccer competition has been a badly needed elixir for a fanbase that has been through more ups and downs in a decade than many experience in a lifetime.

WATCH: The U.S. Open Cup is live on ESPN+!  Get ESPN+

The Republic have only been around since 2014, and their consistently impressive fan support and strong lobbying for an MLS franchise paid off when billionaire Ron Burkle stepped in as a lead investor in 2019.

With that major hurdle cleared and a brand-new 20,100-seat stadium in the works, MLS officially rolled out the red carpet for Sacramento in October 2019.

“Sacramento will join MLS with a world-class soccer stadium that will transform the sport in California’s capital,” Garber said.

As plans for a 2022 kickoff ramped up, the pandemic hit. First the team’s inaugural season was pushed back one year, and then, catastrophe: Burkle, citing rising costs, backed out of the project entirely.

In an instant, the Republic went from a future MLS team to a franchise many thought could be eliminated completely.

“There were questions that people were asking and rumors being whispered about the club going under,” Dunivant said. “And that was never going to happen. Kevin Nagle, our owner, was never going to let that happen.”

In an email interview with Pro Soccer Wire, Nagle said that while losing out on an MLS spot was undeniably painful, the Republic had no choice but to keep going.

“Like anything else in life, you deal with the reality, pick the pieces back up and move forward,” Nagle said. “We have not given up on MLS.”

The plans for a new stadium continue apace. Only now, the planned capacity is a more modest 12,000 to 15,000. But with an optimistic eye on a future MLS spot, the club said it could be scaled up closer to its original capacity.

“We’re working on a new downtown stadium with or without MLS,” Dunivant said. “And that’s because of Kevin’s commitment to this club and to this city.”

As Nagle puts it: “We will build a stadium one way or another.”

The path to MLS looks difficult for Sacramento at present. Garber has said the league plans to expand to 30 teams and then take a pause. With 29 of the 30 teams already spoken for, Garber has said Las Vegas is the frontrunner for team 30, followed by San Diego and Phoenix.

But Garber, of course, has expanded beyond previous targets in the past. Even if it takes more time than expected, the Republic are holding on to some optimism because the Sacramento market has already been explored, vetted, and approved by MLS.

“We would love to be an MLS team,” Nagle said. “We want to be the best that we can whether it’s as an MLS team or USL. We earned the right once and it can happen again.”

Jun 21, 2022; Carson, CA, United States; Sacramento Republic FC celebrate the goal scored by midfielder Rodrigo López (8) against the Los Angeles Galaxy during the first half at Dignity Health Sports Park. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

For now, Sacramento is staring down one of the biggest games in club history as Sporting KC comes to town. After beating in-state MLS teams San Jose and the LA Galaxy in the previous two rounds, the Republic come into Wednesday’s game full of confidence. 

But even though they’ve already got past two MLS teams and Sporting KC is struggling in the league at present, Dunivant says Sacramento views its next game as the team’s biggest test yet.

“We see this game as by far our biggest challenge yet, funny enough,” Dunivant said. “Sporting Kansas City values this tournament, they’ve won it many, many times. [Head coach] Peter Vermes puts a lot of emphasis on it. They’re going to want to win and they’re going to do everything they can to win.”

Regardless of what happens Wednesday, the Republic’s run has displayed the kind of resilience the club needs after the biggest disappointment in its history. Sacramento will play the role of underdog against another MLS team.

It’s a position that seems to suit them.

“We weren’t supposed to beat the Earthquakes, we weren’t supposed to beat the Galaxy, yet here we are,” Dunivant said. “We’re not supposed to beat Kansas City. And I think Sacramento thrives in that underdog role as a city.

“This happens once or twice a decade. And here we are. So it’s been a lot of fun. And we’re looking forward to the next challenge.”

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Sacramento Republic into US Open Cup semifinals after stunning upset of LA Galaxy

The cupsets keep coming

Sacramento Republic pulled off one of the biggest U.S. Open Cup shocks in recent memory, going on the road to win Tuesday’s quarterfinal against the LA Galaxy.

Rodrigo López struck early for Sacramento, who took the lead in the 4th minute, only for the Galaxy to get level via an 18th minute own goal off of a corner kick. Luis Felipe then scored a long-range winner in the 70th minute, with Sacramento hanging on confidently to their lead eventually finishing the match with four more shot attempts than the Galaxy (15-11).

Greg Vanney only mildly rotated his team, and even sent Javier “Chicharito” Hernández and Victor Vázquez in for the final half-hour trying to keep LA in the tournament, but in the end Sacramento authored the sixth win by a club somewhere in USL over an MLS team in this year’s competition. Sacramento has two of those, as they defeated the San Jose Earthquakes in the round of 16.

Both goals came from former MLS players, and in fact both played for Galaxy rivals. López’s first professional contract saw him sign with Chivas USA in 2005, while Luis Felipe spent three seasons with San Jose.

Sacramento entered the quarterfinal as the only remaining USL Championship club left in the Open Cup, and one of two non-MLS sides still in with a chance. Union Omaha, the last remaining USL League One team, plays Wednesday against Sporting Kansas City, and another upset there would guarantee the first lower-league finalist since 2008, as Sacramento and Omaha would be paired in the semifinal.

See Sacramento take down the Galaxy

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