After a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation and two scoreless extra time periods, Sacramento Republic FC beat the Monarchs by scoring three straight penalty kicks and limiting the Monarchs to one make in four rounds of PKs.
Sacramento will advance to face the winner of Saturday’s match between the Swope Park Rangers and Phoenix Rising in the conference semifinals.
As a match between the Western Conference No. 1 seed and No. 8 seed, Friday’s game was not expexcted to be so close. The Real Monarchs clinched the USL regular season championship two weeks before playoffs began, while Sacramento limped into the last playoff spot with a 13-12-7 record.