What We Learned in Roots' 2-0 Home Victory Versus Orange County SC

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USL Oakland Roots

What We Learned in Roots' 2-0 Home Victory Versus Orange County SC

April 21, 2025 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release


After defeating Orange County SC on Saturday evening at the Coliseum, Roots have picked up their first home win of the season, and their first back-to-back regular season wins since early August last year. Oakland will now head back out on the road to Washington state this weekend for their first action in the USL Jägermeister Cup as they are set to visit USL League One side Spokane Velocity on Sunday, April 27th at 4 PM PT. Before then we draw some takeaways from Roots' first win on friendly turf:

From Start to Finish

Roots put together their most complete game of the season on Saturday. From the opening whistle to the final whistle, Oakland never looked like they were in danger of losing control of the match. The team to this point has had moments of brilliance on both the offensive side and defensive side of the ball, but until Orange County visited the Coliseum, had only sparingly put those two pieces of the puzzle together for any significant stretches. Head coach Gavin Glinton praised the team's ability to figure it out on the pitch and start working as a cohesive unit from box-to-box.

Really happy with where we're going, Glinton said. I think a couple of tweaks that we've made over the last couple weeks have really started to work out for us. But most importantly, I think it's the identity that we're starting to see.

A Dangerous Connection Up Top

The two-striker combo of Wolfgang Prentice and Peter Wilson has looked absolutely phenomenal. Prentice scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season from a Wilson assist on Saturday, and Wilson scored one of his own to give the Roots' some cushion on the scoreboard. After the game, Prentice praised Wilson's understanding of the game and his ability to win the ball in dangerous spots, and said that while the connection between them is strong already, they aren't done yet.

The chemistry has been great, Prentice said. And it's only going to get better from here.

Mr. Clean

Roots goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh kept the sheet clean for his team once again on Saturday. Through seven games this season, McIntosh has two clean sheets - a feat that took Roots 14 games to reach last season. McIntosh's save percentage has been steadily climbing this season as he settles in and develops chemistry with the back line, and his save total is top-three in the USL Championship. Put together with an offense that's starting to click as well, Roots could suddenly start to look like the threat they knew they could be.

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