RootsBlog

Before we get to this weekend’s opponent, let’s briefly revel in last week’s win for Oakland Roots. Look at this goddamn picture: Source: Oakland Roots SC Put it in the Louvre. We don’t have a new enemy to get acquainted with this week, as Oakland’s conference semifinal is against old foe Orange County Soccer Club, the squad nice enough to do us the favor of beating LA Galaxy II so that Oakland could take the final playoff spot in the USL. This is currently the only playoff soccer being played in the state of California. We need a name for this, like the “Copa Calafia” or something. In many ways, last weekend’s opponent was the perfect matchup for Oakland. But we have plenty of evidence that that will not be true again this weekend. Orange County are on a bit of a tear, having now won 6 in a row. During that stretch they have surrendered only one goal. But if you were watching their quarterfinal matchup against Colorado Springs, you may have heard the play-by-play announcer say that th...

Sun Tzu So here’s the thing about El Paso Locomotive: They’re really good. And they’re even better at home. Locomotive are 13-3-0 in El Paso this season, having scored 36 goals in those matches while surrendering 10. They are a thoroughly pedestrian 5-7-4 on the road, with only 20 goals for and 24 against. Unfortunately, Friday’s match will be in El Paso. El Paso's seriously dope  culture flag Roots enter the match at 11-8-13, though that record is somewhat deceiving. They are 10-5-5 over the final 20 matches of the season. If they had gotten results at that pace from the beginning, they’d have 56 points, and be hosting Colorado Springs Switchbacks this coming weekend. At the same time, during that 20-match run, Roots are “only” 3-2-3 on the road, with 10 goals for and 11 against. Their only road win in the “non-Las Vegas Lights” category was the 4-3 barnburner against San Diego Loyal. Locomotive play at a slightly faster tempo than Roots. Their general shape to start the season w...