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Photo courtesy of SportingKC.com The Oakland Roots announced that they have signed 20-year old wingback Travian Sousa on Tuesday ahead of the USL Championship's roster freeze deadline. This comes five days after the Modesto-native mutually terminated his previous contract with Sporting KC II.  “We are excited to add such a young player with great potential to the team as we head down the stretch run of the season,” said Roots VP of Soccer Eric Yamamoto, via the team's official site . “Travian has shown tremendous ability at the US Youth National Team levels over the past decade.” Prior to his stint in Kansas City, Sousa signed with Hamburg FC's U19 program in July of 2019 and made 14 appearances for the group. He signed with Hamburger SV II in the Regionalliga Nord in January 1 of 2020 right before the global pandemic and struggled to carve out a role, only playing twice.  Hamburg elected to release Sousa in October of last year due to disciplinary reasons. Despite his toug...

Well, that sucked. Oakland came out in something resembling a 4-4-2, with the now typical back 4, plus Johnny Rodriguez and Brian Brown up top. The midfield was incredibly fluid: Ariel Mbumba largely stayed on the left side of the field, but Jose Hernandez, Max Ornstil, and Matias Fissore were constantly swapping positions in the center of the park, and Hernandez also regularly joined the front line. This movement was a tad disjointed early on, though it hardly mattered: Oakland’s early chances all came through the movement of Memo Diaz on the right. In the 5th minute, he dribbled out-to-in then found Hernandez sprinting uncovered out into a wide zone, eventually setting up an inviting cross (to no one, unfortunately), and then in the 6th minute Diaz hit two absolutely gorgeous crosses to Rodriguez. The second, in particular, deserved more, but Rodriguez’s first touch let him down. The midfield pretty quickly got in gear. Oakland fired a warning shot in the 13th minute with some contro...

Photo courtesy of Oakland Roots SC The Oakland Roots fell 2-1 to Orange County SC on the road in Irvine, watching its record dip to 8-6-11, still holding fourth-place with 30 points.  Tacoma also lost 2-1 on Saturday night to Phoenix, while San Diego extended its lead in second-place with 40 points.  Roots SC dropped points from a winning position after scoring in the 19th minute, but conceding goals in the stoppage time at 45+1 and 90+. The Roots had several clear chances at the net in the first 45 minutes and finished with nine shots, two on target, and eight chances created. However, Oakland only added one more shot attempt off of target in the second half.  Ariel Mbumba scored on a beautifully worked goal in the 19th minute when Johnny Rodriguez worked the ball to Brian Brown, who played it out wide to Mbumba.  While one-on-one with Brent Richards, Mbumba showed off similar footwork to his goal against Sacramento back on June 2--working a triple stepover and a sh...

Welcome to tonight's edition of the blog's live coverage of Oakland Roots' meeting with Orange County SC out in Championship Stadium out in Irvine.  This marks Oakland's first match while holding playoff contention in 4th with a 8-6-10 record against third-ranked OCSC at 9-7-8.  Here is Bloom's official match preview for tonight , where he highlights Roots' last 3-0 loss to OC back on July 31 and how the two organizations have fared since then.  Here's an excerpt from Bloom's preview that puts things perfectly:  "Orange County enters this match 1-1-1 in their last three, with a win over a terrible team, a draw to a great team at home, and a loss to a great team on the road. Orange County are good, but the Roots really aren’t the team they were the last two times these teams met." Join the live match discussion on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/NPNM7jmJ Scroll down for all the latest updates. Key Events OCSC Goal  Goal at 90+1' by Mikko...

Oakland Roots play away to Orange County SC at Orange County Great Park at 7:00 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ only. This is the third match-up between these two PLAYOFF CONTENDERS. [source: Oakland Roots SC] Roots’ History Against Orange County : 0-0-2 Last Match-Up Between These Teams These teams first met on June 12 at the Orange County Great Park.  My first preview post was (poorly formatted) and gave Stephen Gerrard and, really, the entire nation of Scotland, quite a lot of grief. https://oaklandrootsblog.blogspot.com/2021/06/orange-county-sc-v-oakland-roots-june.html I stand by every word of it. In that match, the newly signed Klimenta went straight into the opening lineup alongside Tarek Morad, and there was only a single big chance other than the OC goal. Memo Diaz played in an interesting position in this one, as an outside attacking midfielder, which makes some sense with the available options on the bench. That loss put Oakland to 1-1-2 to finish off a fo...

The Oakland Roots claimed three points on Wednesday night under the lights of Las Positas College, marking its final trip out to Livermore for the rest of the 2021 regular season, defeating Landon Donovan's San Diego Loyal 2-1 with a wonder-goal by Johnny Rodriguez in the sixth minute and Jose Hernandez by way of a PK in the 63rd.  Roots SC with its 8-6-10 record has now climbed out of last place from prior to Aug. 25's 3-1 win over Phoenix Rising and into a fourth-place playoff position just seven matches later.  Wednesday's match featured the return of Wal Fall, Matias Fissore, and Jose Hernandez to lead the midfield, but Fall had to be subbed off at halftime for Joseph Nane due to injury. Then in the 77th minute, Max Ornstil replaced Nane after also sustaining an issue. Oakland now looks ahead to Orance County SC on the road at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine this Saturday.  Roots' technical director and interim head coach Jordan Ferrell approached our postg...

The Oakland Roots brought home a 2-1 win over San Diego Loyal at Las Positas College, improving its record to 8-6-10, 30 points, overtaking Tacoma Defiance in fourth-place of the Pacific Division, officially putting itself in playoff position with eight matches remaining.  Right at the final whistle, the excitement from the Roots' roster on the field was electric, knowing what they had just accomplished. The team has gone from last place before its 3-1 win over Phoenix back on Aug. 25, now ascending up the table to a potential postseason berth.  Emrah Klimenta thrust his arms up in celebration, Jeremy Bokila was dancing at midfield with Too Short blaring over the speakers, while Jordan Ferrell approached our post-match interview realizing that Tacoma had just lost to Sacramento.  "I tell the boys let’s get ready for Orange County, that’s really all that matters now. We did our business tonight and got the three points we needed to get. It feels good. We struggled early on...

Welcome to Wednesday's edition of the blog's live coverage of Oakland Roots vs. San Diego Loyal from Las Positas College in Livermore, marking the end of 2021's field trips out to the Tri-Valley.  Oakland walks into tonight's clash after getting upset by LA Galaxy II on Saturday, still holding 5th place (7-6-10, 27 points) and three points behind Tacoma Defiance for a potential playoff berth. The Defiance and Sacramento Republic square off at the same time, meaning a Roots' victory is pivotal toward keeping up in the playoff hunt and maintaining ground on Sac.  Here is Bloom's official match preview for tonight , providing background on both organizations.  Join the live match discussion on Discord:  https://discord.com/invite/NPNM7jmJ Here is a copy of Roots' most recent Starting XI against Los Dos: GK Paul Blanchette, CB Kai Greene, CB Emrah Klimenta, CB Joseph Nane, WB Soya Takahashi (Memo Diaz) WB Akeem O'Connor-Ward, M Ariel Mbumba (Matias Fissore),...

Oakland Roots host San Diego Loyal on Wednesday, September 22 for what is scheduled to be the final “field trip” to Las Positas College in Livermore. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and KOFYTV. I got into it with a guy on the USL subreddit earlier this week about whether Livermore is the Central Valley. I understand that Livermore is not the Central Valley, but let’s just say I will be thrilled when I am no longer missing “home” games because I’m not trying to get on 880 southbound/580 eastbound during rush hour. Roots’ History Against the Loyal : 0-1-1 Prior Match-Ups This Season [Source: Jon Comeaux] We only just saw San Diego, so no need to recap the first match-up again . The most recent match was a tight 0-0 draw at Laney College, on September 11, which was overall a good result for Roots. The Roots played really well, so we are really hoping this will go down as “a good point well earned” and not “if they’d converted one they’d be in the playoffs.” As you may recall, Ferr...

Jordan Ferrell and the Oakland Roots took a calculated risk on Saturday night at home against Los Angeles Galaxy Two, resting both Jose Hernandez and Wal Fall, and starting Matias Fissore on the bench. Following the squad’s covid pause, it had played 14 matches in 52 days, or 1 one match every 3.7 days. During that stretch Fall (who missed the first match of this run) logged almost 900 minutes, including playing the full 90 in 7 of the last 8 matches, and 82 minutes in the match before that. Hernandez had logged 831 over 13 matches. Fissore 849 over 13 matches. This crew, which also demonstrated time and again how valuable it is to this year’s Roots side, was in need of a break. Perhaps thinking that the season’s closing kick will be really vital in terms of making the playoffs, and in view of the fact that the next stretch of games will not allow for much of a break (in order: SD, OCSC, Lights, Sac, Phoenix, OCSC, Tac, SD, and then the closer against Sporting KC II), Ferrell decided t...

The Oakland Roots couldn't take three points in last night's 1-0 loss to Los Angeles Galaxy II after conceding a penalty kick in the 75th minute. As Oakland Roots' interim head coach and technical director Jordan Ferrell puts it: "That was a tough one to swallow."  With the loss, Roots record becomes 7-6-10 and still three points back of Tacoma for fourth place in the Pacific Division, but have now played two more matches than Defiance. Sacramento, meanwhile, has 26 points in sixth and faces Tacoma on Wednesday. As for Galaxy, the club also has 26 points down in seventh. Saturday's match featured Brian Brown and Joseph Nane making their Oakland debuts while Wal Fall and Jose Hernandez were out due to injury and card accumulation respectively.  Roots SC now looks ahead to another critical match on Wednesday against San Diego Loyal at Las Positas.  Here is a full transcript of Jordan Ferrell's post-match press conference.  Tough loss, your initial reaction? ...

The Oakland Roots lost a narrow 1-0 battle to Los Angeles Galaxy II at Laney, watching its record dip to 7-6-10 with nine matches left in the season. It was a critically missed opportunity to pad points ahead of Sacramento Republic in 6th place at 26 points and tie Tacoma Defiance with 30 points.  The Roots went into the night without two critical midfielders; Jose Hernandez was out due to card accumulation while Wal Fall picked up an injury.  "They are the brains of our operation. We saw on Wednesday night what it does for the team when they are really humming. Mati came on and did a really good job in the #8 just finding that rhythm and you saw it right away with a couple of good created. It's challenging whenever you don't have those guys available, the team needs to step up and prove that other people can fill that role. There were moments we did, we just weren't sharp enough," said Ferrell.  As a result, Los Angeles had a dominant day in the midfield.  "...