“I was trying to pump them up but they were already pumped up already. They had our backs tonight, all 12,000 fans.”
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If you thought soccer is dead in America, you haven’t been paying attention.
And if you haven’t been paying attention, it’s not too late to start.
You can start by looking back at the pandemonium that unfolded at the U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Heart Health Park in Sacramento on Wednesday. On this unbelievable night, energized by their tireless supporters, the Sacramento Republic continued to write the ultimate Cinderella story.
Competing in the U.S. Open Cup, which some consider to be the country’s most prestigious soccer tournament, the Republic have been facing some of the top teams in the MLS. This gritty USL team apparently continued to gain confidence throughout the tournament, upsetting several opponents from the higher league.
The trend continued on Wednesday when the Republic pulled out a historic W against Sporting Kansas City, another MLS team. The Republic, now preparing to face Orlando City in the final on Sept. 7., can become the first non-MLS team since 2008 to win the Open Cup, KCRA reports.
If you were among the sell out crowd, you certainly will never forget the madness you witnessed on Wednesday. But if you weren’t lucky enough to be at Heart Health Park on that night, just look at the sights and sounds and reactions going viral on the internet and you’ll get a pretty good idea of the chaos that erupted.
Somewhere in America, there is probably somebody who can’t imagine sitting through 120 minutes of a scoreless soccer game. But this wasn’t just any scoreless game. This classic U.S. Open match actually turned out to be one of those sports moments that would give chills to any human being with a pulse.
Republic fans remained on their feet, with their heart nearly jumping out of their chest again and again, as the home team dodged several bullets throughout the night. The agony grew more and more tense as the home team failed to breakdown the opposing defense.
After two overtime sessions, the supporters looked like they couldn’t possibly take any more anxiety. But the drama escalated to an even higher level in penalty kicks.
The eyes of the anxious fans turned to Sacramento keeper Danny Vitiello as the two teams remained deadlock in the latter stages of the shootout — 4-4. Vitiello, who was hearing MVP chants from the crowd, etched his name into history when he forced the first miss of the penalty kicks, denying Graham Zusi.
From there, it was Rodrigo Lopez who delivered the game-winning kick, finally giving the home supporters a chance to exhale and go crazy.
“Unreal,” Vitiello said after the game, according to The Sacramento Bee. “I was trying to pump them up but they were already pumped up already. They had our backs tonight, all 12,000 fans.”
Still, this story is not yet finished. So pay attention.
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