We kick off this episode with a great interview featuring Marek Albert, Head Coach of Stockton Cargo, and Hannah Diaz, the club’s General Manager. They discuss the exciting “The Yard” announcement, reflect on Cargo’s strong season last year, and share what fans can expect from the team this season in USL W.

After the interview, the SOTR crew shifts focus to Sacramento Republic FC, breaking down the club’s final preseason match — a 1–0 loss against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC — and what it means heading into opening weekend. We also discuss the appointment of new Republic President & General Manager Tim Holt, and with a new season comes a new edition of Podcast Winner Dinner, our weekly Sac Republic prediction contest. We share our overall season predictions and give our picks for the home opener against FC Tulsa!

Intro/Outro Music: "The Descent" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Podcast Winner Dinner Music: The following music was used for this media project: Fliegen by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2936-fliegen License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Image: Stockton Cargo Instagram

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In this episode of State of the Republic, we break down Sacramento Republic FC’s impressive 5–2 preseason win over the San Jose Earthquakes II side and what we learned from the performance heading into the 2026 season.

We also talk about the Meet the Team event that followed and the growing excitement surrounding this year’s squad.

Plus, we talk about Republic’s newest signings — two midfielders with extensive Major League Soccer experience:

• Mark-Anthony Kaye
• Memo Rodríguez

And Sharon shares insight into a possible new addition to the club’s front office.

All that and more as Sacramento continues its preparations for the upcoming season.

Golazos of Gratitude Music: The following music was used for this media project: Music: Nice Light Of Happiness by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7421-nice-light-of-happiness License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Image: Sac Republic FC

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In this episode, we’re joined by Brian Danzl, Board Member of the Tower Bridge Battalion, Sacramento Republic FC’s independent supporter group. Brian shares what’s ahead for TBB and Republic FC as we head into the 2026 season and looks forward to the club’s new stadium in 2027.

We also talk about Sac Republic’s new midfielder Pep Casas, give an update on the Modesto USL project, and cover the newly released schedules for Stockton Cargo and California Storm in USL W / WPSL, along with Academica’s USL League Two campaign, and more!

Intro/Outro Music: "The Descent" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Golazos of Gratitude Music: The following music was used for this media project: Music: Nice Light Of Happiness by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7421-nice-light-of-happiness License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Image: Tower Bridge Battalion Facebook

Support State of the Republic by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/state-of-the-republic