Wednesday was quite an eventful day in the Sacramento Republic world.

First, the club announced the signing of young English striker/attacking midfielder Harry Williams, most recently of Cheltenham Town in the English fifth tier. He made 13 appearances for the Robins, adding 44 appearances and 22 goals in various loan stints around England's lower tiers.

"Harry is a young player that fits into our development group, said Paul Buckle in a club press release. "Already, he has proven that he is capable of playing at our level. He holds the ball up very well and he can finish. He is a very good prospect for our club."

Williams was first rumored to be headed to Sacramento back in January and has been with the Republic from the start of the preseason, including the team's trip to Mexico. He has made an appearance in all of the Republic's preseason matches so far, playing 45 minutes each time.

Williams also made an appearance in Wednesday's friendly match against the Sacramento State Hornets, scoring the lone goal early on in the first half. Sac State Alum Max Alvarez got the assist on the goal.

Interestingly, one of the players involved during the match was Richie Cardozo, who played the second 45 minutes after coming on for Cameron Iwasa. Cardozo is an Australian midfielder who spent most of last year's preseason with the Republic but was ultimately not signed by the team, despite scoring quite a few goals. It appears that he is back in Sacramento for a second chance at winning a contract with the Republic.

KCRA had a short video story on the friendly, the highlight of which is undoubtedly Dominik Jakubek's facial hair. Just look at it. It's glorious.

The Republic's next friendly is this Saturday at Sonoma County Sol, who the team last met in last year's US Open Cup. The game will kick off at Santa Rosa High School at 7pm.