Based on their respective histories, there might not seem a lot in common between 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup Final participants Sacramento Republic FC and Hartford Athletic.

On one side you have Republic FC, one of the perennial title contenders since it joined the USL Championship in 2014. The Indomitable Club won the league title in its inaugural season, ranks fifth all-time in the USL-C era with 171 wins across the regular season and playoffs, and has missed the postseason only once in its history.

On the other you have Athletic, which has rarely had much to shout about over its first five seasons. There was the postseason berth in the abbreviated 2020 season, but over its history, Hartford has lost more than half its regular season contests and had rolled through five full-time head coaches before the arrival of current boss Brendan Burke prior to 2024.

Look closely at the way this season has played out, though, and there’s a common thread that has brought each club to Saturday night. As Sacramento looks for the second piece of silverware in its history, and Hartford prepares for its first final, here’s how they’ve got more in common than you’d think.

Winds of Change

When Burke arrived at Hartford Athletic prior to the 2024 season, it was a clear reclamation project.

In 2023, Athletic had finished with the fewest points in the USL Championship. The side had won only four times in the 34-game regular season and sported a league-worst -39 goal differential.

For the Massachusetts native, though, this wasn’t an unfamiliar circumstance. After all, he’d landed at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC prior to the 2021 season in similar circumstances and in short order helped turn the team into a playoff contender.

“I do work with a lot of urgency wherever we go,” said Burke. “You know, in Colorado Springs, it took two years, and we were in the West Final, and we were one of the worst teams in the country when we got there. So, that is my expectation, to turn things around.”

In Sacramento, meanwhile, Head Coach Neill Collins arrived with a clear mandate to take what had been a serious contender over the past three seasons – including trips to the 2022 U.S. Open Cup Final and the 2023 USL-C Western Conference Final – and find a pathway to silverware.

As one of the winningest head coaches in the USL Championship era, it was a statement of intent at the time, but one that made sure that all eyes would be on the new appointment with high expectations to start the season.

“The big thing is making sure we get the hardware,” said Collins. “But to do that, you've got to put yourself in position. It's a testament, I think, to the staff and the players that I've inherited and that we've added to, because I think that's given us a platform to build on. And these guys, the new ones and particularly the guys that have been here, have given us that platform.”

Preseason Problems, Slow Starts

Opening night for Republic FC went as planned. Hosting New Mexico United in the first game of Collins’ tenure, the side rallied for a 2-1 victory against the team that topped the Western Conference the year prior, offering a positive start to the new regime.

In the weeks that followed, though, the challenges that had arisen during the club’s preseason camp started to show. A string of five consecutive games without a win followed – including conceding late equalizers at home against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and Louisville City FC – to put a damper on the mood.

In all, Republic FC only took three wins in its first 12 league games as Collins tried to balance his lineup as players shuffled in and out while working on fitness and chemistry.

“I was really just holding the team back in the first four or five games,” said Burke. “I didn’t want more guys to get injured. So, we were playing with a lower line, and we’re having stylistically to change everything we did, because we were going to games with 12 and 13 and 14 pro players.

“We had to eat a lot of results that I felt like we could have taken early on. But I’m glad we did that, because it kept us alive long enough to make some good additions and allow guys like Michee [Ngalina] and [Adrian] Diz Pe and a few others to get fully fit. Then we just took off.”

Making the Most of a New Opportunity

When it was conceived, a key concept to the USL Jägermeister Cup was to provide more meaningful games and the opportunity for clubs to pursue a piece of silverware outside the league structure.

For both Burke and Collins, the tournament provided an ideal opportunity, not just from the perspective of getting a chance to claim the title, but to set up the remainder of their campaigns.

“I actually said that to [USL Championship President] Jeremy Alumbaugh a couple months ago,” said Burke. “It absolutely was part of us taking off. You know, we felt stress at that point in the season, and the guys just handled it well. It was Jack Panayotou’s first game with us, he came and scored two goals, and that was a boost. That was the first time we made a meaningful addition to the team. And then we saw how impactful it could be to add one or two quality players, and we ended up adding two or three or four.”

“I think [the AV ALTA] game is actually a good example of where things were starting to come together,” added Collins. “It was a very good performance, one-nil wasn’t a fair reflection on the game against a good AV ALTA side, I thought we were very dominant. So, we’ve approached this with the respect of trying to win a tournament, but … it’s allowed us those extra games to really gel the team and bed things in.”

Victory for Hartford against Portland Hearts of Pine – earning a little revenge for their elimination from the U.S. Open Cup in Maine earlier in the season – and Republic FC against AV ALTA FC set the clubs on a positive path in their respective group stages. The structure of the competition – with group games being played on weekend dates rather than midweek – also helped both clubs build a rhythm across league and cup play.

“Had it been midweek games, would we have been able to use it in the same fashion? Perhaps not,” said Collins. “I think it gives all the teams the option of; you can play your strongest team, or you can make changes. It’s really your choice how you want to approach it.”

For Hartford in particular, it also provided one of the defining moments of the season so far. Having battled to a scoreless draw in its first league meeting of the season with Rhode Island FC the weekend prior, Athletic returned to Centerville Bank Stadium for its final group stage game on July 26 needing a result to have a chance to advance.

Despite going down to 10 players in the first half, goals by TJ Presthus and Adrian Diz Pe earned a 2-2 draw and a chance to claim a bonus point in the penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Antony Siaha came through, earning Hartford one of the two wild cards into the knockout stage in dramatic fashion.

“I think it gave us the confidence to understand that we had arrived, that we were capable, that we were able to actually go and win something in this league,” said Burke. “Rhode Island were an excellent team last year, and quite frankly, we drew with them once, but they killed us at their place. So that was a really important moment for us to come out with that shootout victory, to then get out of the group, to know we were going to be in a Quarterfinal.”

Cup Success Builds League Momentum

Hartford’s success wasn’t limited to the USL Jägermeister Cup. Instead, the competition provided a springboard that has carried the side within range of its most successful season in club history.

As the club’s confidence grew, and new additions arrived to supplement a squad that was hitting its stride, it allowed Burke to get back to the style of soccer he’s been known for. Since the final week of May, there’s been arguably no more entertaining side in the USL Championship. On top of its victories against San Antonio FC and Greenville Triumph SC in the knockout stage, Athletic has averaged a league-high 1.98 Expected Goals per game in the league. That allowed the side to reel off a 10-5-3 record that has moved it to the verge of a postseason berth and into contention for a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference.

“We don’t care if we’re home, we’re away, we invite a shootout,” said Burke. “If you want to step out and do that, we do it every week. So, if we can pull you into that, we’re happy to see the game play out that way. It can go against you. Certainly, last weekend, I thought we were pretty heavily outplayed by Colorado Springs, but we still put up over one-and-a-half-XG. That gives you a chance to win the game. When you’re just absorbing pressure all the time, you’re going to crack, is my belief.”

Sacramento’s run, meanwhile, has seen the side rise above most of an inconsistent Western Conference over the second half of the season. For Collins, the side’s regular season win at Rhode Island FC in mid-June set the tone for the rest of the season, where the side’s consistency has given it a chance to chase down FC Tulsa at the top of the Western Conference with four games to play.

“I think the biggest victory – and then from that point, I felt that’s where we really turned the corner – was away to Rhode Island after that heartbreaking loss in Birmingham,” said Collins. “I think in Birmingham, we deserved a point, but we lost on the last kick of the game. The way the team responded, on a long road trip after such a disappointment, was just incredible. I think that gave us all the belief what we were capable of, and I think since then we’ve set a different standard.”

Republic FC has come into its own since the start of July. The side has posted a 8-2-3 record in the league and advanced twice in the knockout stage of the USL Jägermeister Cup against Loudoun United and Rhode Island FC in penalty shootouts that saw the side head for challenging midweek games on the East coast.

“The big games, you’re playing for something, so that’s just part and parcel of getting into the latter stages of any competition,” said Collins. “And, I mean, we’ve had two of the most difficult draws that you could have possibly got, I think, away to Loudoun and away to Rhode Island, which makes it even more special getting here and managing to get the final at home.”

A Trophy on the Line

In the most recent final Brendan Burke was involved in, it was a whole new experience.

“I had the experience with Houston where we had to play Inter Miami,” he said. “You know, [Zinedine Zidane’s] in the crowd and [David] Beckham’s sitting over your shoulder, it's just like you feel like you're in a different world. And then the team, Hector [Herrera] showed this unbelievable confidence, and guys like Griff Dorsey and Franco Escobar stepped up around them and we just played as well as we could have possibly played. And, you know, we deserved the result we got there.”

If Hartford replicates the Dynamo’s road victory in winning the USL Jägermeister Cup, it might not be quite the same level of underdog story, but going to Republic FC and all it represents to not only play the first final in club history but to try and win its first trophy would be a remarkable achievement.

At the same time, it’s a position Burke believes his side can make the most of.

“He's extraordinarily intense,” said Burke of Collins. “For all the coaches in the league, he might be the most intense. So, our styles are very different, but that said he’s intense because he’s lived through it. He's played 600, 700 games at a really high level, and if he wants to have a pop because somebody didn't do something they were supposed to do, I think he deserves that ability more than anyone. I do admire that about him, how fiery he is, how energetic he is, and how well prepared he is.”

“I think one thing that sticks out is Brendan has always been able to highlight really great players, attacking players,” said Collins of Burke. “He’s managed to recruit from different markets, and then on top of that, he’s developed players and sold them more than once, which means it’s a pattern. He’s a coach that you always feel whenever his team’s up against someone, they’re a threat to get a result.”

With each side now a victory away from history, though, each knows what earning a result would mean for their clubs on Saturday night.

“We’re in a really cool place, honestly, where 20 guys have performed, but they’re all very supportive of each other and pushing the right way,” said Burke. “It’s a fun place to be right now, and we want our fans, we want our front office, who work so hard, our ownership, we want all those people to be able to enjoy this.”

“It’s an opportunity,” said Collins. “We've got to try and focus on the job at hand, not think too much about necessarily, what it means, as opposed to just trying to make it happen and then enjoy the moment when it does. I think that’s the challenge, I think, for myself and the players as part of our jobs, being able to not think too much about just how great it would be, just make that moment happen and enjoy it.”

For a pair of clubs with vastly different histories, but similar 2025 paths, opportunity is there for the taking.