Indomitable City Soccer is taking a look back at the 2015 Sacramento Republic FC season one player at a time. Last time we took a look at Thomas Stewart’s season, today we turn our gaze to Octavio Guzman’s 2015 campaign.

2015 Review

Octavio Guzman was on track for a fantastic sophomore season with Sacramento Republic. He had been an occasional starter in his rookie season, going in and out of the lineup as Ivan Mirkovic’s partner in central midfield, but came into his own as a near constant presence for the Republic in 2015.

That changed when he suffered a horrific two footed, studs up tackle at the hands of Seattle Sounders 2’s Amadou Sanyang. Current Republic FC head coach Paul Buckle told ICS back in August that it was one that “could have got him seriously injured… when a player goes in with straight legs against a player standing there’s every chance there’s a broken leg involved.”

Fortunately for Guzman, the injury was not as severe as a broken leg. However, it was still enough to keep him out for the rest of the season.

But even with that extended injury that kept him sidelined for the Republic’s final 9 games, Guzman’s season was a positive one.

Prior to the injury, he appeared in 18 of the Republic’s 20 league games, starting 17. He also played every single match of the team’s US Open Cup campaign. Even though he was played fewer games than in 2014 as a result of his injury, he still increased his total minutes played from 1289 to 1352. Despite missing 9 whole games, Guzman still played the 9th most minutes out of any Republic player in 2015.

Part of what made Guzman such an important piece for Sacramento is his talent as a box to box midfielder, affecting the game on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. His fairly well rounded skill set and work rate make him a good candidate to do the legwork in central midfield, helping break up opposition attacking moves, as well as circulate the ball and find his teammates in good positions.

Guzman’s flexibility, which allowed him to start at least one match in three separate positions, was also particularly useful to the Republic this past season. He started 10 games in his preferred central midfield spot, 6 games as part of the rotating cast of right wingers, and even 1 game at right back as a replacement for Emrah Klimenta.

By The Numbers

Here are some fun facts on Guzman’s tragically cut short season by our own Evan Eyster (on Twitter @IronPonyChef).

Games Played: 18 (14 in 2014)

Minutes played: 1352 (1289 in 2014)

Minutes per Game: 75.1 (53.7 in 2014)

Goals: 3 (1 in 2014)

Assists: 3 (0 in 2014)

PKs attempted/converted: 2/2 (0/0 in 2014)

Awesome ponytails: 1 (1 in 2014)

Best Game

Octavio Guzman’s best individual performance was in the Republic’s 3-1 victory over Tulsa Roughnecks FC in Tulsa. He put up 2 assists that match, the only Republic player to do so in league play in 2015.

An honorable mention for Guzman’s best match of 2015 was his brace in the Republic’s 3-2 win over LA Galaxy II, with both goals coming on penalty kicks.

2016 Season Outlook

When the Republic’s 2015 campaign came to an end at the hands of LA Galaxy II, Guzman’s future with Sacramento was uncertain. His return was dependent on the Republic exercising the club option for 2016 in his contract.

Fortunately for everyone involved, the Republic did just that on October 23.

The main thing we would like to see from Octavio Guzman moving forward - other than for him to recover fully in the offseason and stay healthy next season - is more consistency in his performances. His tendency to follow up a string of good games with a couple poor performances has been a point of frustration in the past, although there was improvement on that front in 2015. Another year of experience under his belt should definitely help Guzman become more consistent in his performances and have a greater impact for the Republic moving forward.

We would also like to see Guzman become Sacramento’s go-to penalty kick taker. His 100% conversion rate in 2015 and no-nonsense run up make him a good candidate in our eyes.

Have any thoughts of your own on Octavio Guzman’s 2015 season? Or perhaps you have something else you’d like to see from him in 2016? Let us know in the comments below.