Kendall McIntosh played the game of his life, and Roots’ attack came to life in Leesburg, Virginia on Saturday night as Oakland defeated Loudoun United FC on the road to win their fourth match in five games.
Oakland looked a bit out of sorts early in the match, as Loudoun controlled possession through the first 20 minutes of play and frustrated Roots’ passing game.
But against the run of play, Roots would open the scoring in the 22nd minute when for the third straight game Roots’ first shot on target found the back of the net. This time, a Loudoun turnover on a clearance attempt from near the top right corner of the box found Neveal Hackshaw who struck a rocket from deep to score his first of the season and make it 1-0 Oakland.
In a stunning shift of momentum, Peter Wilson doubled Oakland’s lead just moments later in the 27th minute after a wonderful sequence of Roots passing resulted in him finding space all alone with the ball near the penalty spot, and burying it inside the right post for his team-leading fifth goal of 2025.
The two quick goals shocked Loudoun who lost their footing in the match, as Roots continued to dominate the pitch for the remainder of the half.
Oakland began the second frame playing a more conservative brand of soccer, moving the ball safely and killing time off the clock while not attempting any risky attacking moves. Despite the slower pace of play, Roots’ excellent ball movement still led to a number of wonderful scoring chances in the remainder of the contest.
Loudoun began looking desperate for a goal near the final third of the contest, and started to push the ball up the field at all costs.
In the 64th minute Kendall McIntosh made two brilliant saves to keep Oakland in front by two when a netfront scrum led to a couple point blank shots from Loudoun.
This was a theme that remained for the rest of the contest: Loudoun pushing the ball into dangerous territory and earning a top notch scoring opportunity, only to be thwarted by highlight reel saves from McIntosh.
Roots were able to weather the late storm and reach the final whistle still holding their two goal advantage for their fourth clean sheet in their last six regular season contests.
Oakland will return home to the Coliseum for their next action as they prepare to host Orange County SC in a matinee USL Jägermeister Cup Group Stage match on July 26th at 1 PM PT.
Oakland Roots SC at Loudoun United FC
USL Championship | July 19, 2025
Venue: Segra Field
Kickoff: 4:00 PM PT
Weather: 80 degrees, Cloudy
SCORELINE:
OAK: 2
LDN: 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
OAK: Neveal Hackshaw 22’
OAK: Peter Wilson 27’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
OAK: Camden Riley 9’ (yellow card)
OAK: Daniel Gomez 14’ (yellow card)
LDN: Hakim Karamoko 17’ (yellow card)
LDN: Keegan Tingey 43’ (yellow card)
OAK: Kendall McIntosh 74’ (yellow card)
OAKLAND ROOTS LINEUP: Kendall Mcintosh, Julian Bravo, Gagi Margvelashvili, Camden Riley, Daniel Gomez (Bobosi Byaruhanga), Peter Wilson (Wolfgang Prentice), Panos Armenakas, Tyler Gibson, Neveal Hackshaw (EJ Johnson), Morey Doner, Ali Elmasnaouy
Unused subs: José Luis Sinisterra, Raphael Spiegel, Luis Saldaña, Ilya Alekseev
Shots: 9 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 1 | Fouls: 13 | Offsides: 1
LOUDOUN LINEUP: Hugo Fauroux, Cole Turner, Yanis Leerman, Kwame Awuah, Keegan Tingey, Moses Nyeman (Alex Nagy), Pedro Santos (Robert Dambrot), Florian Valot, Wesley Leggett (Drew Skundrich), Riley Bidois (Ben Mines), Hakim Karamoko (Zachary Ryan)
Unused subs: Ryan Jack, Ethan Pendleton, Thomas McCabe
Shots: 14 | Shots On Goal: 7 | Corner Kicks: 5 | Fouls: 15 | Offsides: 1
