The Oakland Roots faced an early deficit when the El Paso Locomotive took control of the match early at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, April 13. El Paso scored the opening goal in the 13th minute, when an early corner kick led to a goal from Armando Moreno, making it 1-0 for the home side.
Oakland responded with a set piece of their own in the 31st minute when Niall Logue scored off the delivery from Memo Diaz, leveling the game at 1-1.
El Paso earned a penalty kick in the 42nd minute of the game when Irakoze Donasiyano made a challenge inside the box. Jusstin Dhillon stepped up to make it 2-1, restoring the one-goal lead for the home side.
The half ended with El Paso in the lead at 2-1 as the sides headed into the locker rooms. But Oakland came out of the half quickly, as Johnny Rodriguez scored from long range in the 47th minute, making it 2-2 as he became the club’s all-time leading goal scorer with his 20th goal for Oakland.
Within minutes, Oakland was awarded a penalty kick of their own as Johnny Rodriguez stepped up to score, completing his brace and giving Oakland the 3-2 advantage. Oakland held on to the lead for a final 3-2 victory, thanks to the two goals from Johnny Rodriguez and the early goal from Niall Logue.
The Roots will return to the East Bay to face National Premier Soccer League squad El Farolito in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight on Tuesday evening, April 16, at Pioneer Stadium in CSUEB Hayward. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
Summary
Scoring:
- ELP: Armando Moreno 13’
- OAK: Niall Logue 31’
- ELP: Justin Dhillon 43’
- OAK: Johnny Rodriguez 47’
- OAK: Johnny Rodriguez 51’
Discipline:
- ELP: Liam Rose 49’
- ELP: Lucas Stauffer 64’
Oakland Roots
Lineup: Paul Blanchette, Niall Logue, Gagi Margvelashvili, Bryan Tamacas, Memo Diaz, Daniel Gomez, Irakoze Donasiyano, Ilya Alekseev (Justin Rasmussen), Trayvone Reid (Etsgar Cruz), Jeciel Cedeño, Johnny Rodriguez (Miche-Naider Chéry)
Unused subs: Napo Matsoso, Lindo Mfeka, Thomas Camier, Timothy Syrel
Line: Shots: 7 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 7 | Offside: 3
El Paso Locomotive
Lineup: Jahmali Waite, Lucas Stauffer, Tony Alfaro (Nick Hinds), Bolu Akinyode, Noah Dolenmayer, Javier Nevarez (Yuma), Eric Calvilo, Liam Rose, Tumi Moshobane (Arun Basuljevic) (Ricardo Zacarias), Amando Moreno (Joaquin Rivas), Justin Dhillon
Unused subs: Jeremy Garay, Amando Moreno, Diegi Abarca, Ramon Pasquel
Line: Shots: 6 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 5 | Fouls: 15 | Offside: 3
