LEXINGTON, Ky. —A promising first 65 minutes of play for Lexington SC Friday night ended in thoughts of “what could have been” as the club conceded two late goals in a 2-2 draw vs. Sacramento Republic FC.
Lexington jumped out to a scorching start. Terry Boss’ squad applied immediate, suffocating pressure and opened the scoring in the 4′ minute of action.
Marcus Epps put his defender on skates and delivered a brilliant ball into the danger area. As he has done all season, the 6’4″ forward Cory Burke met the ball in the air and thundered it past the Sacramento goalkeeper.
The goal marked Burke’s sixth of the season, tying the club lead. Epps’ assist was his fourth of the 2025 campaign.
Lexington continued to dictate the pace of play throughout the half, owning 69% of possession and steering three shots on target. Defensively, it did not allow a shot on frame through the first 45 minutes.
LSC weathered a vicious response from Sacramento out of the break with Logan Ketterer making several crucial stops to keep the opposition off the board.
A moment of brilliance from Epps doubled Lexington’s lead in the 64′ minute. The winger curled a stunner into the top corner where nobody was getting it for his fifth goal of the season.
Unfortunately for the 5,000+ fans in attendance, Lexington was unable to hold its lead.
Sacramento goals from Cristian Parano in the 85′ minute and Sebastian Herrera in the 90+4′ minute salvaged a point for the visitors.
Blaine Ferri nearly pulled out a winner with a miraculous attempt on the final play of the match, but a sprawling save denied him a goal and Lexington the win.
GOALS
4′ LEX: Cory Burke (assist: Marcus Epps)
64′ LEX: Marcus Epps (assist: Blaine Ferri)
85′ SAC: Cristian Parano (assist: Rodrigo Lopez)
90+4′ SAC: Sebastian Herrera (assist: Jack Gurr)
LINEUPS
LEX: Logan Ketterer, Jacob Greene, Kendall Burks, Joe Hafferty, Blaine Ferri, Nick Firmino, Marcus Epps (73′ Gaël Gibert), Latif Blessing (73′ Speedy Williams), Braudílio Rodrigues (80′ Michael Adedokun), Alfredo Midence (56′ Xavier Zengue), Cory Burke (80′ Forster Ajago)
SAC: Danny Vitiello, Michelle Benitez (75′ Ryan Spaulding), Lee Desmond, Freddy Kleemann, Jack Gurr, Blake Willey (45′ Justin Portillo), Nick Ross (45′ Rodrigo Lopez), Dominik Wanner (80′ Cody Baker), Cristian Parano, Lewis Jamieson (75′ Khori Bennett), Sebastian Herrera
UP NEXT
All of Lexington’s playoff hopes come down to this — a battle at Oakland Roots SC in the USL Championship season finale. Kickoff from The Coliseum is set for Saturday, Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. ET.