Roots Back in the Win Column Following 1-0 Victory at Birmingham Legion FC

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USL Oakland Roots

Roots Back in the Win Column Following 1-0 Victory at Birmingham Legion FC

June 21, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release


Oakland Roots Battle Birmingham Legion FC
Oakland Roots Battle Birmingham Legion FC
(Oakland Roots)

In a hot and humid Saturday night at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, Roots earned their first victory under head coach Benny Feilhaber as Oakland outlasted Legion FC 1-0 thanks to a 55th minute PK finish from Kai Greene.

The match started sluggish for both sides, as early turnovers and clumsy touches were prevalent on both sides of the ball through the first 20 minutes.

Birmingham settled into the match first and began to earn some decent scoring opportunities. Perhaps their best of the match was a 29th minute strike in close from a wide open Legion attacker following a corner kick that required a spectacular save from Oakland's keeper Kendall McIntosh.

Oakland started to come alive late in the first half, finding their footing in the match and routinely getting in behind the Birmingham defense.

Roots did find twine in the first half when a bad play on the ball from the Legion backline led to an odd-man break for Oakland. Jürgen Damm rushed up the left side all alone and played a last second cross in the box to Peter Wilson who fired it into the back of the net, but did so in an offside position as the goal was disallowed.

It didn't take any time at all for Roots to warm up in the second half, as the squad picked up right where they left off, finding space in the passing lanes and working balls into soft areas of the Birmingham backline.

This pressure finally paid off in the 53rd minute when a great cross into Ali Elmasnauouy from Morey Doner led to desperation contact in the Birmingham box from a Legion defender drawing a penalty kick. Kai Greene was the man at the dot, stutter-stepping into his lead up and burying the PK try towards the right side to give Roots a 1-0 lead and ending their three game scoring drought.

"I thought it was an excellent second half. I thought we started kind of like we ended the first half," head coach Benny Feilhaber said after the game. "Forward facing, forward runs, getting on the end of things, and that's how we create the action that leads to the penalty."

Roots continued to suffocate Birmingham for a majority of the second half, killing time while coming close to doubling their lead on a number of occasions.

A late push from Legion was handled well by Oakland as Roots held the lead until the final whistle to earn their first league victory since May 10th.

It's now back to USL Jägermeister Cup action for Roots as they return to Oakland to face Monterey Bay FC in a Group Stage fixture at the Coliseum next Saturday, June 28th at 7 PM PT.

Oakland Roots SC at Birmingham Legion FC

USL Championship | June 21, 2025

Venue: Protective Stadium

Kickoff: 5:00 PM PT

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy

SCORELINE:

OAK: 1

BHM: 0

SCORING SUMMARY:

OAK: Kai Greene 55'

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

BHM: Edwin Laszo 1' (yellow card)

BHM: Daniel Trejo 58' (yellow card)

OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Kendall Mcintosh, Gagi Margvelashvili, Wolfgang Prentice (Ilya Alekseev), Peter Wilson (Panos Armenakas), José Luis Sinisterra (Daniel Gomez), Tyler Gibson, Neveal Hackshaw, Jürgen Damm (Julian Bravo), Morey Doner, Kai Greene, Ali Elmasnaouy

Unused subs: Camden Riley, EJ Johnson, Raphael Spiegel

Shots: 9 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 6 | Fouls: 11 | Offsides: 3

BIRMINGHAM LINEUP: Matt Van Oekel, Phanuel Kavita, AJ Paterson, Jacob Rufe, Moses Mensah (Sebastian Tregarthen), Stephen Turnbull, Edwin Laszo (Tyler Pasher), Kobe Hernandez-Foster (Samuel McIllhatton), Daniel Trejo (Preston Tabort Etaka), Enzo Martinez, Ronaldo Damus (Sebastian Saucedo)

Unused subs: Santiago Suarez, Fernando Delgado

Shots: 6 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corner Kicks: 8 | Fouls: 14 | Offsides: 5

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Oakland Roots Battle Birmingham Legion FC
Oakland Roots Battle Birmingham Legion FC
   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 21, 2025


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