RENO, Nev. – Reno 1868 FC continues to show its muscle at Greater Nevada Field. Dane Kelly scored his 60th career goal and assisted an Antoine Hoppenot goal to lead Reno to a 2-0 victory against Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday in front of a crowd of 6,060. Reno has now won four straight at home, improving to 5-3-3 (18 points) overall and 4-1-2 at home. Sacramento fell to 4-6-3 (15 points) overall and 2-5-1 on the road. This was the first regular-season meeting between the two sides, separated by an approximate two-hour drive. Republic FC earned a 2-0 win against Reno in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but it did not carry over into USL action. Sacramento has not won on the road since April 8 against Tulsa Roughnecks FC.

Scoring:

38’ – RNO – Antoine Hoppenot (Dane Kelly)

73’ – RNO – Dane Kelly (Seth Casiple)

Three Things That Mattered:

1. Normally it’s Dane Kelly on the receiving end of Antoine Hoppenot’s contributions, but on Saturday they reversed their roles in the 38th minute. Kelly’s little through ball was led perfectly into the right side of the box and Hoppenot waited for the right moment to slot the ball past Sacramento goalkeeper Evan Newton to take a 1-0 lead. It was Hoppenot’s fourth goal of the season.

2. It wouldn’t be a typical Reno game without a Kelly goal, and he found his 12th of the season and 60th of his career in the 73rd minute. From about 23 yards out, Kelly’s right-footed strike snuck inside the far left post for a two-goal cushion. The sequence was a good team effort as midfielder Matt LaGrassa had the initial deflection to start the break.

3. Sacramento had some close-range chances, but the club could not get anything past Reno goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell who had four saves for the clean sheet. All 11 shots Republic FC attempted were inside the 18-yard box.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:

Dane Kelly, Reno 1868 FC – Kelly scored his league-leading 12th goal of the season and set up Antoine Hoppenot, enjoying his best campaign to date.