Photo Courtesy of Sacramento Republic FC
Days after Sacramento Republic FC went into Albuquerque and emerged with a 3-2 win over New Mexico United, the formula looked remarkably familiar Wednesday night at home. Sacramento conceded twice, answered twice and eventually found Kyle Edwards at the back post to turn another difficult night into three points. The 3-2 win over Las Vegas Lights FC extended Republic’s unbeaten run to nine matches and continued a late-season surge that has Sacramento climbing the Western Conference table.
More importantly, it provided another example of a team increasingly comfortable winning matches that don’t necessarily look like the ones Sacramento has traditionally preferred. Las Vegas made that clear almost immediately, with Christian Pinzon finding Oalex Anderson in the 13th minute before Anderson finished into the upper corner to give the visitors an early advantage.
Sacramento struggled to turn its possession into meaningful opportunities early, failing to record a shot on target until the 36th minute. When that first shot arrived, Memo Rodriguez made sure it mattered. A patient buildup that involved eight Sacramento players eventually reached Danny Crisostomo, who laid the ball off for Rodriguez. From roughly 30 yards, Rodriguez drove his shot past a frozen Triston Henry to bring Sacramento level before halftime.
It was another decisive contribution from Rodriguez just days after his two-goal, one-assist performance against New Mexico. Against Las Vegas, he finished with a match-high six shots, put three on target and created three chances. He was also heavily involved throughout Sacramento’s attack, completing 20 passes in the final third and recording 75 touches.
Las Vegas had another answer after the break. Five minutes into the second half, Pinzon again created the opening, this time finding Carson Locker, whose finish restored the visitors’ advantage at 2-1. Republic needed only eight minutes to respond after Cal Jennings was brought down in the penalty area. Rodriguez stepped up from the spot, but Henry saved his attempt before Tyler Wolff reacted quickest to the loose ball and buried the rebound in the 58th minute.
The back-and-forth nature of the match was reflected in the underlying numbers. Sacramento held 54.9 percent of possession and outshot Las Vegas 15-11, but both sides finished with five shots on target. Expected goals were nearly identical, with Las Vegas narrowly ahead 1.70 to 1.68. Sacramento’s advantage was more apparent in where it established possession, recording 28 touches inside the Las Vegas penalty area compared with 14 for the visitors while holding a 149-88 advantage in passes attempted in the final third. Republic also generated 14 corner kicks to Las Vegas’ six.
That sustained pressure eventually produced the same combination that decided Saturday’s match in New Mexico. Rodriguez delivered a long corner toward the back post in the 82nd minute, where Edwards had been left unmarked. The second-half substitute finished it for his eighth goal of the season and, for the second consecutive match, the game winner. Despite starting just three of his 24 appearances this season, Edwards now has eight goals and three assists in 614 minutes.
“Games like this and New Mexico, those are games you have to grind out, and you have to win ugly sometimes in this league. It’s a testament to the team that we can do a little bit of both.”
Edwards’ goal gave Sacramento the lead, but there was still plenty of work to do. Eight minutes of stoppage time gave Las Vegas an opportunity to find an equalizer, and Danny Vitiello was called upon late. After making his first save in the 62nd minute, the Republic goalkeeper added two more in the closing stages to preserve the three points. The night also brought the return of Michel Benitez, who entered in the 86th minute after missing the previous several months with a lower-body injury.
What Sacramento is showing during this unbeaten run may be just as significant as the results themselves. This has long been a team capable of protecting narrow advantages and grinding out low-scoring matches, but in consecutive games Republic has conceded twice and still found three goals of its own. The wins over New Mexico and Las Vegas have required Sacramento to respond to adversity rather than simply protect an advantage.
“We’ve kept a lot of clean sheets. Our goals against record’s fantastic, but you also need to win games sometimes from behind. Sometimes you need to score multiple goals. We’re starting to show that we can do both, which bodes really well.”
There is also a growing list of players capable of deciding those matches. Rodriguez now has five goals and seven assists in 19 appearances, while Wolff’s equalizer gave him five goals in 18 appearances. Edwards has emerged as one of the league’s most dangerous options off the bench, and Benitez’s return adds another attacking piece as Sacramento approaches the postseason.
Sacramento’s nine-match unbeaten run has carried the club from hovering around the playoff line to being tied on points for second place in the Western Conference and four points behind first. After consecutive 3-2 victories, Republic has also shown it doesn’t need a perfect defensive night to collect three points. Sacramento has spent much of the season proving it can keep opponents out; against New Mexico and Las Vegas, it showed that even when an opponent lands the first punch Republic has enough attacking answers to respond.
The turnaround comes quickly again, with Sacramento heading back on the road Saturday to face FC Tulsa and close out a three-match week. After collecting six points from the first two matches of that stretch, Republic arrives in Tulsa carrying its longest unbeaten run of the season and an attack that has suddenly produced six goals in five days.
