Roots Face Familiar Foes at Orange County SC on Saturday
USL Oakland Roots SC

Roots Face Familiar Foes at Orange County SC on Saturday

Published on May 21, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots SC News Release


This Saturday, May 23rd, Oakland Roots will return to USL Championship play as the club heads to Southern California for a meeting with familiar foes Orange County SC. It will be the 16th edition of the matchup, the most of any opponent Oakland has faced.

While Orange County holds an edge over Roots in the all-time series, with Oakland holding a 5-2-8 (W-D-L) record in the 15 previous matchups, the two sides have gone back-and-forth trading wins and losses in their last four meetings during league play, the most recent coming earlier this year when OC defeated Roots 0-1 in Oakland on March 28th.

The clubs are also neck-and-neck within the Western Conference table, as both squads enter the match with 16 points and are tied for second-place, though Roots have played one fewer games.

Roots will hope to keep their disappointments in the Prinx Tires USL Cup separate from their success in the Championship on Saturday, as Oakland enters the match still holding on to their best ever start to a season at 4-4-1.

Much of their success has come via their potent offense, as Roots still sit tied for third place league-wide in scoring with 16 goals so far in the 2026 campaign.

Five of those goals have come from the boots of current club scoring leader Peter Wilson who has scored in three straight league matches and will look to convert once again to stretch the streak to four.

Oakland has also been one of the most possession oriented clubs in the league. Roots lead the league in completed passes with 4,221 and also sit tied for third place in passing accuracy, completing 83% of their attempts. Roots are the only club in the league that sit within the top three of both categories.

Inversely, Orange County has found success from their stout defense, leading the league with five clean sheets and having only conceded eight total goals this season, providing Oakland with what will surely be one of their toughest tests of the season so far.

Following the match, Roots will return home to close out May with a league match at the Oakland Coliseum versus Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday, May 30th at 5 PM PT.

Check out the Oakland Roots SC Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 21, 2026


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