RootsBlog

By Jonathan Comeaux The Oakland Roots gear up for Orange County SC at Las Positas College, and at 1-5-3 with one goal in the last six matches, the boys are aching for a win against a club it, quite honestly, outplayed in its 1-0 loss back on June 12.   Oakland has used nine different lineups in nine matches thus far, making predicting starters incredibly difficult for a young team that endured roster issues for the last three matches.  Tonight’s game starts a 19 match run in 70 days with six matches in hand on the last playoff qualification spot. If the Roots can get a run going, Laney undoubtedly will bring the atmosphere that’ll make the players proud.  With the Roots’ field undergoing inspection on July 30, indications are that the August 4 match with Phoenix Rising will, in fact, happen.  With anticipation building, Roots SC could set the mood right tonight.  1. Who is back? This writer fell flat on his face expecting a full lineup in the Roots’ 3-0 l...

The Roots host Orange County Soccer Club on July 31, at 5:30 p.m. at Las Positas College in Livermore.  This is the second meeting of the teams this season, and the firs t in Oakland Liv ermore.  This is also the last game that the Roots will play at Las Positas* Roots say tickets are available.  Unfortunately, the Blog will not be in attendance at this one, so we are counting on you all to go out there and make it a fortress.** *because of the field--they still have to play more there because of scheduling conflicts. **all we ask is that you do your best. The Club As we mentioned in our preview of the debut fixture , Oran ge County Soccer Club are a partner of Rangers FC.  A little enclave of Great Britain in Orange County. The Last Match-Up See our full write-up of the first match here . The first time around, Ronaldo Damus scored the only goal of the match in the 45th minute. Damus tapped in a cross from Chris Wehan, who was wide open BECAUSE HE WAS OBVIOUSLY O...

  Source This past Premier League season, Liverpool famously lost its top 3 central defenders to season-ending injuries. The team responded by powering down an attack that had averaged just over 2 goals per game in all competitions in the 2 seasons prior, privileging possession in the middle of the park over an all-out assault on goal. The injury bug eventually hit the midfield as well, and between the tactical change on offense, the rotating cast of characters in the defensive midfield role, and the fact that the fullbacks were asked to perform different roles than they had been playing, Liverpool suffered through a nearly season-defining 1-0-6 stretch in which they scored 4 goals and surrendered 12. Liverpool would typically control play through the first 60 to 75 minutes but fail to capitalize on the few chances they created before surrendering back breaking goals in the games’ final minutes. Anyway, Oakland Roots took on LA Galaxy II last Sunday, July 25, in “Carson,” Californi...

By Jonathan Comeaux The Oakland Roots walked out of its ninth match with a lopsided 3-0 loss to LA Galaxy II, watching its record dip to 1-5-3. The club only had 15 players with three of four outfield players on the bench with the club still going through USL Health and Safety protocols.  With its roster woes, the Oakland Roots have now used nine different lineups throughout the season. With a jam-packed 23 matches in the final two months of the season, it will be interesting to see if manager Jordan Ferrell can figure out his prime starting 11 for his 4-4-2 diamond formation.  Regular starters like Jeremy Bokila, Chuy Enriquez, Matias Fissore, Lindo Mfeka, Emrah Klimenta, and Tarek Morad weren’t included in the roster.  The match featured striker Brandon Allen , midfielder Javier Hernandez, and recently added forward Joseph Restani making their Oakland Roots debut, regular wingback Tarn Weir started atop Ferrell’s 4-4-2 diamond for the second match row, while Yoha...

Friends--the Oakland Roots are going to play a soccer game.  It has been… more than two weeks.  The Roots will play at Los Angeles Galaxy II at 5:00 p.m. on July 25.  Galaxy II play at the track & field complex at Dignity Sports Sports Park.  The game will be broadcast apparently only on ESPN+ not on KOFY, in case that is relevant for any viewers. The Team You may recognize the name “LA Galaxy” because it is also the name of an MLS team that plays in the greater Los Angeles area.  This is not a coincidence!  Los Angeles Galaxy II were formed in 2014 as the in-house developmental program of Los Angeles Galaxy I, a team that has at various points employed David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane, Landon Fucking Donovan, Edson Buddle, and Gyasi Zardes.  Zardes actually played a game with Galaxy II!  That was an exclamation point, not “Galaxy III.”  To my knowledge, entropy has not yet necessitated the creation of a Los Tres. ...

 By Jonathan Comeaux Two weeks and a COVID-19 postponement since the Oakland Roots last game on July 10, we’re hopeful the lapse of time helps turn the page on a month and a half of frustration for the first-year USL Championship side.  The Roots were without near its entire roster on July 10, meaning players like  Jeremy Bokila ,  Brandon Allen, Danny Flores, Yohannes Harish, Chuy Enriquez, Wal Fall , and  Tyler Blackwood  should be available.  Harish and Blackwood have missed considerable time since sustaining injuries and could be members of the starting lineup. The Roots’ video of Blackwood earlier this week intimates he’ll be available, while Harish was on the field practicing after July 10 and created an assist in his last appearance on May 23—the Roots’ only win, 3-2 over LA Galaxy II.  At 1-3-4, the Roots are aching to put the Laney College disruption, subsequent scheduling, and COVID-19 woes behind them against Los Dos.  Here are a f...

  By Jonathan Comeaux The Oakland Roots announced that they have signed three players over the last two days, promoting forward Joseph Restani from Project 51O on July 23 while signing forward Javier Mariona and goal keeper Marco Brougher to USL Academy contracts. Signing players to academy deals assure they maintain college eligibility. Mariona and Brougher join Danny Flores as the third academy contract on the roster. The additions of Restani and Mariona add considerable depth to the Roots’ front line after being without Jeremy Bokila, Tyler Blackwood, Johnny Rodriguez, and fellow recent acquisition Brandon Allen . Brougher, meanwhile, becomes the club’s fourth keeper alongside Zeus de la Paz, Taylor Bailey , and Paul Blanchette. Restani, 23, is a graduate of St. Mary’s College in Moraga and appeared in 63 matches from 2016-2019, scoring 29 goals for the Gaels. He earned second-team All-WCC honors as a senior. “ We are very excited to add Restani to the squad,” said Yamamoto ...

The USL had its mid-season meetings in San Antonio this past week, and out of those meetings comes a bombshell report  (sub req) from  The Athletic about potential future changes to the league. There’s a paywall here, so we won’t give the game away, but the highlights are these: USL is looking to implement a system of promotion and relegation between the USL Championship and USL League One, and to move to the so-called “European” calendar, i.e., a fall to spring schedule. They are also looking to introduce a new cup competition. In a word, whoa. At the moment, this appears to be just a statement of intent, basically a plan to plan. There’s nothing concrete, at least not in The Athletic ’s reporting. But he schedule change is at least very plausible. I’ve always thought that it is practically inevitable that American soccer leagues will eventually abandon the summer schedule. While I imagine they are all still hesitant to challenge the NFL and college football directl...