Roots Return Home for Penultimate Match at Oakland Coliseum Versus Phoenix Rising FC

There are now just two games remaining for Roots at the iconic Oakland Coliseum, and both are shaping up to be massively important.

As Roots prepare to host Phoenix Rising FC this Saturday, September 26th at 7PM PT, they do so with their sights still set on catching the 8th place playoff line as the postseason push intensifies.

Entering Saturday’s match, Roots are still in a position to make that push, albeit with help from outside results. Currently in 11th place in the Western Conference with 30 points from a 7-9-9 (W-D-L) record, Oakland is currently trailing 8th place Orange County SC by six points.

But Phoenix represents a major opportunity to make up quick ground on the field, as Rising are currently one of the teams fighting for that same 8th place position.

With 33 points from an 8-9-8 record, Rising currently hold the 9th place position on the table, making Saturday’s contest an all-important, and nearly must-win, swing game for Roots.

Luckily for Oakland, they are beginning to heat up at just the right time. With two wins in their last four matches, Roots are trending in the right direction.

Unluckily, however, Roots will be without their star striker on Saturday, as Peter Wilson, who in Oakland’s last match scored his 32nd career Roots goal to become the club’s all-time leading scorer, will be away on international duty after being called up by the Liberian national team.

Roots then will have to find attacking prowess from elsewhere on the team, and hope to lean on the recently stellar work between the posts from goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh who posted a six-save shutout in Oakland’s last match to crack the USL Championship’s top-five all-time saves leaderboard.

McIntosh has now earned USL honors in back-to-back weeks after earning a spot on the league’s Team of the Week for his most recent performance, and earning Save of the Week versus Lexington the week before.

Following Saturday’s critical matchup, Roots will head back on the road to continue their hunt for the postseason versus Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday, October 3rd before returning to the Oakland Coliseum for the final time to host San Antonio FC on Saturday, October 10th.