How to Watch Sacramento Republic vs. Orange County SC

Fresh off a good win to start their season, Orange County SC are back in action on Saturday night, as they head to Sacramento for another tough test, against Republic.

Both teams come into the season with a win and with largely new-look teams. But despite that, there is sure to be extra motivation for the hosts, after Orange County shocked them in the playoffs last year, with Republic being the top seed in the West.

So yes, the motivation will be there, and if it turns out to be a 4-0 rout for Sacramento, then revenge was probably on their minds. But given the platoons of new players, expect this game to look far different than the playoff game last year.

It should be a very good test for Orange County, who played very well in their season opener last week but were perhaps a bit fortunate that Reno 1868 lacked a certain sharpness in their attack. That’s not to take anything away from the win, and it was a good team performance all around, but the defense was not pushed to the limit in the opener. Against Sac Republic in Sacramento? Expect the intensity to ratchet up.

Even so, the good news for OC is that Sacramento’s backline has been rather shaky in the run-up to the season. A road win last week in Seattle will certainly help their confidence, but the roster balance has been severely out of whack heading into the season and there’s a chance the paper clips and scotch tape holding the defense together could fall apart. We’ll see!

Tale of the Tape:

Orange County SC: 3 points (1-0-0), 3rd place in Western Conference; Goal Difference: +2 (2/0); Last game: W

Sacramento Republic FC: 3 points (1-0-0), 6th place in Western Conference; Goal Difference: +1 (2/1); Last game: W

How to Watch Sacramento Republic vs. Orange County SC: The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 pm PT in Sacramento. You can also watch it on the stream below or in USL’s matchcenter.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!