Sacramento (10 wins, 4 draws, 9 defeats) currently sits in 6th place in the Western Conference table, 19 points behind first-placed Rising (16 wins, 5 draws, 2 defeats).
Republic has had no shortage of clean sheets this season. They’ve recorded 10, which leaves them tied for 3rd in the Championship. Only Phoenix and Nashville (both 11) have more.
In spite of Devon Kerr and Kelsi Steele’s prediction that Rising are going to fall to Sacramento, their away form isn’t actually that impressive. They’ve lost more than half of their games on the road this season.
Defensively, Republic tends to be solid for the first half, but performs significantly worse after the break.
That isn’t quite the case at the other end of the pitch. What’s most notable in their scoring record is the number of late goals Sacramento seem to record – both at the end of the first half, and at the end of the second.
THE LAST MEETING
Rising last played Republic on April 27. It was the 13th time the sides had met (including games as Arizona United), with Rising having won only two of those matches.
The April 27 game ultimately ended goalless, with only five shots on target shared between the two sides – Rising had three of those.
The hosts lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, while Rising played its typical 4-2-3-1.
Sacramento edged Rising on possession (53.3%), but Phoenix was the victor in the aerial game (54.9%).
The game is most notable for Jason Johnson picking up a lower body injury in the first half. Johnson is still out, but is hoping to return to fitness within the next month.
SINCE THEN
Roster Changes
There have been 8 major roster changes since Republic last squared up with Rising on April 27: five additions and three departures.
Current El Salvador international defender Juan Barahona moved to Sacramento from Primera División club Santa Tecla FC in early May. The left-footed 23-year-old won four league titles and two domestic cups in six seasons at Santa Tecla, and has 20 full international caps. Barahona has clocked up nine USL appearances this season, primarily as a left back, and has a 78.9% tackle success rate.
23-year-old Polish winger Dariusz Formella moved to Papa Murphy’s Pack in mid-July after seven seasons in his home country. Capped by Poland at U-16, U-17, U-18, U-19, U-20 and U-21 levels, Formella won a league title and two Polish SuperCups with Lech Poznan, and the Polish Cup with Arka Gdynia. As a result, he has also played 10 games in the UEFA Europa League and Champions League Qualifiers. He’s only clocked up 28 USL minutes to date in two games, though, as a substitute, including the last 15 minutes against the Switchbacks last Saturday.
Two of Republic’s roster additions are keepers.
MLS-veteran Bobby Shuttleworth joined on loan from Minnesota United earlier this month. The 32-year-old 6-ft-2 goalie finished the Loons’ inaugural MLS season with the second most saves in the league, and previously spent eight seasons with the New England Revolution (127 appearances, 34 shutouts). He made his Republic debut in the 4-0 win over the Switchbacks last Saturday.
16-year-old Diego Ramos became the fifth Republic Academy player to sign a USL contract in July. Ramos featured for Republic FC in an international friendly against Club America U-20 in July, helping maintain a shutout in a 2-0 win, but is still awaiting his first USL game. He was an unused substitute in the goalless home draw with LV Lights on August 7.
The fifth addition represents possibly the biggest threat to Rising tonight: Danish striker Thomas Enevoldsen. The 2018 USL Golden Boot Runner-Up joined Sacramento earlier this month from Indy Eleven, where he had contributed five goals and two assists in20 games this season. Enevoldsen featured for OC against Rising last season, and made his mark in a 4-3 win in the Valley with one goal and one assist. He was also offered to Rising in the close season (see video below). Capped 11 times by Denmark (2009 –2011), Enevoldsen scored in a May 2010 friendly against Senegal prior to playing in the 2010 World Cup, and also has 26 youth international caps. Enevoldsen’s former clubs include AaB (Denmark), FC Groningen and NAC Breda (Netherlands), and KV Mechelen (Belgium). He bagged two goals in four minutes on his debut for Republic last week. The first was a 57th minute left footed shot from the centre of the penalty box to the bottom right corner. The second, scored on the hour, was a right footed shot from outside the penalty area to the bottom left corner.
Two of the three roster departures are well known to Valley football fans. Former Rising favorite Josh Cohen moved to Maccabi Haifa FC (Israel) in mid-July after one-and-a-half seasons in goal at Sacramento; and ex-Arizona United forward Tyler Blackwood moved to Saint Louis on loan. The other roster departure since Rising last squared up with Republic is defender Elliott Hord, who joined Hartford Athletic on loan. Cohen and Blackwood both played against Rising back in April, and Hord was an unused substitute.
On the Field
Sacramento has an incredibly average record over the last 16 games – they’ve won seven, lost seven and drawn two.
Leading the goalscoring tally is Cameron Iwasa – both over the season (11), and since meeting Rising (6). Iwasa has also missed a penalty, revealing a flaw in the Sacramento attack: they’ve actually missed two of their three penalties since facing Phoenix. Iwasa signed for a second spell at his hometown team ahead of last season. He was named to the all-league second team in 2018, just like his first Sacramento spell in 2016.
Expect to see Sam Werner to feature in midfield. He’s the only Sacramento player to start every single match since the team last faced Rising. In fact, he’s only missed three starts all season. Werner has scored three times since facing Rising, taking his total to five over the season. Werner is originally from Bozeman, Montana, and played for four years at Stanford. This is his first season with Sacramento. His only previous professional experience came in a trial with Israeli side Hapoel Hadera.
Jaime Villarreal has also been involved in all 16 games, although on three occasions he came off the bench. Like Werner, he’s only missed one match all season. He’s a decent passer in midfield, with an 81.7% accuracy. Villarreal is a former LA Galaxy prospect, but was cut by the team ahead of the 2018 season. His brother, Jose, plays for Western Conference rival Las Vegas Lights.
Center-back Mitchell Taintor has been a fairly common sight at the back. He’s made 14 appearances, scoring twice over that run. Taintor also boasts the highest passes per 90 minutes of anyone on the team (55) this season, and 79.8% accuracy. He’s solid defensively, winning 71.4% of tackles, 64.8% of duels on the ground and 59.6% in the air. Taintor left Toronto II for Republic ahead of the 2018 season.
Fellow center-back Dekel Keinan hasn’t featured as much lately – primarily because he’s been suspended for four of those games. He’s featured in only eight, and in that spell has picked up four yellow cards (leading to an accumulation suspension), and a red card. Keinan has also just completed a further two-game suspension imposed retroactively after a separate incident against San Antonio. He should be available for selection against Rising, but has been an unused substitute in his first game after each suspension this season. Keinan’s career began with Maccabi Haifa (Israel), before spells with Blackpool (England) and Cardiff (Wales). Capped more than 20 times for Israel, Keinan first moved to the U.S. in 2018 with FC Cincinnati, before joining Sacramento this season.
Rafael Diaz has mostly stepped up to fill the shoes of Josh Cohen – although Shuttleworth did play in the last game. Diaz has conceded nine goals in six games, while recording a 64% save success rate. He’s been a backup for most of his professional career, primarily with New York Red Bulls II. He joined Sacramento in time for the 2018 season.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Ismir Pekmic has been assigned tonight’s match. He’s taken charge of three Rising matches over the last three seasons, all of which took place in the Valley and all of which ended in a home victory. The first was Rising’s 2-0 win over Real Monarchs (Sept 2017), followed by a 4-3 thriller over Los Dos (May 2018) and a 1-0 victory against Sounders 2 (July 2018). Interestingly enough given Rising’s current reputation, Pekmic has pointed to the penalty spot five times in his last nine USL Championship games.
From the Ashes Prediction: Enevoldsen will make the fans sweat by scoring one or two, but a late penalty will keep the win streak going.