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Heartbreaking Loss In Louisville; Louisville City FC Defeats Oakland Roots 2-1

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Practice makes perfect as the Oakland Roots go through some pre game drills before they battled Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville on Sat Aug 26, 2023 (@oaklandrootssc photo)

Saturday, August 26th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

In the Lynn Family Stadium, the Oakland Roots faced Louisville City FC for the first time in club history and Oakland didn’t get their their third win out of the four they played this month losing in Louisville 2-1. The game started with a stalemate between both teams going back and forth with shots and saves.

We thought the stalemate was over when Louisville hits a cross to set up a header that goalie Paul Blanchette went to stop the pass and bobbled the ball into the net, but after the refs reviewed the play, no goal due to a interference that went unseen at first, because of all the fray in front of the net.

The score remained blank and the Louisville fans made their displeasure heard. That displeasure would grow louder as a minute after the goal that ended up being a no goal was called, Roots lead scorer Johnny Rodriguez grabbed his tenth league goal (11th overall) of the season when he capitalized on the lackadaisical defense of Louisville City, who were still voicing their grievances about the no goal that just happened.

1-0 Roots and Rodriguez even taunted the upset Louisville crowd as the seconds kept ticking and the whistle that signals halftime blew. The two teams went back to the locker room with two separate feelings. The Roots headed in their locker room high energy and motivated to deliver a clean sheet. Louisville City headed in their locker room deflated and on the bad side of the coin.

The second half started and wasn’t necessarily slow, but it was paced out to avoid mistakes and that was from both teams. Louisville finally got on the board in the 71st minute when Brian Ownby hit a header to the bottom left corner of the goal from an assist by Wilson Harris, 1-1.

The Roots had a major chance in stoppage time when Anuar Palaez took a confident shot, but the ball was tipped away with a beautiful save by Oliver Semmie. In the last seconds of stoppage time, Oakland stops a free kick by Louisville, but unable to clear the ball so the final whistle can sound and Louisville capitalized on this mistake.

Following a corner, Tyler Gibson got the assist with a pass to Oscar Jimenez who scored off a left footed shot for a heartbreaking end to a wild game.

Louisville wins 2-1. Louisville City had control the majority of the game and the final score reflected it. As for Oakland, they now have their sights set on Sacramento Republic FC as the Roots go back home to the east bay September 2nd.

Oakland Roots Score A Brace Against New Mexico United 2-1 To Regain The Third Place Spot

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Lots of congratulations to go around as the Oakland Roots defeated the New Mexico United at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque NM on Wed Aug 23, 2023 (@oaklandrootssc photo)

Wednesday. August 23rd, 2023

By Troy Ewers

In Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, NM, it’s a weekday edition of the USL Championship and the Oakland Roots faced New Mexico United. Oakland entered this game fourth place in the West and hoped to control their destiny to make a run in the playoffs. Last time these two battled it out was April 1st and Roots leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez won Oakland the game, 1-0.

Defense was the name of the game in the first half and Oakland fought even a sliver of a chance during the half. One of Oakland’s biggest chances came from Neveal Hackshaw with a header that almost passed the New Mexico goalkeeper who was on the ground, but still gotta hand on the ball for the save.

The Oakland Roots silenced the crowd with their pacing throughout the first half, only time they made any noise was when they booed the ref for awarding a yellow card New Mexico which set up an Oakland set piece that Oakalnd couldn’t capitalize on.

The Roots would finally take advantage of the momentum they had built up all half as Anuar Palaez would score in the 42nd minute, after receiving a pass from Daniel Barbir and hitting a roller shot past the goalkeeper to take the lead, 1-0 Roots.

Before the halftime whistle blew, New Mexico witnessed why Paul Blanchette was the League leader in saves as Moreno attempted to even up the score with what looked like a clear goal, but Blanchette made the save and Oakland was able to clear it to end the half and the Roots maintained their goal lead.

The second half, Oakland had one goal, hold the lead, so they can take back third place in the West and in the beginning of the half the Roots used their slow pace strategy to generate offense and in the 51st minute, Trayvon Reid scored a goal from that style of offense and even though there was an appeal from New Mexico over a hand ball, but there was a no call from the ref and the score was upheld, 2-0 Oakland. This was the second assist from Barbir as he is used as the conductor of this offense this game.

The rest of the second half was Oakland keeping New Mexico at arm’s reach and not with many real scoring chances. With five minutes of stoppage time, New Mexico showed that they weren’t giving up even with the rain starting to pour.

A corner set piece for New Mexico was scored on when Sergio Rivas found the ball amongst the madness and shot it past Blanchette to make the score 2-1. New Mexico was quick to try to get the equalizer, but when Hackshaw was fouled the time was ticking down as he stayed on the ground with an injury, which led to the final whistle to blow and the game ended with Noah Delgado’s Oakland Roots securing the three points with a victory against New Mexico United and momentum towards this last stretch of the season.

Oakland’s next game will be in three days on Saturday, August 26th in Louisville, Kentucky against Louisville City FC.

A Look inside the Baltimore Orioles: O’s Sweep A’s With Dominating 12-1 Victory

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Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jordan Westburg, left, throws to first base after forcing out Oakland Athletics’ Zack Gelof (20) at second on a double play hit into by Athletics’ Jonah Bride during the ninth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Aug 20, 2023 (AP News photo)

Sunday, August 20th 2023

By Troy Ewers

Oakland, CA – At Rickey Henderson Field, it’s the final game of the series between the Oakland A’s and the Baltimore Orioles. If the A’s lose, they will officially be out of playoff contention. The Orioles on the other have the second best record in the MLB behind Atlanta.

On the hill for Oakland is JP Sears and for Baltimore is Kyle Brandish and this game started off with a bang for Baltimore. Ramon Urias grounded into a fielder’s choice which scored the leadoff man Adley Rutschman who got on base with a single. 1-0 Orioles.

When Brandish got on the mound against the A’s, he had one goal, sit them down, and sit them down fast. Brandish struck out the side in the first inning and then in the second and third inning he retired the side with ease, 1-2-3. On the other side of the coin, Baltimore’s bats were  in go mode.

Jorge Mateo hit an inside the park home run, making it 2-0 in the second inning. In the third inning the momentum didn’t end when Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson got back to back hits to start the rally and then they scored when Austin Hays hit a single, but he was thrown out trying to take second, but the damage was done, 4-0 Baltimore.

The fourth inning was no different for the O’s where a leadoff double by Jordan Westburg got the spark going, then after two ground outs and a Rutschman walk, Mountcastle hit a two out, three run home run and the game was blown wide open 7-0 Baltimore.

Rookie Gunnar Henderson hit a triple to follow up the homer, but it looked like a home run that would’ve been his 21st of the season, but after umpire review the ball hit the fence and resulted in a triple. Bradish finally got a hit knocked off of him when Zack Gelof got a one out single, but Seth Brown struck out and Brent Rooker grounded out, so Gelof’s hit didn’t turn into anything.

The A’s took Sears out and put Zach Neal on the mound in the fifth inning and he was able to retire the Orioles side for the first time all game.

The Orioles offense slowed down once Neal got in the game and in the sixth inning A’s first baseman Seth Brown got all three outs. Brown caught a line drive and tagged Ryan McKenna out at first for the double play, then grabbed a grounder from Rutschman to end the inning.

Henderson broke the two inning run drought with a loud dinger of a home run and there was no review with this one, it went 396 feet to deep right field, 8-0 Orioles. The insurance runs didn’t stop for Baltimore after Westburg singled to right and scored Ramon Urias, 9-0 Orioles.

In the seventh inning the O’s changed pitchers from Bradish to Nick Vespi and it didn’t start out well for him after Brent Rooker hit his 20th homer of the season to lead off the inning for Oakland and give the A’s their first run of the game. 9-1.

Jorge Mateo led off the eighth inning with a double and then was brought home by a Rutschman double, 10-1 Baltimore. Gunnar Henderson hit his second double and third hit of the game, but this one counted for an RBI as he scored Rutschman making the game a runaway 11-1 and then Henderson got across home plate when Urias hit a two out single. 12-1.

To close out the game Baltimore brings in former Oakland A’s pitcher Shintaro Fujinami. Even though Fujinami let a leadoff single get past him, a double play followed, and then struck Brent Rooker out looking.

The game ends with Baltimore winning decisively 12-1 with 17 hits and they recorded their eighth sweep of the season and they continue their streak of not being swept. Kyle Bradish walks away with the win (8-6) and JP Sears walks away with the loss (2-10).

The O’s go home with a day off then the following day it’s a series against Toronto. The current record for the Orioles is 77-47 and they maintain their position as the second best record in baseball.

The A’s host the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum. The Royals have not decided on a starter yet and the A’s will be going with Paul Blackburn (3-3 ERA 4.09) for a 6:40pm PT first pitch.

Oakland Roots Lose 3-2 To Colorado Springs Switchbacks After Two Weeks Off

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Saturday, August 19th 2023

By Troy Ewers 

Hayward, Ca – After a two week break the Oakland Roots face the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in a league match up. The Roots came into this game in third place and wanted to keep their spot in the table with only 56 days left in the regular season.

In the last six games the Roots are unbeaten after a stretch of wins and losses and coach Noah Delgado gave the team five straight days off, because the team was banged up after the consecutive games they played before the two week break.

Colorado came into the game with a lot of energy hoping to stop Oakland’s hot streak and that energy translated to a fifth minute goal by Maalique Foster with an assist from Devon Williams. 1-0 Colorado and this woke up the Roots, but when you’re facing the Roots you need insurance goals and you need them fast to really keep them out of the mix.

In the 25th minute, Memo Diaz hit a big time goal past the goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky and celebrated with an even more beautiful backflip to even up the score at 1-1. In the 30th minute, Roots player Joseph Nane signaled for a sub, but before getting a dead ball to sub off he made two stops that denied the Switchbacks attack that possibly could have given them the lead and seconds after his valiant effort, Nane was subbed out.

The Roots continued their press style defense that gave them the win against Vegas and this rattled the Switchbacks in the first half, but they weren’t rattled enough to stop their attack and get a goal past Roots goalie Paul Blanchette.

The goal came in the 40th minute when Tyreek Magee hit a shot that Blanchette didn’t even dive for, because he knew it was too late and Colorado took the lead 2-1. For the first half of the game Colorado had three shots and they were all on goal with two that found the back of the net.

The Roots had a big chance to take the lead that missed the post by Jeciel Cedeno before stoppage time, but kept the pressure on Colorado. Two minutes into stoppage time that pressure Cedeno kept on Colorado drew a penalty and resulted in a penalty shot that was taken by Anuar Palaez and capitalized on to even the score. 2-2.

The whistle blew signaling halftime and Oakland was pleased with an even score going into the next half, but with plenty of soccer to be played they knew if they didn’t keep up the pace and pressure they had in the first, they would be lucky to walk away with a draw.

The second half started at a slower pace and that was initiated by Colorado as a way to counter the press that Oakland started with and this strategy worked for Colorado in the 58th minute when Magee went past the Oakland back line and shot a bullet past Blanchette to take the lead, 3-2 Colorado Springs.

This game went similar to the way these two had two months ago, only difference is more goals actually scored unlike the last game where Oakland won 1-0.

No major scoring chances came for the majority of the second half,but in stoppage time Oakland had various chances at an equalizer, but Kuzminksky and the Switchbacks held off the Roots all the way to the final whistle and secured the three points.

Not the outcome Oakland was looking for, but there’s no two week break to get some rest as their next game four days later August 23rd in New Mexico against New Mexico United.

Giants Lose Rubber Match Against Rays 6-1 at Oracle

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Tampa Bay Rays Christian Bethancourt (left) congratulates Luke Raley (right) at home plate after scoring the first pinch hit inside the park home run in Rays history in the top of the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

Wednesday, August 16 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Francisco, Ca – In Oracle Park, the San Francisco Giants play the Tampa Bay Rays in the rubber match of this 3 game series. The Giants are 5-8 in rubber games this season and hope to make it six wins at the end of this game.

On the hill for the Giants was Ryan Walker for his 10th start of the game against Aaron Civale for the Rays and they got on the board in the first inning when a single hit by Isaac Paredes scored Brandon Lowe, 1-0 Tampa Bay.

The Giants replaced Walker in the second inning and called in Ross Stripling. The Rays didn’t stop the pressure in the fourth inning when Josh Lowe hit a lead off home run to right center field, giving Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead.

The next inning the Rays weren’t done getting on Stripling. Brandon Lowe hit a 2 run home run to center field and it scored Yandy Diaz, making it a 4-0 lead, but the Rays weren’t done. Randy Arozarena hit a double and then scored off a Paredes single to extend it to 5-0 for Tampa Bay.

After five innings, the Giants only had four hits and no runs and the air deflated out of the park. The scoring avalanche kept rolling in the sixth inning when Luke Raley came in to pinch hit and hit the ball off the triples alley wall and it bounced off the top of the wall in right center, Meckler slipped trying to get the ball, and Raley goes all the way around for an inside the park home run, 6-0 Rays.

As the Giants entered the bottom of the seventh inning, the Rays made a pitching change and called Hector Perez to the hill. Civale put together a scoreless six innings with five hits and five strikeouts.

The Giants take advantage of the pitching change and finally get on the board when Sabol, who got on from a fielder’s choice and Estrada & Camargo hit back to back singles to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Lamonte Wade Jr. pinch hit for Heliot Ramos and got walked, giving San Francisco their first run of the game. 6-1 going into the eighth inning.

The Rays took out Perez after 17 pitches and put in Colin Poche who escaped the inning when Meckler grounded into a double play. The Giants replaced Stripling after six innings and allowed five runs with Scott Alexander and he got the first three up, three down inning since the third for SF.

The eighth inning for the Giants was where fans decided enough was enough, where the Giants grounded into their fourth double play of the game and struck out for the sixth time.

Alex Wood was the pitcher for the Giants in the ninth, but the damage was done, San Francisco had to comeback from five runs in the bottom of the ninth. Pete Fairbanks, the closer for the Rays, retired the side on 12 pitches and the game ended 6-1 Rays and they also took the series.

The winning pitcher for today was Aaron Civale (6-3) and the losing pitcher was Ryan Walker (4-2). The Giants have a needed off day before their next series on Friday, August 18th as they shake off this high scoring series.

The Giants open a three game series Friday night at Truist Park in Cobb County against the Atlanta Braves for a 4:20pm PT first pitch. Starter for San Francisco has not been announced and going for Atlanta Spencer Strider (13-4 ERA 3.75).

Troy Ewers is a beat writer and podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Oakland A’s Secure Back To Back Wins Against Their Bay Area Rivals With A 8-6 Victory

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San Francisco Giants’ Thairo Estrada hits an RBI single on a bunt during the fifth inning against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Aug 6, 2023 (AP News photo)

Sunday, August 6th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

Oakland, California – On a beautiful Sunday in Oakland Coliseum in front of 27,381 people, the battle of the Bay part 2 took place as the San Francisco Giants faced the Oakland A’s. The final game of this series for the two teams and it’s coming off the heels of an Athletics win 8-6. Alex Cobb took the mound for San Francisco and Luis Medina on the mound for Oakland, this ball game was all about the bats.

From the opening inning, the offense was on display. Giants struck first, after a J.D. Davis single scores Lamonte Wade Jr. 1-0 Giants. The A’s put up one on the board when it was their turn in the 1st as Seth Brown tripled to center and scored Zack Gelof to tie everything up.

Second inning saw more back and forth, this time Wade Jr. singled and Brandon Crawford scored, but in the bottom of the second ‘s took the lead when Nick Allen hit a two run bomb. This home run scored Tyler Soderstrom and the score became 3-2 Oakland.

The third inning was where San Francisco took momentum back in their hands. Patrick Bailey hit a single and Joc Pederson scored the tying run. 3-3. The Giants took the lead in the same inning when Crawford hit into a fielder’s choice which allowed Davis to score, 4-3 Giants.

The Giants kept their foot on the pedal in the fifth inning when Wade Jr. got his second RBI by hitting a single and Michael Conforto scored, 5-3 Giants, but they weren’t done. Estrada dropped a bunt for a single and Patrick Bailey crossed the plate, 6-3 Giants.

The A’s fought back in the fifth and sixth innings to take a one run lead. In the fifth Nick Allen hit his second home run of the day and that got the place riled up. In the sixth inning with bases loaded, Soderstrom was walked and Brown scored, but right after that Shea Langeliers hit a deep double and scored both Diaz and Rooker to take the lead, 7-6 Oakland.

This onslaught of offense didn’t stop for Oakland after the seventh inning stretch when Gelof, who got on base from a single, scored off a Tony Kemp sacrifice fly. 8-6 A’s. The Giants would get out this inning after Ryan Walker would pick off Diaz and this seemed like the sigh of relief San Francisco needed to generate a comeback.

In the eighth the Giants couldn’t get a rally started, because Angel Felipe struck out the side and the A’s had the momentum in their hands. Jakob Junis retired the side when he checked in the eighth inning, but now it was up to the Giants offense to make things pop one last time before they lose the Oakland leg of the battle of the Bay.

A’s closer Trevor May came in and delivered three straight outs to secure the victory for Oakland with the final score being 8-6 Oakland and a series sweep.

The winning pitcher is Kirby Snead, losing pitcher is Luke Jackson, and Trevor May locks in the save. Alex Cobb clocked in 5.1 innings and record seven hits, four runs, and three strikeouts, with two home runs.

The Giants have to flush this series out of their system, because the next day Monday, August 6th, they will be in Anaheim to face the Angels with Patrick Sandoval (6-8, 4.11) on the mound for the halos and Logan Webb (9-9, 3.45) taking the hill for the Giants.

Oakland Roots Shut Out Charleston Battery 1-0 To Secure Three Points In The Table

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The Oakland Roots used their heads in this one as they got by the Charleston Battery at Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on Fri Aug 4, 2023 (@oaklandrootssc photo)

Friday, August 4th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

Oakland Roots face the Charleston Battery as the Roots try to hold on to their third place standing in the Western Conference at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina -. This is the first time either team has ever played each other in their team histories and the game started with Charleston playing an aggressive style of defense with hard tackles and pressure on the ball the moment it touches a Roots player.

Oakland goaltender Paul Blanchette had the spotlight on him, because he comes into this game top of the league in saves and second in shutouts heading into the weekend.

In the 40th minute, the scoring chances opened up for Oakland off a set piece that developed into a pass from outside the box to Daniel Barbir for a header that hit the back of the net and put the Roots over 1-0.

As the final minutes of the first half wind down the tempers started flaring and a yellow was given to leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez and the final whistle blew with Oakland up 1-0. The second half of this started off slow with both teams taking their time and picking their spots.

Charleston had attacks that scared the Oakland defense, but no one was able to find the net in that first 20 minutes, because Oakland jumped on every chance they had. Players keep getting knocked down by Charleston defenders. It almost feels like a hockey game with how many times Roots players are getting checked.

The duration of the second half was not only a stalemate amongst both offenses, but a test of endurance where a rush would go the distance, but once challenged would be shut down  and possession would change hands.

With nine minutes of stoppage time Johnny Rodriguez goes down with what looked like an ankle injury, but this injury took a lot of time away from Charleston to try to equalize the score. As the final minutes ran off, you can see frustration on the face of Charleston players and that’s due to never capitalizing on the scoring opportunities they had, but Oakland kept them at bay the whole match and then the final whistle blew and Oakland walked away with the win.

Paul Blanchette awarded another shutout and the Roots can exhale knowing that their third place was secure headed into the weekend. The next game for the Roots will be at home against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks and this game will be the only home game of the month for Oakland.

Giants Lose In Extras To Diamondbacks 4-3 On The Skipper’s Birthday

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San Francisco Giants hitter Wilmer Flores rounds third base after connecting for a home run and gets congratulations from third base coach Mark Hallberg against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the bottom of the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon Jul 31, 2023 (AP News photo)

Monday, July 31st, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Francisco, CA -The San Francisco Giants began a four game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks it didn’t quite end as planned as the Diamondbacks edged San Francisco 4-3 at Oracle Park on Monday night.

On the mound Jakob Junis for the Giants and Ryne Nelson for the D-Backs. First three batters for starter Jakob Junis went down easily and set the tone for the Giants.

Wilmer Flores then sparked the crowd with a big pop that looked like it was going over the wall for the first run of the game, but Alek Thomas snatched it out of the air. First hit of the game for Arizona comes from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and is hit straight back at Junis in the leg and shakes him up, but he stays in the game and gets back to back strikeouts to get out the inning.

First hit for the Giants came from Blake Sabol on a chip shot over the head of the third baseman and was followed by a single from Patrick Bailey. Isan Diaz ‘first at bat after being called up from Sacramento results in a walk and bases loaded with Luis Matos coming to the plate.

Matos grounded into a fielder’s choice to stop the rally for San Francisco in its tracks. Flores sparked the crowd again with his second at bat, but this time the homer wasn’t robbed and it’s out of here, 1-0 Giants.

Alex Wood replaced Junis in the fourth inning and continued right where Junis left off. The Giants scored a second run after a rally was started by Sabol who got on from a walk. Bailey moved him over on a double and then a sac fly from Crawford scored Sabol, 2-0 Giants.

In the sixth, Arizona scored two runs to tie the game up. The first came when Corbin Carroll hit a single and scored Ketel Marte, then Gurriel Jr. hit a double and scored Carroll and now it’s tied at two. Camillo Doval came in the ninth, but not for a save this time around.

Doval gets three strikeouts in a row and Giants head into the bottom of the ninth hoping for another walk off. One, two, three inning in the bottom of the ninth for San Francisco and we then headed into extra innings.

Arizona started extras with McCarthy as the ghost runner and Emmanuel Rivera hit a double that would score McCarthy and take a one run lead. 3-2 Diamondbacks. In the bottom of the tenth a wild pitch brings in the ghost runner Brandon Crawford and the Giants tie it up. 3-3.

Lamonte Jr looked like he had a walk-off home run, but it wasn’t hit deep enough and the tenth continued. In the 11th Marte hits a ground rule double that scores the ghost runner Perdomo, 4-3 D-Backs.

Taylor Rogers gets out of the inning, but now it was on the bats to send the fans home happy. The Giants get sat down one, two three and the game ends with Giants losing 4-3. The win is rewarded to Kevin Ginkel, Taylor Rogers gets the loss, and the save goes to Scott McGough.

The next game is Tuesday August 1st with Zac Gallen (11-5 ERA 3.36) pitching for Arizona and Alex Cobb (6-3 ERA 2.97) on the hill for San Francisco first pitch 6:45pm PT.

Roots Can’t Get Fourth Win In A Row for First Time In History As They Draw 1-1 With Detroit City FC

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The Oakland Roots get tuned up for their match with Detroit FC at Cal State University Hayward on Sat Jul 29, 2023

Saturday, July 29th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

Hayward, CA – The third place in the Western Conference Oakland Roots aimed for their longest streak in team history as they looked to get their fourth win in a row against Detroit City FC. The match immediately started with a spark plug of a goal from Oakland. In the first 40 seconds, the opening attack was successful as Johnny Rodriguez scored a goal from outside the box to find the back of the net.

This is Rodriguez’s ninth League goal and tenth overall goal this season and Roots took the lead 1-0. The equalizer was scored very soon after in the fifth minute a header was scored by Stephen Carroll on a corner piece. 1-1!

The rest of the first half was slowed to a taxing pace as both teams tried to find an advantage over the defense. Oakland relies on more pressure on the offense and Detroit relies more on trying to play a tactical game plan. The first half ended even at 1-1 with four shots on goal for Oakland and five shots on goal for Detroit City, all five shots total for Detroit were on goal.

The second half was a back and forth defensive battle. A defensive mishap from the Roots on was almost capitalized by Detroit, but the ball hit the post and was recovered by Paul Blanchette. Blanchette leads the league in saves and this game was no different, other than the one header in the fifth minute, Blanchette stopped everything that came his way.

On the offensive side of the ball, Oakland couldn’t seem to get past the back line of Detroit and the same seemed to be happening for Detroit with Oakland. The final seconds ran off, the final whistle blew, and the game ended in a draw.

Oakland players looked frustrated when the whistle blew, almost like they were mad at the missed opportunities. The Roots maintained their third place position going into the next game against Charleston in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on August 4th.

Troy Ewers is Oakland Roots beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland Roots Move Into Third Place With Third Win A Row Beat Las Vegas 1-0

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Wednesday, July 26 2023

By Troy Ewers

Hayward, California – The Oakland Roots played the Las Vegas Lights for weekday game as the Roots look to extend their winning streak to three games which would match their current longest winning streak of this season.

The match started and it was a sleepy first half as there were only two shots on goal between both teams and both shots were from Oakland. One of those shots came from Roots leading scorer Johnny Rodriguez when he tried to capitalize on a lackadaisical mistake from the Las Vegas center back Zali, who even though he made the mistake, Zali came back and got the save, preventing Rodriguez from getting his 9th league goal this season.

In the first 26 minutes Vegas earned three fouls and their sloppy play almost led to an early goal from Oakland as they missed a free kick and even claimed there was a hand ball, but a no call from the referee. After that missed call it looked like it was getting chippy out there from both teams, but with all that the first half ended scoreless.

In the second half the chances increased for both teams, one of the best chances for the Lights coming in the 50th minute, but the ball would miss wide. Another big chance for Las Vegas came from Andrew Carlton who took a risky shot from the mid line and it looked on par for a goal, but one of the league leader in saves, Paul Blanchette saved that ball from being the go ahead goal for Vegas.

After a Lights open field shot is missed, Oakland takes advantage of the missed opportunity when a deep pass from Bryan Tamacas finds Anuar Pelaez, who beats the back line and sinks a shot to the net for the advantage goal,1-0 Oakland.

A last minute equalizer opportunity for Vegas saw the back of the goal in a set piece, but an offside was called and no goal. The final whistle blew and Roots won, securing their third straight win and third place in the west.

This game not only saw another strong outing from Blanchette, but also the combo of Cireno and Tamacas on the seemed to lead the attack for Oakland as majority of their offense developed from their side.

Next game for the Roots is July 29th in CSU East Bay in Hayward against Detroit City FC as Oakland looks to continue this streak and with 13 games left, they hope to secure a home playoff game when the postseason arrives.