Tomorrow night, in its inaugural match, S2 will look to defeat a strong Sacramento Republic FC side that is coming off an impressive first season In USL. In 2014, Sac Republic entered the league in style, finishing second in the regular season behind Orlando City, who have since moved up to MLS. After winning seven of their last 10 games in 2014, SRFC cruised through the playoffs where they eventually beat Harrisburg City Islanders 2-0 in the championship game.
S2 will look to replicate that success in its own inaugural season and send a message to the defending champs that there is a new force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. In order to do that, the Rave Green will need to find a way to stop Sacramento forward and 2014 USL MVP finalist Rodrigo López, who scored 14 goals and notched 13 assists across all competitions last season.
Newly signed centerback Aaron Long, who played on loan with Sacramento for a stint last season, is familiar with the high-pressing style of play the champs will bring to town. Look for Long and Nick Miele, another newly signed defender, to get plenty of work in against the dangerous Sacramento side led by López.
"It's going to be a tough game, but we can handle it," said S2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson. "They might be the defending champions, but we are at home, and we have built a good enough squad to take on anyone this season."
Sacramento is coached by an MLS original and National Soccer Hall of Fame member, Predrag “Preki” Radosavljević, who has previously coached MLS sides Chivas USA and Toronto FC.
Although only having played together a short amount of time, S2 will hope to come out with the same level of success it displayed during the preseason scrimmages.
The team offense was strong with skilled link-up play up the spine from the back line with long, through the midfield anchored by Amadou Sanyang and up to the leading preseason goal-scorer Andy Craven. The team has built up chemistry over the last few months fans will finally be able to see the hard work come together on the field.
In preseason play, the team went 4-1-1, with their only loss coming from a thrilling rain-soaked battle against Whitecaps FC 2 with a final score of 4-3.
In tomorrow's game, fans should expect both teams to try and make a statement right away. Sacramento will hope to continue the momentum they left 2014 with, and S2 will hope to make its mark on the league in true Seattle fashion: winning.
