Full time: Sac Republic 1, Portland 0. It was tense but SRFC leave Portland with a win. Thanks for following along, here’s the full recap from the game.

12th minute: GOOOOOOOL Sacramento! Cameron Iwasa shoots and it bounces off the crossbar and the goalkeeper’s head before bouncing into the net. Good start for Republic FC!

Lineups:

Sacramento are missing Rodrigo Lopez and Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu in addition to Juan Barahona, as listed on the game notes.

Starting XI: GK - Diaz; McCrary, Mahoney, Hilliard-Arce, Sargis; Villarreal, Werner, Skundrich; Iwasa, Belmar, Formella

T2 are starting MLS-experienced Marcus Epps and Ken Krolicki:

Sacramento Republic FC will look to get back in the win column Saturday with their first meeting of the year against Portland Timbers 2, and it definitely feels like a key opportunity for the club.

Republic FC are coming off a 0-0 draw a week ago in Southern California against San Diego Loyal, a bit of a frustrating performance but one that still resulted in a point and a clean sheet. But with a week of rest and considering the opponent, the pressure will be on for Sacramento to record a win, even if it’s on the road.

That’s because Portland are 0-4-0 so far this season with a -15 goal difference. They’re off to the worst start in the league this season, and seem to be the MLS2 team Sacramento will be facing this season most likely to live up to the weak MLS2 team reputation this year.

Having said that, if Mark Briggs’ squad walks into Providence Park assuming they have a win in the bag, you never know, and since the teams haven’t met yet this year, perhaps T2 will match up better than expected to Sacramento. We won’t know until they play.

Still, for a campaign so far where Sacramento appears to be stuck in neutral on the attacking end, this game has to be an opportunity to score multiple goals and post a needed win. Republic FC need a win and there’s no time like the present to get that three points on the board. We’ll see!

Odds:

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, as of Saturday morning, Sacramento are (-143) while Portland are (+310) and the odds of a draw are (+260). So Republic FC are big favorites, on the road, and are expected to pick up a routine win here — time to come through.

How to Watch:

Saturday’s match between Sac Republic and T2 will be aired on KQCA My58 and Estrella TV Sacramento in the Sacramento viewing area and streamed on ESPN+ in the rest of the United States. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 7 pm PT at Providence Park with kickoff to follow.

Come chat about the game with us in the comment section below!

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