Oakland defeated Orange County SC for the second time this season on Saturday night, this time a 2-0 finish down south in Irvine, CA.
The match began with both sides looking dangerous, trading prime scoring chances and good attacking pressure through the first 10 minutes of play.
Both clubs looked intent on wasting no time on offense, pushing the ball quickly up the field after gaining possession.
This attacking style earned Oakland a corner kick in the 15th minute. A perfect service found Miche-Naider Chéry on the far post, who headed it back across the face of the goal to find Camden Riley, finishing the easy tap in to put Roots ahead 1-0.
Despite Oakland taking the lead, momentum remained even for both sides through regulation time in the first frame.
Orange County began to look extremely dangerous in added time, but Roots were able to shut the door and head into the locker room at the half still holding a 1-0 lead.
The second half began much like the first, with both teams continuing an aggressive attack and earning quality scoring opportunities one after another.
But it was Roots once again winning the battle, doubling their lead in the 79th minute when Lindo Mfeka played a gorgeous pass inside the box to Johnny Rodriguez, who had been knocking on the door the entire half, and sent a laser of a shot past the OC keeper to make it 2-0.
Oakland was happy to play keep away for the remainder of the contest to reach the final whistle with a clean sheet still up by two.
Roots will be back in the East Bay for their next USL Championship match when they host league first place side Louisville City FC on Saturday, July 6th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 PM PT
Oakland Roots SC vs Orange County SC
USL Championship | June 29, 2024
Venue: Championship Soccer Stadium, Irvine, California
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Weather: 74 degrees, sunny
SCORELINE:
OC: 0
OAK: 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
OAK: Camden Riley 15’
OAK: Johnny Rodriguez 79’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
OAK: Baboucare Njie 23’ (yellow card)
OC: Ashish Chattha 32’ (yellow card)
OC: Colin Shutler 34’ (yellow card)
OC: Kyle Scott 74’ (yellow card)
OC: Thomas Amang 88’ (yellow card)
OAK: Dom Dwyer 90’ (yellow card)
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Paul Blanchette, Justin Rasmussen, Neveal Hackshaw, Camden Riley, Memo Diaz, Napo Matsoso (Kieran Bracken Serra), Baboucarr Njie (Trayvone Reid), Daniel Gomez, Lindo Mfeka (Bryan Tamacas), Miche-Naider Chéry (Jeciel Cedeño), Johnny Rodriguez (Dom Dwyer)
Unused subs: Niall Logue, Timothy Syrel
Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corner Kicks: 5 | Fouls: 9 | Offside: 1 |
ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP: Colin Shutler, Ashton Miles, Sergio Chavez, Ryan Flood, Owen Lambe, Ashish Chattha, Kyle Scott, Cameron Dunbar (Nicolas Ruiz), Christian Sorto (Thomas Amang), Ethan Zubak, Bryce Jamison (Ryan Doghman)
Unused subs: Ryan Ayoub, Benjamin Barjolo, Juan Santana, Benjamin Norris, Duran Ferree, Marcus Lee
Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corner Kicks: 5 | Fouls: 14 | Offside: 2 |
