SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Cameron Iwasa scored in second-half stoppage time from the penalty spot to send Sacramento Republic FC to a 1-0 victory against Donner Pass Derby rival Reno 1868 FC on Sunday night at Papa Murphy’s Park on ESPN2.

Brought on as a second-half substitute, Republic FC’s all-time leading scorer both created and converted the chance. Breaking into the left side of the penalty area in the first minute of stoppage time, Iwasa looked to center for a teammate, only for the ball to deflect off the arm of Reno defender Thomas Janjigian. Iwasa stepped up and buried a low shot to the right corner to send Sacramento to its first win of the season

After the disappointment of Monday night’s draw with Tacoma Defiance, Republic FC roared out of the gate early and if not for a pair of good saves by Reno goalkeeper Ben Beaury would have taken the lead inside the opening 25 minutes. In the 21st minute, a half-cleared corner kick fell to Republic FC’s Jaime Villarreal, who fired a powerful shot from 20 yards that would have dipped under the crossbar that Beaury tipped over. A minute later, Tomas Hilliard-Arce flicked a good header low on frame, but Beaury got down well to deny him.

Reno’s first really threatening moment came just before the half-hour mark when Kevin Partida slid a good pass into the left side of the penalty area for Emilio Ycaza, but his delivery was intercepted by Sacramento goalkeeper Adam Grinwis at the near post and turned behind for a corner. Sacramento continued to carry more of the play overall, however, as Hayden Sargis made a good forward run into space and forced another save from Beaury just past the half-hour mark.

Reno carved out a good chance to take the lead six minutes into the second half when a cross from the left by Sam Gleadle was met by a diving header from Foster Langsdorf that he was unable to control, sending the ball high. Sacramento’s Sam Werner then had a close-range chance after a scramble in the penalty blocked by Beaury, while Ycaza elected to shoot instead of use one of his runners for Reno in the 66th minute as Grinwis made a solid diving save.

While Reno looked effective on the counterattack, though, Republic FC created more chances overall as Villarreal had a shot deflected wide of the right post with 14 minutes to go, while Rodrigo Lopez curled a shot from 20 yards just over the top-right corner of the net four minutes later.

As time looked like it was going to run out on the hosts and force them to settle for a third consecutive draw to start the season, however, Iwasa’s penalty kick lifted Republic FC to its second regular-season victory against 1868 FC in the regular season, and gave Sacramento’s season a needed early boost.

USLChampionship.com Man of the Match

Jaime Villarreal, Sacramento Republic FC – Villarreal had a pair of good shots, recorded one key pass, but was most influential in the center of midfield where he completed 33 of 40 passes, won 5 of 6 duels and won two tackles.