SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Reno 1868 FC stunned Sacramento Republic FC as it rallied from a two-goal halftime deficit to take a 3-2 victory before a crowd of 11,569 at Papa Murphy’s Park. Jure Matjasic opened the scoring with his first goal for Republic FC in just the second minute as his first-time finish from Cameron Iwasa’s pass found the right corner. Iwasa added a second in the 12th minute as he controlled a long pass by Justin Schmidt well to set up a lifted finish from just inside the penalty area. Reno’s Paul Marie forced a sharp save by Republic FC goalkeeper Josh Cohen prior to Iwasa’s goal but was fortunate not to go behind further as Mitchell Taintor hit the left post with a header for Sacramento in the 32nd minute. 1868 FC again went close as Danny Musovski couldn’t get a header on target a minute later, but in the 57th minute Marie scored his first professional goal as the former Reading United AC standout in the PDL made a powerful run forward before slotting home his shot into the right corner from the top of the penalty area. Two minutes later the visitors were level as Brian Brown fired home a first-time show into the right corner, and then 1868 FC took the lead with its third goal in five minutes as Thiaw curled home a finish to the top-right corner. Sacramento’s Cole Seiler just missed out on leveling the score again with 14 minutes to go as his header went wide of the right post, but the hosts couldn’t find an equalizer late on as Reno walked away with a big win to wrap up its four-game road trip.

Scoring:

2’ – SAC – Jure Matjasic (Cameron Iwasa)

12’ – SAC – Cameron Iwasa (Justin Schmidt)

57’ – RNO – Paul Marie (Seth Casiple)

59’ – RNO – Brian Brown (Mohamed Thiaw)

62’ – RNO – Mohamad Thiaw

Three Things That Matter:

1. Down two goals at halftime, it looked as though the final game of Reno 1868 FC’s road trip was one too far for the visitors. The introduction of Brian Brown and Mohamad Thiaw at halftime by Head Coach Ian Russell, however, injected 1868 FC with a major boost of energy that carried the side to a remarkable spell of three goals in five minutes that swung the game Reno’s way and ended up giving 1868 FC its third win in four regular-season meetings against Republic FC. Both Brown and Thiaw found the net, with Thiaw also providing the assist on Brown’s goal, in a remarkable performance that Reno’s fans will remember for a long time.

2. Sacramento looked set to continue its best start to a season in club history as Cameron Iwasa logged a goal and assist in the opening 15 minutes of his first Donner Pass Derby. Instead, the hosts capitulated defensively and were unable to salvage anything as Reno held out late to preserve its win. With trips to Phoenix Rising FC and Real Monarchs SLC – the two sides sitting above it in the standings – to close out the month of May, we may find out a lot about this Sacramento side in how it rebounds from a devastating defeat.

3. Now undefeated in six games, Reno 1868 FC hasn’t quite got into the top eight in the Western Conference but is finding ways to earn results that could lead to a return trip to the USL Cup Playoffs. Despite missing some key pieces on Saturday, including leading assist man Antoine Hoppenot, the visitors found a way to come through when it appeared all had been lost, the hallmark of a side that is going to find ways to get results to carry it forward. As it heads home for next Saturday’s game with Seattle Sounders FC 2, Reno should be very pleased with a well-managed, undefeated road trip.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Mohamad Thiaw, Reno 1868 FC – Thiaw and Brian Brown made a massive impact after coming on as halftime substitutes, with Thiaw finishing with an assist and the game-winning goal.