The Oakland Roots and Soul thrilled the home crowd on Saturday, June 8, with a double header victory for both teams at Pioneer Stadium at CSU East Bay in Hayward. The Soul started the first match on their front foot, commanding time of possession in the opening minutes and keeping the game hemmed into the Academica SC defensive third.
But far against the run of play, a two-on-one opportunity for Academica earned them their first shot of the half — and the first goal of the game — in the 14th minute, courtesy of Isabella Cruz. That Academica goal gave their side a spark, and the rest of the first half looked much more even. But the Soul didn’t shy away from taking chances on goal, ending the first frame having earned ten corner kicks.
Both sides played hard and looked evenly matched at the start of the second half, but that didn’t last long. The Soul soon took control of the game.
Oakland earned their first goal of the match in the 57th minute, when Jordan Geis received a long ball from the defensive half and took a shot from the left side of the box that ricocheted off the far post and in, to even the score at 1-1.
In the 69th minute, Geis put the Soul up 2-1 — and she wasn’t done yet. In a hurry, the Soul put the game to bed, scoring goals in the 74th, 76th, and 77th minutes to go up 5-1 with goals from Tatiana Cunningham, Katie O’Kane, and Geis, respectively, earning Geis a hat trick in front of a boisterous home crowd.
But three goals weren’t enough for Geis, who capped it off with her fourth of the night in the 90th minute on a tap in after Kaytlin Brinkman chipped it to her on the far post over the Academica keeper.
Academica would score a consolation goal in added time, again from Cruz, but it was far too little far too late, as Oakland reached the final whistle up 6-2 to remain undefeated at home through the team’s history.
The Soul will be back at home at Merritt College in Oakland on Thursday, June 13, when they face California Storm. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Summary
Scoring:
- ASC: Isabella Cruz 14’
- OAK: Jordan Geis 57’
- OAK: Jordan Geis 69’
- OAK: Tatiana Cunningham 74’
- OAK: Katie O’Kane 76’
- OAK: Jordan Geis 90’
- ASC: Isabell Cruz 90’+
Oakland Soul SC
Lineup: Bella Mendoza (Cassia Souza), Kyah Coady (Rebecca Sherry), Alice Barbieri, Arianna Veland (Vickie Jones), Lauren Frohan (Clare Robke), Henar Urteaga, Sarah Mirr (Tatiana Cunningham), Jordan Geis, Katie O’Kane, Sam Tran (Kaytlin Brinkman), Shae Murison (Ceci Gee)
Roots hold Tampa Bay Rowdies Scoreless
In the second game of the double header, the Roots held onto a 1-0 win versus visiting Tampa Bay Rowdies. The match began with little fanfare, neither side seeming to be able to gain momentum. The brightest part for Roots in the first half was the play of goalkeeper Tim Syrel, who made some key early saves to keep the match level heading into halftime.
Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the Roots began to press the Tampa Bay defense, earning more scoring chances and looking generally like the more dangerous side. This tenacity would be rewarded in the 72nd minute when Memo Diaz added onto his all-time team lead in assists by feeding a dime across the face of the goal to a waiting Jeciel Cedeño who buried it to send the crowd into a frenzy and give Oakland a 1-0 lead.
The home fans continued to roar for the remainder of the contest, getting especially loud for the introduction of forward Dominic Dwyer, who made his Roots debut in the 79th minute.
The Roots earned a penalty kick late in the game and hoped to seal the win when Baboucarr Njie lined up on the dot to do just that. Despite his shot ringing the crossbar and ultimately being cleared by Tampa Bay, Oakland was able to earn the clean sheet, reaching the final whistle still holding a 1-0 lead.
The Roots will now head out on the road for a rivalry matchup versus Sacramento Republic on Saturday, June 15, before returning home to the East Bay to face El Paso Locomotive FC on Wednesday, June 19, at 7 p.m.
Talking with Head Coach Gavin Glinton
After the game, Coach Glinton was asked how he controlled scoring opportunities for the Rowdies.
“I think we must have played probably four different formations at some point or another,” Coach Glinton said. “We knew that they are a real dangerous team … so there were a couple of ways we wanted to make sure we stopped them, whether it was protecting the space in behind or choking and limiting their service and service area points, but I thought the guys did a great job with that.”
Coach Glinton also was asked if he made any tweaks at halftime, after having to put out a lot of fires during the first half.
“We thought we had gotten into a lot of good attacking areas and just didn’t get anything out of them, so a lot of that work ended up being wasted in the first half,” Coach Glinton said. “In the second half we tried to be a little bit more aggressive, especially with the final product and finishing off plays and getting into the box. Working to get corners getting behind that line. I thought we did a good job of loosening them up a little bit.”
Summary
Scoring:
- OAK: Jeciel Cedeño 72’
Discipline:
- OAK: Dominic Dwyer 83’ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Timothy Syrel, Justin Rasmussen, Neveal Hackshaw, Gagi Margvelashvili, Memo Diaz, Camden Riley (Niall Logue), Napo Matsoso (Daniel Gomez), Trayvone Reid (Dom Dwyer), Lindo Mfeka (Baboucarr Njie), Jeciel Cedeño (Kieran Bracken Serra), Johnny Rodriguez
Unused subs: Miche-Naider Chéry, Ilya Alekseev, Kieran Bracken Serra, Edwin Rodriguez
Line: Shots: 12 | Shots On Goal: 4 | Corner Kicks: 7 | Fouls: 8 | Offside: 3
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Lineup: Jordan Farr, Jordan Doherty, Frederick Kleeman, Aarón Guillén, Pacifique Niyongabire (Damian Rivera), Lewis Hilton (Leo Fernandes), Edwin Munjoma, Daniel Crisostomo, Charlie Dennis (Josh Pérez), Cal Jennings, Manuel Arteaga
Unused subs: Phil Breno, Nathan Worth, Zachary Herivaux, Cristian Ortiz
Line: Shots: 14 | Shots On Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 4 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 1
