USL Oakland Roots

Roots Bring Unbeaten Streak to Six Games with 3-1 Win Home Win at Laney over Tacoma

August 28, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release


Roots played host to Tacoma Defiance on a warm Saturday night as the team returned to Laney College. Since their last meeting with Tacoma, Roots have been on a five game unbeaten streak with their most recent match being a 3-1 victory over division leaders Phoenix Rising. Roots got off to a hot start, with a goal from defender Kai Greene in the 13th minute. The squad controlled possession for the rest of the half but a stoppage time goal from Ian Brewitt put them level going into halftime.

The team started the second half with their foot on the gas. Following a missed Penalty from Wal Fall, Ariel Mbumba found the back of the net in the 57th minute after Jose Hernandez intercepted a poor clearance from the Tacoma defense. Just a few minutes later, Johnny Rodriguez would be subbed in for Mbumba and in the 82nd minute he would go on to provide the assist for Bokila's 4th goal of the season with a pass right across the goal. 16-year-old Javier Mariona would see his first action as a professional player, coming in late for Quincy Amarikwa.

Roots are now unbeaten in their last six and have won their last three. They travel to Tampa Bay to face the 2020 Eastern Conference Champion Rowdies on Friday September 3rd.

Head Coach Jordan Ferrell:

What are your thoughts on the stretch the team has been on these last few weeks?

What I would say is it's been a long time coming. There were a lot of things early in the season keeping us from finding a rhythm. You can point your finger at a bunch of things, but I think now we're in a stretch where we've played games consistently and have had some consistency in the lineup. Tonight was the first night of the season where I didn't have to make a sub in the midfield. Having the heart of our team game to game, and the core of our team game to game, now we're at that stage.

The experienced players coming back into the starting lineup seems to have rubbed off on all of the younger players in a positive way:

The experience makes a big difference. To start the season we were relying a lot on the younger players like Danny and Ariel starting in the midfield. Now, we have our captain in Wal Fall and also Jose, who is a really important player for us starting and I think it settles us a bit to start the game. The experience is making a difference for us at this point in the season.

Tacoma scores on you at the worst possible time of the game. The team doesn't hang their heads, they press on and put two more in the back of the net. What does it say about their character at this point?

The reality is, you're going to concede a goal at some point, but a big difference is we're scoring first. I think that's a really important thing psychologically because it's just a new game at the start of the second half. That experience knowing that at 1-1, we know what mistakes not to make in the second half and to just follow the game plan.

Oakland Roots SC vs Tacoma Defiance

USL Championship | August 28, 2021

Venue: Laney College, Oakland, CA

Kickoff: 5:30 PM PST

Weather: 83 degrees, smokey

SCORELINE: 1 2 FT

OAK 1 2 3

TAC 1 0 1

SCORING SUMMARY:

OAK: Kai Greene 13'

TAC: Ian Brewitt 45+2'

OAK: Ariel Mbumba 57'

OAK: Jeremy Bokila 82'

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

OAK: Kai Greene (Yellow 5')

TAC: Jackson Ragen (Yellow 18')

TAC: Taylor Mueller (Yellow 72')

TAC: Carlos Anguiano (Yellow 84')

OAK: Jeremy Bokila (Yellow 90')

OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP:

Ariel Mbumba (Rodriguez 72'), Soya Takahashi, Wal Fall, Matias Fissore, Jesus Enriquez (Bokila 46'), Jose Hernandez, Paul Blanchette, Emrah Klimenta, Memo Diaz, Quincy Amarikwa (Mariona 90+1'), Kai Greene

Unused Substitutes:

Max Ornstil, Joe Restani, Taylor Bailey

Shots: 9 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 23 | Offside: 1 |

TACOMA DEFIANCE LINEUP:

Christian Herrera, Jackson Ragen, Taylor Mueller, Ian Brewitt, Issa Rayyan (Baker 60'), Obed Vargas, Carlos Anguiano, Randy Mendoza (Villanueva 60'), Reed Baker-Whiting (Robles 72'), Sam Adeniran (Diaz 72'), Ray Serrano

Unused Substitutes:

Wyatt Nelson, Marlon Vargas, Juan Alvarez

Shots: 7 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 2 | Fouls: 14 | Offside: 2 |

Check out the Oakland Roots Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 28, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central