Time flies, doesn’t it? Seems like yesterday that we cooked up the idea to give away an award to our Club of the Year. Since 2018, when Inocentes FC from Ft. Worth, Texas won our first Club of the Year, we’ve done this five times. The WPSL’s Pensacola FC won the second year, while Maryland Bobcats took home the third award in 2020. In 2021, KC Courage was chosen as the Club of the Year and last year Tormenta FC, after winning championships in both USL League One and W League, took home our 5th Club of the Year.

We haven’t changed our approach over the years. As we near the end of the year, we discuss our candidates, take submissions from the public, and narrow it down to four or five clubs we think deserving. Then we put together our best argument as to why each club deserves your vote. We put those out as articles over the course of a week, then let our readers decide by voting. On January 1, we announce the Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year. So let’s celebrate an amazing year of lower league soccer by highlighting four tremendous clubs who deserve your vote. Here’s the third nominee, Sacramento Republic.

Ignore for a second some of the rhetoric around MLS at the moment. Yeah, not an easy thing to do, but let’s admit that for any organization with the means and ambition, playing in the top division league is always going to be a goal. I wonder if the current shift in the soccer community will continue to the point that clubs will be satisfied with staying in Division 2. Hard to say at this moment.

Regardless of all that, Sacramento Republic famously applied to MLS in 2017 and jumped through every hoop thrown before it to complete that dream. And everything seemed to be on track until 2021, when the lead MLS investor pulled out of the deal. That left Sacramento in the lurch and the move seems to have been shelved. At the time, MLS stated that “after working for many years to bring an MLS team to Sacramento, the League continues to believe it can be a great MLS market.” In March of 2023, Sacramento continued to be mentioned by MLS commissioner Garber as a potential spot for expansion. However, in December, when Sacramento was specifically asked about, he didn’t seem as bullish on the city, effectively avoiding responding to the question. So who knows?

In the face of that, it might be easy to understand if the club backed down, fans stopped showing up, players stopped pushing as hard. And why not? The team had been accepted and approved by MLS until it wasn’t. It had counted on investors who had made promises to deliver until they didn’t. There was every reason for Sacramento to take a step back, but it didn’t.

Instead, the club continues to grow in its support in Sacramento. In fact, after two consecutive years in the top three of USL Championship attendance, the club jumped into the top spot this year, averaging 10,627 at home in 2023. And one season removed from a Cinderella run to the US Open Cup Championship match, Republic would make it to the Round of 32 before bowing out to an MLS side. It is clear that Sacramento’s commitment to excellence hasn’t slowed because of Division 1 rejection, instead the club keeps doubling down.

Vitiello was a force in net for Sacramento, winning Goalkeeper of the Year. *Image courtesy of Sacramento Republic*

In the USL Championship regular season, Sacramento ran wild, only losing 6 matches on its way to another regular season finish atop the Western Conference. Players like Danny Vitiello, the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year, made the team a force to be reckoned with in 2023. The team dominated the league, finishing tied for best goal differential (+25) and 7 points higher than second place Orange County. That run would continue into the playoffs, where Sacramento wouldn’t lose until the Conference Final against eventual USLC champion Phoenix Rising. It was an impressive season just short of perfection.

When asked about Sacramento, USLC contributor for Protagonist, Phil Baki, described the club in three words: “Focused. Disciplined. Resilient.” If there’s any argument for Sacramento Republic deserving your vote for Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year it’s that. The club hasn’t allowed uncertainty or chaos about its destination shake its focus at any point. It continues to deliver excellence on the field and its fans continue to show up. If for no other reason, that’s why they deserve your vote.

- Dan Vaughn