Roots Back on the Road in Virtual Must-Win at FC Tulsa

Following a scoreless draw versus San Antonio FC in their final home game of the season, Roots will now head out on the road for their remaining regular season fixtures of the 2026 campaign. Their first stop comes this Saturday, October 17th as Roots face FC Tulsa in Oklahoma at 5 PM PT.

With two games remaining in the USL Championship regular season, Roots are still alive in the postseason chase. But their destiny is no longer in their own hands, as they will need help from outside results within the conference to reach the 8th place playoff line by season’s end.

Currently holding the 11th place spot on the table with 35 points from an 8-11-9 (W-D-L) record, they will need to leapfrog at least three teams in their final two matches to reach the postseason. Mathematically, this essentially means that Root’s remaining matches are both must-win scenarios, as the current 8th and 7th place teams in the Western Conference are currently sitting on 39 points, four points each ahead of Oakland.

Even with two consecutive wins to close out the season, Roots’ will need a handful of other matches to fall in their favor to make the cut.

But within their direct control is the result of Saturday’s contest in Oklahoma.

Roots’ all-time record versus Tulsa is dead even heading into the match, with both teams holding a 2-2-2 record over each other in the previous six meetings. Oakland, however, has had the edge in recent contests, earning points in all of the previous three and being the last team in the series to earn a victory.

Added to this, Tulsa has already punched their ticket to the postseason, so it remains to be seen what their strategy will be in terms of how hard they want to push, how many of their top players will see substantial minutes, and how badly they want the win.

Regardless of those variables, Oakland will enter Saturday’s contest knowing they have an ace up their sleeve. That ace comes in the form of goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh, who is ending the season on a historic high watermark in terms of his performances.

With four straight clean sheets coming into the weekend, McIntosh became the first keeper in club history to keep zeroes on the board through four consecutive contests. And he has done so in spectacular fashion, earning either USL Championship Save of the Week, or being named a starter on the USL Championship Team of the Week in three of the last five weeks of the season.

Following the match, Roots will remain on the road for one final regular season match in 2026 when Oakland closes out the season in-state versus NorCal rivals Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday, October 24th at 7 PM PT.