You know how the saying goes: better late than never.
The San Jose Earthquakes have been the MLS affiliate of Sacramento Republic FC since the latter team played it’s first season in USL last year. Last year the two teams took advantage of that affiliation, with the Quakes loaning down players like Tommy Thompson and Adam Jahn. In 2015, however, that well of loan players seemingly ran dry and the Quakes have not sent anyone to the Republic. Until today, that is.
Today Sacramento Republic announced that Tommy Thompson, JJ Koval, and Mark Sherrod have all been loaned to them from the Quakes for the rest of the season. Thompson and Koval both played on loan for Sacramento last season, while Sherrod is a new addition to the Quakes in 2015.
Thompson is a popular player in both San Jose and Sacramento. He is popular in San Jose stems from the fact that he is the Quakes’s first and only Homegrown Player. His popularity in the capital city stems from the fact that he is a local player, hailing from Granite Bay. Of course, it may have to do with his ability to do fantastic things with the ball as well, something he showed a few times with the Republic last season.
Koval was only with the Republic for a short time last season, but he made a big impact. He scored 2 goals for the Republic in his three games with them, including one against Arizona United.
While it is nice to finally have loan players from the Quakes after almost all of the season has gone by, the question now is concerning how likely are these new additions to be eligible for the playoffs. Thankfully for Republic fans, all three are potentially eligible for the playoffs, should Sacramento make it in. Not only did the Republic cut it close when they added the players, with the USL Roster Freeze Date on September 1st, they cut it close in terms of playoff eligibility.
To be eligible for the playoffs, loan players must play in 5 regular season matches prior to the playoffs beginning. Thankfully for the Republic, there are exactly 5 USL league games left in Sacramento’s regular season schedule, including tonight’s match against Tulsa. So if Thompson, Sherrod, and Koval all play for Sacramento in the next 5 games, they will also be able to make an appearance during the playoffs.
Republic fans will be hoping that these loans have been worth the wait. Although both Thompson and Koval have improved since they were last with Sacramento, the answer to that question will be answered over the next 5 games.
