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USL Oakland Roots

Roots Top Loyal in 4-3 Thriller to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

October 24, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release


Roots traveled down to San Diego for their final road game of the season for another important game as they need to win out for a shot at the playoffs. Unlike the Bay Area, it was sunny skies at kickoff. Early into the game, San Diego sat back defensively as they have in the past against Roots and had a slight edge on overall possession. In the 17th minute San Diego's Augustine Williams found the back of the net to put the Loyal up 1-0. From there, Roots upped the tempo and began to find themselves in the attacking third more consistently. A poorly passed ball from San Diego defender Callum Montgomery in the 35th minute led to an own goal, putting the teams level going into the half.

Head Coach Jordan Ferrell kept the same lineup to start the second half and Roots came out swinging. Just seven minutes in, Chuy Enriquez scored off a beautiful strike from the top of the box to give Roots their first lead of the game, but they weren't done. Just a few minutes later, defender Akeem Ward scored off a volley to himself over a San Diego defender to increase their lead. Down two, the Loyal went on the offensive. Augustine Williams netted his second goal of the game to bring the score to 2-3.

By the 83rd minute, Head Coach Jordan Ferrell had used all five of his substitutions to keep the legs fresh but Corey Hertzog found the equalizer in the 86th minute. Tarek Morad received a red card after expressing some frustration to the center referee, bringing Roots down to just 10 men with only five minutes plus stoppage time to go. A foul by Loyal goalkeeper Austin Guerrero on Johnny Rodriguez gave Roots a stoppage time penalty kick. Substitute Jeremy Bokila got the honors and netted it to seal the win for Roots and keep their playoff chances alive.

Roots will return home to Laney College for the final game of the season on Saturday, October 30th against Sporting Kansas City II.

Head Coach Jordan Ferrell:

Emotional, emotional game today. Take us through your thoughts on that:

We made it emotional more than anything. The two goals we conceded in the second half were highly unnecessary. At minimum, I'm proud of the guys for fighting all the way through and getting the three points. That's huge.

After everything the team has been through this year, what does it mean to come home to Laney and have a chance to make playoffs?

People have been asking me about the playoff race for the last month. I think we've maintained that we always focus on the game ahead of us, and also we've had a feeling that it would come down to the last game of the season. A big advantage there is that we're going to be at home and we know that the Laney crowd is going to be rocking. It's important that we come in and focus so that we get those last three points.

What is your message to the Oakland Fans?

We need them to be rockin', we need them to be energetic, we need them to be positive, and we need them to be the wind underneath our wings. The guys will feel that energy and come out flying.

Oakland Roots SC vs San Diego Loyal

USL Championship | October 24, 2021

Venue: Torero Stadium, San Diego, CA

Kickoff: 3:00 PM PST

Weather: 69 degrees

SCORELINE: 1 2 FT

SD 1 2 3

OAK 1 3 4

SCORING SUMMARY:

SD: Augustine Williams 17'

OAK: Callum Montgomery 35' (OG)

OAK: Jesus Enriquez 52'

OAK: Akeem O'Connor-Ward 59'

SD: Augustine Williams 76'

SD: Corey Hertzog 86'

OAK: Jeremy Bokila 90'

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

OAK: Jesus Enriquez (Yellow 2')

OAK: Quincy Amarikwa (Yellow 38')

SD: Charlie Adams (Yellow 45')

OAK: Akeem O'Connor-Ward (Yellow 70')

OAK: Tarek Morad (Red 87')

OAK: Jeremy Bokila (Yellow 90')

OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP:

Wal Fall, Matias Fissore, Jesus Enriquez (Johnny Rodriguez 73'), Joseph Nane (Jeremy Bokila 64'), Akeem O'Connor-Ward, Jose Hernandez (Max Ornstil 83'), Paul Blanchette, Emrah Klimenta, Memo Diaz (Soya Takahashi 83'), Quincy Amarikwa (Tarek Morad 73'), Kai Greene

Unused Substitutes:

Ariel Mbumba, Taylor Bailey

Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corner Kicks: 7 | Fouls: 18 | Offside: 3 |

SAN DIEGO LOYAL LINEUP:

Austin Guerrero, Oliver Larraz (Tumi Moshobane 45'), Callum Montgomery, Grant Stoneman (Gianfranco Facchineri 90'), Elijah Martin, Collin Martin (Alejandro Guido 58'), Charlie Adams, Miguel Ibarra (Sal Zizzo 90'), Jack Blake (Douglas Martinez 59'), Corey Hertzog, Augustine Williams

Unused Substitutes:

Morgan Hackworth, Dylan Castaheira

Shots: 12 | Shots On Goal: 9 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 11 | Offside: 1 |

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