The second-ever USL Cup Final will be held this Saturday, October 4th, at Heart Health Park in Sacramento, Ca. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm Pacific with Sacramento Republic set to host Hartford Athletic.

The Republic won Group One with 9 points from 4 played; including wins over AV Alta, Las Vegas Lights and Spokane Velocity. Sacramento advanced past a tough Loudoun United, in the quarterfinal, by penalties - then did the same to get by Rhode Island in the semifinal. Sac were on the road for both knockout matches but finished the season as a group winner, while Hartford were a wildcard winner, and will host the final.

Athletic also had 9 points from 4 group stage games played, but finished second in Group Four, behind that very good Rhode Island outfit. Hartford took the second wildcard spot going into the knockouts, which put them on the road in the quarterfinal - that’s where they beat San Antonio FC. Then Athletic hosted League One’s Greenville Triumph in the semi, winning 3-1.

Sacramento are always a threat and are led by savvy veterans

In league play, both sides have had their ups and downs this season. Sacramento are 6-2-2 over the last 10 fixtures and have just secured a post-season spot after moving up to second in the Western Conference. While the Republic don’t have a top-ten goal-scorer, Russell Cicerone leads the team with 8 and nine other players have at least 1 goal. The legendary Rodrigo Lopez has 5 assists from 21 appearances and has 26 chances created. Jack Gurr is also one to watch; he’s created 34 chances, 4 assists, and a pair of goals. Goalkeeper Daniel Vitiello leads the league with 11 cleans sheets and has 61 saves.

Athletic are in great form and look dangerous

The visitors, Hartford Athletic, might actually be the more dangerous team heading into the Final - they’ve rattled off 7 wins, just 2 losses, and a draw in their last 10 league games. But, as we mentioned earlier, they actually won their quarterfinal and semifinal matches to advance. Hartford do have Kyle Edwards, with 11 league goals, in the top-10 and Mamadou Dieng contributing 9 goals for Athletic in the regular season. Anthony Siaha is 5th best in the league with 64 saves and has 9 clean sheets.

Of course, the two sides will follow up this weekend’s Cup Final a week later, in Hartford, Ct. Interestingly, Sacramento Republic and Hartford Athletic have only ever squared off twice before; a 1-0 home win for Sacramento in 2024 and a 1-4 home loss for Hartford back in 2023 - Athletic have never beaten the Republic and they now have two chances in as many weekends to exact some reveng.

If you want to take a look back at the games we thought would be big, read our 2025 Circle the Date: 2025 Jägermeister / USL Cup

by Joshua Duder