Back From Bye, Roots Head to Tampa Bay for Road Tilt Versus Rowdies

Fresh off a bit of extra rest, Roots will kick back into gear this Saturday, April 11th as the squad heads to St. Petersburg, Florida for a 4:30 PM PT kickoff versus Tampa Bay Rowdies.

The contest will represent the first meeting between the two sides since June 8th, 2024 — a match in which Roots prevailed 1-0 after ninety minutes. All-time, Oakland has garnered a 1-1-2 (W-D-L) record in their four previous meetings with Tampa.

Rowdies have been off to a hot start in 2026, entering the weekend as the only team with a perfect record still intact at 4-0-0, and having allowed just one goal through those four games, the lowest mark in the league.

But despite Roots’ first loss of the season in their last match, they too are off to a promising start in the new campaign. At 2-1-1, a win or draw for Oakland on Saturday would spell the club’s strongest start through five games played to begin a season since joining the USL Championship.

With goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel out of Saturday’s contest due to a late red card in their last game, Roots will see a change in between the posts, and if Oakland-born netminder Kendall McIntosh gets the nod, he’s in a good position to make a historical leapfrog. McIntosh is just one save away from tying Cody Laurendi for eighth place on the USL Championship’s all-time saves leaderboard at 370.

Roots will continue to lean on the steady presence of co-captain Tommy McCabe, who has shown both creativity and poise this season in the midfield, remaining a steady presence near the top of the league leaderboard in completed passes.

Following the team’s trip to Florida, Roots will head back home for their next match, a 7 PM PT kickoff at the Oakland Coliseum versus visiting FC Tulsa on Saturday, April 18th.