Oakland Roots came out 3-2 winners against USL champions Orange County SC at Laney College on Wednesday, June 1st. Both teams held a moment of silence before the match to celebrate the life of Alejandro Diaz, the father of Roots midfielder Memo Diaz who passed away this week.
In the 9th minute, Jesus “Chuy” Enriquez swung in a low, near-post corner, a scuffle ensued and Ottar Magnus Karlsson was there to lash the ball home for his league-leading 9th goal of the season.
Roots continued on but it was Orange County who won a penalty against the run of play in the 32’ minute. Erick Torres beat Benny Diaz from the spot and leveled the score.
In the 65th minute and again against the run of play, Orange County won a corner kick and center back Albi Skendi found himself wide open on the six yard box and dunked the ball home, putting the Roots in the hole.
In the fourth minute of extra time Lindo Mfeka danced around the box and dished the ball to left back Juan Azocar. Azocar dipped his shoulder, cut inside and lasered a shot into the far post to tie the game at two apiece, sending the Laney crowd into a frenzy.
On the ensuing kickoff the Roots quickly won a free kick 30 yards out. Ottar Magnus Karlsson stepped up and blasted his shot into the upper right corner, sealing victory and making him the top goalscorer in Roots history. It was the last kick of the game.
The Roots move on to play USL newcomers Monterey Bay FC in Monterey on Saturday June 4th. They return to Laney College to face off against Rio Valley Grande FC on June 11th.
Talking to Head Coach Juan Guerra
It was an emotional win and an emotional week. I talked to Ottar and he said those last two goals were guided in somehow. Talk about the week you’ve had and what this means for Memo and his family.
Juan Guerra: It means a lot. It’s been a hard week. We’re heartbroken. The emotions tonight…we’re happy we got three points but we are heartbroken. I’ve been hurting these past three days. I’m happy we’re able to win tonight. I’m sure Memo was able to watch it. And we move on.
In the first 25 minutes, we were very strong. But then we lost rhythm and made silly mistakes. Their goal came and we got nervous. I wasn’t happy with the last 20 minutes of the first half or much of the second half. The three points were important but it’s time to start thinking about Saturday. We’ve played games this year where we played well and lost and we’ve played games where we dominated and tied.
Tonight wasn’t the prettiest but tonight we won and got three points.
What needs to happen to put together that perfect 90′ that you’re looking for?
Juan Guerra: It’s a tough one — it’s a three game week. We had to push til the last second tonight. Saturday we’ll play in another final. We need to come back to Oakland with three points — if we do that, we’ll put ourselves in a great position to start the next week. In order to start putting together those 90′ performances: first of all, concentration levels. Second of all, you can’t lose confidence. Against good teams, they will expose you, and that’s what happened today in the first half.
Oakland Roots SC vs Orange County SC
USL Championship | June 1, 2022
Venue: Laney College, Oakland, California
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Weather: 68 degrees, sunny
SCORELINE:
OAK: 1
OC: 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
OAK: 9’ Óttar Magnús Karlsson
OC: 32’ Erick Torres (PK)
OC: 65’ Albi Skendi
OAK: 90+4’ Juan Azocar
OAK: 90+5’ Ottar Magnus Karlsson
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
OAK: 35’ Darek Formella (yellow card)
OC: 72’ Brent Richards (yellow card)
OAK: 81’ Danny Barbir (yellow card)
OAK: 90+4′ Johnny Rodriguez (yellow card)
OC: 90+5’ Tommy Mccabe (yellow card)
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Benny Diaz, Tarek Morad, Emrah Klimenta, Danny Barbir (Johnny Rodriguez), Juan Azocar, Edgardo Rito, Matias Fissore (Mikael Johnsen), José Hernández, Darek Formella, Jesús Enríquez (Lindo Mfeka), Óttar Magnús Karlsson
Unused subs: Paul Blanchette, Alejandro Fuenmayor, Akeem Ward, Joseph Nane
Shots: 12 | Shots On Goal: 8 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 16 | Offside: 2 |
ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP: Patrick Rakovsky, Hunter Gorskie, Albi Skendi, Michael Orozco, Alex Villanueva, Tommy Mccabe, Danny Pedersen, Kevin Partida (Brent Richards), Seth Casiple, Erick Torres (Sean Okoli), Milan Iloski (Ivan Gutierrez)
Unused subs: Colin Sutler, Jonny Gomez
Shots: 12 | Shots On Goal: 4 | Corner Kicks: 6 | Fouls: 17 | Offside: 3 |
