The Oakland Roots [1] got off to a hot start in their 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup debut on Saturday, April 25, but Monterey Bay FC stormed back at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside, eventually claiming a 4-3 victory over Oakland in penalties after the match ended 1-1 at the end of regulation time.
[2]The match started out with all the physicality you would expect from a rivalry match, but perhaps more than you would expect in a game that had no bearing on the league table.
Both sides were out to make a statement, and the Roots wrote the first sentence of that statement in the 15th minute after a stellar long ball from Neveal Hackshaw found Jackson Kiil streaking up the left side. Kiil fought through a foul and went one-on-one with a defender to break into the Monterey Bay box before shooting across the frame and scoring the Roots’ first goal of the tournament just inside the right post to make it 1-0 Oakland.
Following that goal, Monterey Bay began to grow into the match, switching to an aggressive high-press that the Roots had trouble dealing with in the wet conditions. Both clubs earned a few clear scoring chances, but the first half ended with Oakland still holding a one-goal advantage.
Monterey Bay came out of the halftime locker room still looking determined to find an equalizer. They found one in the 63rd minute when a through ball up the middle arrived at the feet of Paul Gindiri at full pace through the back line. Gindiri put a pinpoint shot into the bottom right corner on the short side of Kendall McIntosh to tie it up at 1-1.
Monterey Bay continued to control the momentum of the match, but the steadfast Roots defense refused to allow a regulation winner despite a fierce battle for the remainder of the match.
As per the tournament rules, the match went straight to penalties following the final whistle, and despite Kendall McIntosh denying the first Monterey Bay attempt, continuing what was surely one of the most highlight-rich performances of his career, the Roots eventually fell 4-3 in penalty kicks to Monterey Bay.
As a result, Oakland earned a point in the Group 1 table, and will look for their first win of the mid-season tournament when they host Sacramento Republic FC at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday, May 16 [3].
Summary
Scoring:
- OAK: Jackson Kiil 15’
- MB: Paul Gindiri 63’
Discipline:
- MB: Ryuga Nakamura 11’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Bertin Jacquesson 78’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Bertin Jacquesson 90’+ (yellow card) (red card)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Kendall McIntosh, Tommy McCabe, Ali Elmasnaouy, Florian Valot (Faysal Bettache) (Luka Rosić), Jesus De Vicente, Tyler Gibson (Keegan Tingey), Neveal Hackshaw, Jackson Kiil (Peter Wilson), Bertin Jacquesson, Michael Edwards, Danny Trejo (Wolfgang Prentice)
Unused subs: Bobosi Byaruhanga, Raphael Spiegel, Emilio Martinez, Bradley Roberson
Line: Shots: 6 | Shots On Goal: 1 | Corner Kicks: 2 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 2
Monterey Bay FC:
Lineup: Fernando Delgado, Kelsey Egwu, Nico Gordon, Zackery Farnsworth, Luka Malesevic, Sebastian Lletget (Eduardo Blancas), Ryuga Nakamura (Belmar Joseph), Nick Ross, Paul Gindiri, Chris-Kevin Nadje (Wesley Leggett), Omari Glasgow
Unused subs: Adrian Rebollar, Ciaran Dalton, Djimon Anderson, Abdel Talabi, Joel Garcia Jr.
Line: Shots: 20 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corner Kicks: 5 | Fouls: 19 | Offside: 4