Oakland Roots Sign Project 51O’s Javier Mariona and Lorenzo Hernandez to  Academy Contracts

Oakland Roots have re-signed Javier Mariona and signed Project 51O standout Lorenzo Hernandez to USL Academy contracts for the 2022 USL Championship season. Mariona is a 17-year-old attacker from Los Altos, California having spent his youth development with Silicon Valley Soccer Academy and De Anza Force Academy. Hernandez is a 19-year-old fullback from San Mateo, California who has also spent his youth development with De Anza Force Academy. 

“Mariona is a very talented young player that we saw grow greatly in our professional environment in 2021,” said Roots VP of Soccer Eric Yamamoto. “We are excited about his continued growth in the Club for both the Oakland Roots and Project 51O for 2022.”

Mariona made his debut for Oakland Roots in a USL Championship match coming off the bench in a 3-1 victory over Tacoma Defiance on August 29, 2021. The following day Mariona would hit the back of the net for Project 51O in UPSL action tallying the first goal for the reserve side in 2021. While he did not make another appearance for Oakland in 2021, he was part of the traveling squad to El Paso, TX in the USL Championship playoffs and earned his first call up to the El Salvador U-20 National Team in the fall. 

“Lorenzo is a great example of our success in the development of our Oakland Roots pyramid. Having identified him as a high potential football prospect, we gave him experience against more mature players in our reserve team, Project 51O,” said Roots VP of Soccer Eric Yamamoto. “He has now spent time training with our first team and has earned an Academy Contract. We are excited to continue his development in the First Team football environment.”

Hernandez is a product of the De Anza Force Academy and Project 51O having represented the Roots development squad in the Fall UPSL campaign. Hernandez also earned a call up to the El Salvador U-20 National Team in the fall following his standout play for both De Anza and Project 51O. 

Single Game Tickets are now on sale for Roots first 6 home matches of the 2022 Season, including the Home Opener on Saturday, March 26th vs USL Championship newcomer Monterey Bay FC. Secure your tickets now before games sell out.

A limited amount of Field Level Seats are being released for single game purchase as well. Please contact us at tickets@rootssc.com or call (510) 488-1144 for more information about Field Level Seating and our Premium Group Experiences.