Republic FC plays for first time in 4 months and takes a stand against racial injustice
When Sacramento Republic FC took the pitch Monday night for pregame warmups against Tacoma Defiance, they came out with a powerful statement.
In the first professional sporting event on California soil after a four-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, Sac Republic players took the field wearing shirts with messages such as, “Be the change,” “Black all the time,” “Black and proud,” “Black Lives Matter,” “End racism” and “We stand for change.”
That the game ended in a 3-3 tie after a two-goal rally from Tacoma in the second half was something of a secondary matter. Monday’s game was about getting back to business and making a statement a month and a half after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
Every player’s jersey read, “Black Lives Matter,” where the name would usually be on the back. Every player wore armbands with the “Black Lives Matter” message on it and Republic coach Mark Briggs and his staff wore shirts that read “Black Lives Matter.”
Before the game started, Tacoma and Sacramento players and coaches and all three referees took a knee during the national anthem to protest against police brutality.
“It’s something we wanted to do as a club with players and staff and it was something that was spoken about,” Briggs said. “It’s something that everyone believes in. It was a pretty impactful and powerful moment which I think speaks volumes in itself.”
Blown lead an ‘embarrassing performance’
The game made an impact of a much different sort.
Sac Republic took a 3-1 lead into halftime but a pair of second-half goals from Tacoma’s Jesse Daly (57th minute) and Ray Serrano (81st minute) ended the game in a 3-3 tie. Republic FC finished the game with twice as many shots as Tacoma (20-10) and two more shots on goal than Tacoma (8-6).
“Frankly (it was) an embarrassing performance,” Sac Republic defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce said. “The fans and the city deserve much more than that. That being said, try and stay positive and take things away from the game that we can improve on and find things we did well.”
No fans were allowed inside Papa Murphy’s Park, which seated nearly 12,000 people in the club’s season opener against Tulsa FC on March 7. But didn’t stop a handful of fans from catching the action live.
About a dozen Sac Republic fans, mostly from the supporter group Levee Patrol FFC, looked on from the south side of the Cal Expo levee outside the stadium, with flags and drums to support their team.
Media sat on the west side of the field and the east side was covered in tarp with the club’s sponsors on it.
The stands behind the north goal were decorated with colorful boards from the Boards for Change Project — which sprung up amid the Sacramento protests following Floyd’s death. The club will create an art gallery drawing attention to racial and social injustice, with the auction proceeds to benefit local Black youth organizations. Auction information can be viewed at SacRepublicFC.com and BoardsForChange.org.
Back to the game
The start of the rebooted season turned into a blown opportunity for Republic FC. Tacoma forward Alec Diaz scored in the game’s opening minute off a cross from Danny Reynolds for a 1-0 lead.
“The coaching staff had us ready to play, but we didn’t come out ready,” Hilliard-Arce said. “We could focus on the good response but I’m choosing to look at it as a failure for us to start the game correctly.”
Sac Republic equalized seven minutes later on a penalty kick from forward Dariusz Formella — who scored his second goal of the night in the 37th minute with a rocket off his left foot, assisted by Jordan McCary.
Sac Republic’s other goal of the night came 14 minutes earlier from a Hilliard-Arce header off a corner kick assist from Rodrigo Lopez. Lopez made his first start for Sac Republic since 2015. He was the club’s first-ever signing in 2013 and returned to Sacramento after spending time in Mexico’s top leagues.
With the 3-3 tie, Sac Republic sits at 0-0-2. The club will take on Reno 1868 next at home on Sunday, which could determine who sits atop the Group A standings.
Briggs said things must change against Reno in order for Sac Republic to get in the win column.
“An awful lot (must be improved),” He said. “I wasn’t happy with the speed of the ball and wasn’t happy with the communication or shape. You can tell in my tone that I’m disappointed with the performance. Disappointed in a number of things but something positive is that we scored three goals. Quite frankly we should be scoring three goals or more. There’s a lot to work on and we have six days until we get back at it and face a really good Reno team.”
Sac Republic FC Upcoming Schedule
July 19 vs Reno 1868 FC, 6 p.m.
July 25 @ LA Galaxy ll, TBD
July 29 vs Orange County FC, TBD
August 1 @ San Diego Loyal SC, TBD
August 8 @ Portland Timbers 2, TBD
