Roots Secure One Point in USL Jägermeister Cup, Fall to AV Alta FC After Penalties

Sports stats



USL Oakland Roots

Roots Secure One Point in USL Jägermeister Cup, Fall to AV Alta FC After Penalties

June 1, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release


Just seconds away from securing their first victory in the USL Jägermeister Cup after a thrilling comeback, Roots conceded a leveling goal that sent the match to penalties, eventually falling to USL League One side AV Alta FC in the group stage of the tournament on Saturday night in Lancaster.

Oakland was flying out of the gate. For the first 20 minutes of the game, Roots were dominating the pitch, finding scoring chances one after the other and playing a very aggressive style of soccer.

But this aggression couldn't be sustained as AV Alta settled in for the remainder of the frame and earned some very quality looks of their own on goal. Oakland keeper Raphael Spiegel played some of his best soccer of the season during the contest, thwarting the AV Alta opportunities with a number of highlight-reel-worthy saves.

The second half saw Roots returning to a more even-keeled form, moving the ball wonderfully and setting up in the attacking third frequently.

AV Alta would find the back of the net first, however, despite the strong play from Spiegel. In the 57th minute Alta's Sebastian Cruz found space behind the defense and put a shot towards the net while in close. Spiegel made the initial save, but an unlucky bounce saw the rebound deflect off of Cruz and into the twine to make it 0-1.

Looking determined to get back into the match, Roots continued to push. This determination boiled over into the scoring column when newcomer Morey Doner, who signed with Oakland on Friday, entered the match.

With one of his first touches in a Roots kit, Doner sent a shot in from what seemed like an impossible angle far to the right of the AV Alta box. Perhaps unprepared for a strike from that position, Alta keeper Carlos Avilez miscalculated his dive and wound up deflecting the ball into his own net in the 62nd minute to level the match at 1-1.

Just seconds after play restarted, Doner helped deliver Oakland a lead when he put a low cross from the end line through traffic to find Peter Wilson who buried the finish to give Roots a 2-1 advantage in the 63rd minute.

Roots looked comfortable protecting their lead for much of the remaining match, countering AV Alta's desperation press by moving the ball around and killing the clock.

Just as it looked as if Oakland was sure to exit the pitch with a victory and all three points in the group table, AV Alta earned a corner kick in added time. The referee concluded that the service took a deflection off of a Roots player and over the crossbar, and gave Alta a lifeline with a second straight corner try.

The second opportunity from the corner found AV Alta's Alassane Maboumou who finished a header just inside the right post to even the score at 2-2 with no time remaining.

PKs would be the immediate decider as per USL Jägermeister Cup rules. Making up for his earlier gaff, Alta's keeper Carlos Avilez made saves on Baboucarr Njie and Peter Wilson, while his teammates converted all four of their tries to deliver them the victory and two points in the group standings.

Oakland will return to USL Championship regular season play for their next action, as they head home to the Oakland Coliseum for a double-header with Oakland Soul to face El Paso Locomotive on Saturday, June 7th.

Oakland Roots SC at AV Alta FC

USL Jägermeister Cup | May 31, 2025

Venue: Lancaster Municipal Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 PM PT

Weather: 84 degrees, cloudy

SCORELINE:

OAK: 2 (2)

AVA: 2 (4)

SCORING SUMMARY:

AVA: Sebastian Cruz 57'

OAK: Carlos Avilez (OG) 62'

OAK: Peter Wilson 63'

AVA: Alassane Maboumou 90'+

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

OAK: Bobosi Byaruhanga 32' (yellow card)

AVA: Osvaldo Lay 39' (yellow card)

OAK: Gagi Margvelashvili 70' (yellow card)

OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Gagi Margvelashvili (Camden Riley), Panos Armenakas, José Luis Sinisterra (Wolfgang Prentice), Tyler Gibson, Neveal Hackshaw, Bobosi Byaruhanga, EJ Johnson (Peter Wilson), Jürgen Damm (Morey Doner), Kai Greene, Raphael Spiegel, Ilya Alekseev (Baboucarr Njie)

Unused subs: Ali Elmasnaouy, Timothy Syrel

Shots: 12 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 10 | Offsides: 1

AV ALTA LINEUP: Carlos Avilez, Harrison Robledo (Adam Aoumaich), Kaloyan Pehlivanov, Erick Ceja, Steven Ramos (Elijah Martin), Sebastian Cruz, Eduardo Blancas, Miguel Ibarra (Jerry Desdunes), Javier Mariona (Christian Ortiz), Osvaldo Lay (Alassane Maboumou), Alexis Cerritos

Unused subs: Luca Mastrantonio, Adrian Villafranco, Aaron Huerta, Djibril Doumbia

Shots: 14 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corner Kicks: 8 | Fouls: 11 | Offsides: 5

Check out the Oakland Roots Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from June 1, 2025


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