Roots' Comeback Bid Falls Short in 2-4 Loss at North Carolina FC

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USL Oakland Roots

Roots' Comeback Bid Falls Short in 2-4 Loss at North Carolina FC

May 16, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release


Oakland managed to get back into the contest in the second half after a dismal first 45 minutes, but their comeback bid fell short in the end as Roots fell 2-4 on the road to North Carolina FC on Friday night in Cary.

The match began looking fairly level for both sides, but North Carolina started to build momentum as the game progressed.

Around the 30th minute North Carolina started putting sustained pressure on the Oakland back line, moving the ball around the attacking third until finally breaking through in the 33rd minute when Jaden Servania worked some free space at the top of the Oakland box and ripped a shot towards goal that took a deflection off of Kai Greene before finding the back of the net to make it 0-1.

North Carolina doubled their lead in added time of the first half when Michael Maldonado scored an absolute worldie on a set piece from just on top of the box, bending it around the wall and in off the top part of the right post.

Roots regrouped in the locker room at halftime and came back to the pitch looking like a different team. Oakland started applying pressure of their own, creating a number of scoring chances before finally finding one of their own. In the 63rd minute Wolfgang Prentice drove the net on the left side before chipping it across the box to Jürgen Damm who put a strike on the ball before it hit the ground, beating the North Carolina keeper for his first goal in a Roots kit to make it 1-2.

North Carolina regained their two goal advantage in the 74th minute when Oalex Anderson played a cross from the right side all the way through the Oakland box and past a dummy to find Louis Pérez who had subbed on only moments before tapping in the wide open look and giving his side a 1-3 lead.

But Roots never quit. In the 81st minute they cut the lead to one again when Damm put a great move on a North Carolina defender on the right side of their penalty box to find space and rip a shot on target that the keeper couldn't corral. Peter Wilson was right there to finish the second chance opportunity and give his side life with the scoreboard showing 2-3 in the final moments.

Oakland nearly found an equalizer on several occasions, but the comeback wasn't to be, as North Carolina ended it at the death, capitalizing on a Roots turnover with just seconds remaining as Anderson scored one of his own to make it 2-4 at the final whistle.

Roots will look to get back in the win column when they return home to the Oakland Coliseum next Saturday, May 24th to host New Mexico United at 7 PM PT.

Oakland Roots SC at North Carolina FC

USL Championship | May 16, 2025

Venue: First Horizon Stadium

Kickoff: 4:00 PM PT

Weather: 84 degrees, cloudy

SCORELINE:

OAK: 2

NC: 4

SCORING SUMMARY:

NC: Jaden Servania 33'

NC: Michael Maldonado 45'+

OAK: Jürgen Damm 63'

NC: Louis Pérez 74'

OAK: Peter Wilson 81'

NC: Oalex Anderson 90'+

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

OAK: Neveal Hackshaw 28' (yellow card)

NC: Collin Martin 38' (yellow card)

NC: Bryce Washington 53' (yellow card)

OAK: Jürgen Damm 84' (yellow card)

OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Kendall McIntosh (Raphael Spiegel), Julian Bravo (Gagi Margvelashvili), Wolfgang Prentice, Peter Wilson, Panos Armenakas (Baboucarr Njie), José Luis Sinisterra (Daniel Gomez), Tyler Gibson (EJ Johnson), Neveal Hackshaw, Bobosi Byaruhanga, Kai Greene, Ilya Alekseev (Jürgen Damm)

Unused sub: Ali Elmasnaouy

Shots: 9 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 1 | Fouls: 15 | Offside: 0 |

NORTH CAROLINA LINEUP: Jake McGuire, Bryce Washington (Conor Donovan), Finn Sundstrom, Triston Hodge (Paco Craig), Michael Maldonado, Collin Martin (Raheem Somersall), Jaden Servania (Patrick Burner), Rafael Duizit Mentzingen, Oalex Anderson, Pedro Dolabella (Louis Pérez), Rodrigo da Costa (Adam Luckhurst)

Unused subs: Trevor Mulqueen, Justin Malou

Shots: 12 | Shots On Goal: 7 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 11 | Offside: 1 |

Check out the Oakland Roots Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 16, 2025


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