Roots Head to Sacramento for Rivalry Clash with Republic FC
It’s rivalry week once again.
After falling to Colorado Springs at home in their last regular season action, Oakland will look to return to a winning form in a match that has certainly been circled on fan calendars all year. Roots are set to head up I-80 this Saturday, August 16th to face NorCal rivals Sacramento Republic FC in the second and final match of the regular season series between the sides.
Sacramento narrowly defeated Roots at the Coliseum earlier this season, an 0-1 finish on May 4th.
Having fallen further back in the playoff race following the loss last weekend, Roots now sit in 11th place in the USL Championship Western Conference table — four points beneath the current playoff line — and need to start stacking up wins sooner than later as the end of the season looms.
What stands between Oakland and victory on Saturday, however, is a proverbial brick wall. Sacramento has been lights-out defensively in 2025, allowing only 13 goals this season, the lowest of any team in the league.
Paired with Roots’ lack of scoring prowess in recent matches, it feels as if it would take something special for Oakland to pull out the victory. Luckily for them, offensive reinforcements have arrived in the form of new signing Danny Trejo who could provide that something special the club has been looking for.
In his USL Championship career, Trejo is averaging 0.5 goals per 90 minutes played — a significant leap from current Roots leader, Peter Wilson, who is scoring at a 0.35 G/90 clip in regular season matches this year.
Oakland has improved massively on the defensive side of the ball since new head coach Benny Feilhaber took the reins, and scoring opportunities have also been on the rise as of late. Finishing those opportunities have been the apparent achilles heel of the squad, and with the signing of Trejo, Roots have taken a massive step towards addressing the issue.
Rivalry aside, Saturday’s contest poses perhaps the ideal opportunity to catalyze a surge in momentum for Roots when it is needed most.
Following Saturday’s contest, Roots will remain on the road for another regular season fixture on August 23rd in Kentucky for a battle with Lexington SC.
