With Sacramento’s MLS plans on hiatus, a U.S. Open Cup win would etch team into American soccer lore

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When Sacramento Republic forward Maalique Foster walked to the penalty spot in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal on July 27, it represented one of the most pivotal moments in club history and in American soccer lore.

After 120 minutes of goalless soccer, second-division USL Championship side Sacramento trailed Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City 4-3 in the decisive penalty shootout. Neither team had missed, so Foster needed to score to keep pace. A failed attempt would put the team on the brink of elimination, possibly ending a magical tournament run that had re-energized the soccer community in California’s capital city, following a disappointing previous year.

So, naturally, Foster went about it in one of the most audacious ways possible: a Panenka. The Jamaican’s approach was normal enough, but just as he arrived at the ball and planted his left foot, he slowed into a lean and softly chipped the ball right down the middle. There was nothing SKC goalkeeper John Pulskamp could do — other than smirk afterwards — as he fell helplessly to his right.

Foster cartwheeled into a backflip and, in a nod to Steph Curry, rested his face on his hands … night night.

Maalique Foster 🤝 @StephenCurry30 @SacRepublicFC 😴 #USOC2022 pic.twitter.com/L1chZoH00x

— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) July 28, 2022

The shootout wasn’t over, but it might as well have been. Sacramento goalkeeper Danny Vitiello saved Graham Zusi’s attempt moments later before Rodrigo Lopez, the club’s first-ever signing in 2014, sealed the Republic’s passage to the final with an emphatic final penalty.

Sacramento will travel to Orlando City SC for Wednesday’s final (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+) with a chance to make history. Simply put, a victory would complete one of the greatest underdog stories in American soccer history.

Advancing this far in the tournament is a significant achievement for any club, but for the Republic — just more than a year after its MLS status dissolved unexpectedly — it’s…