If you’ve spent any time consuming the perpetual message that Sacramento Republic FC has for its fans, you’ll know that the club’s primary goal is to one day be awarded an MLS franchise.

While that appears likely to occur in the next few years, local footy fans shouldn’t ignore the league the Republic currently play in: the second-tier United Soccer League, where Sacramento captured the 2014 championship in its inaugural year.

Since that fairytale campaign, the USL has grown in both size and scope, thanks in part to a Republic franchise that set records in attendance in its first and second years that were only just eclipsed last year by FC Cincinnati.

With USL play starting the weekend after this, I was fortunate enough to speak with the league’s president, Jake Edwards, in an interview spanning a wide range of topics, starting with Sacramento Republic FC.

When the Republic first entered the USL, there were 14 teams, and Orlando City SC — about to make the jump to MLS — was all the blaze.

City had set numerous attendance records…all of which were quickly shattered by the Republic in 2014 as 20,231 attended the club’s opening match.

But how big an impact did the Republic have on a league that has now expanded to 30 teams?

“Sacramento came and certainly had a tremendous opening and sold out well over 20,000 in the first couple of games in the college and then sold out every game,” Edwards said. “They put a flag in the ground. They meant business. They were going to shake things up and break some records.

“Sacramento were one of the early pioneers of that and they continue to be,” Edwards added. “They continue to sell out every game and do tremendously well on and off the field. A number of the clubs in our league are in that same category. We’re certainly very proud of what Sacramento has written for the USL.”

According to Edwards, USL teams are now modeling themselves after the Republic in terms of the size of their operations and the initiative in building soccer-specific stadiums, like Sacramento did with the former Bonney Field (now Papa Murphy’s Park).

And though 30 teams puts the USL on par in terms of overall numbers with most of the major sports leagues in the world — MLS itself only has 22 teams — Edwards doesn’t see the expansion slowing down anytime soon.

New franchise Reno 1868 FC will give the Republic its first proper regional rivalry this year, one that could be joined as soon as 2018 by a pair of Northern California clubs.

“We’ve been in conversations with the group in Fresno, I think it’s a very exciting market, it’s a dynamic market, it’s got a great soccer fanbase there, a lot of people playing and watching the game,” Edwards said.

“It’s got a strong population and we’ve spent some time with a locally based ownership group who are presenting plans to build a soccer-specific stadium and want to bring the USL to Fresno. It’s something we’re taking a very close look at.”

In addition to Fresno, Edwards said that the league is also looking at a Bay Area market and has received an application from one team.

Before this year, the closest team to the Republic was LA Galaxy II, all the way on the other end of the state.

Come 2018, three teams could be less than a three-hour drive away, allowing for the away support that dominates soccer culture in Europe.

Just don’t expect the Republic to be in the USL for long. MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced recently that expansion-side Los Angeles Football Club would be the only club to enter Major League Soccer in 2018.

Garber, however, didn’t say anything about 2019.

Enjoy the season, folks.

Evan Ream’s column publishes on Wednesday’s. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @EvanReam