Oakland Roots ended a disappointing season with their finest all-around performance in a 3-0 win over Lexington SC at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday night.
Oakland had already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention on October 17, but this match had two important purposes. The first was a bit of revenge.
Head Coach Benny Feilhaber had often mentioned his frustration about Oakland’s 2-1 loss to Lexington in the first meeting of the clubs on August 23. Oakland had held a 1-0 lead since the 6th minute, but gave up a pair of goals in the final few minutes of the match.
Coming into the rematch, Lexington knew that they would likely secure a spot in the playoffs with a win over the Roots, and that, under some circumstances they could qualify with a draw. A loss would certainly knock them out.
Golden Goal Highlights First Half
The second purpose was for Oakland to make sure that striker Peter Wilson would win the USL Championship’s Golden Boot Award. When the match began, Wilson knew that Cal Jennings of the Charleston Battery had scored his 17th goal of the season earlier that evening.
To win the USL Championship’s Golden Boot, Wilson would need to score his 18th goal of the season in this match. Wilson achieved this in the 19th minute, thanks to a brilliant individual effort by Bobosi Byaruhanga, who started his run along the right sideline, deep in his own zone. Lexington’s Jacob Greene tried to push him off the ball, but Byaruhanga ran right by him. As he got close to the Lexington penalty area, he sent in a cross that Wolfgang Prentice nudged into Wilson’s path.
Wilson got a half-step advantage over Lexington’s Kendall Burks and as he fell to the turf he fired a shot from a difficult angle that settled just inside the far corner of the net. It was his eighth consecutive match in which Wilson had scored a goal, equaling the USL Championship’s record for consecutive games with a goal previously set by Hadji Barry in 2018 for Sporting Kansas City II.
Prentice nearly doubled Oakland’s lead in the 25th minute. A free kick by Faysal Bettache was headed back out to Prentice just inside the penalty area. Prentice’s one-timer caromed off the post for a goal kick.
Lexington didn’t have very many chances in the first half. The best included a shot from close range by Cory Burke in the 9th minute that made for an easy save by Oakland goalkeeper Rafael Spiegel, a 40th minute header from Forster Ajago that bounced wide, and another header from Ajago in the 44th minute that floated over the goal and nestled in the top of the cage.
Few Chances in Second Half Until Oakland Breaks It Open
Wilson came close again in the 50th minute, Byaruhanga beat an offside trap and made his run down the right side. As he approached the box, he sent the ball to Wilson, who slid on the turf, but could only watch as his shot sailed away over the crossbar.
Eight minutes later, Wilson tried another shot from a difficult angle, but once again it sailed over the bar.
In the 72nd minute, Byaruhanga blasted a shot at the near post, but goalkeeper Logan Ketterer made a diving stop for a corner kick.
One of the few Lexington chances came in the 81st minute, but Spiegel was not challenged by a shot directly to him from Braudilio Rodrigues.
One minute later, Oakland got the goal they needed to see the match home. Byaruhanga stole the ball in midfield and fed the ball to Camden Riley on an overlapping run. Riley cut the ball back to Prentice, who had plenty of time to deliver the perfect finish.
The Roots wrapped up the scoring in the 89th minute, when Bettache played a give and go with Wilson. Bettache’s left footed volley snuck into the net before Ketterer could make his slide.
Oakland had a couple more chances in stoppage time, but EJ Johnson’s shot sailed wide and Bettache’s soft shot was smothered by Ketterer.
Postgame Quotes
Benny Feilhaber (on whether he’ll be returning as coach next season)
“There hasn’t been definitive anything. I think that you know I think a certain way, and you guys can make a decision on your own. I haven’t heard up to this point definitively that I’ll be back. I’m making assumptions, and I don’t want to influence anybody’s thoughts here. But again at the end of the day, you gotta get results. We weren’t able to get enough of them to get into the playoffs. A lot of times that’s the standard by which coaches and teams are judged on.
“And so, from that perspective, we didn’t get it over the line, and I didn’t get it over the line. From an entirely different perspective, I think that this group has not only improved, but we have improved by leaps and bounds. Obviously, it all culminated in a beautiful game today, where we put a lot of things together that we weren’t able to.
“But sometimes you need to turn the corner, right? You need to see it to believe it. I think a lot of humans are like that. I think it’s hard to believe that the possibilities are there until you truly see it. And I’m glad that we saw it today for the fans, for you guys, for myself, for the players.”
Feilhaber on Peter Wilson’s Recent Scoring Surge
“It’s hard to score as many goals as Peter has on a team that is in tenth place. I don’t think you see that very often in any league across the world. It was very evident when I got here that Peter has a nose for getting himself in the right positions. I mean that Phoenix game, the game that we lost 2-1 at home, he could have scored three goals in the first half, which means he would have had over 20 goals now, and maybe even more because if he had started his streak earlier, the biggest thing was confidence for sure. Then understanding. Coaching, right? Like me being able to talk to him and and have him understand, OK? These are the moments that I need you to create space for yourself that you create a window, a pocket for yourself, and now you’re able to get into those areas of the field a little bit less man marked, right?
“He’s so coachable. He picked things up incredibly quickly, so a very high soccer IQ. And when you realize that, I mean, I would have conversations with the staff. I’m like, I cannot believe he’s not scoring right back in the beginning, in the first few games. He does everything else well, he defends well, he high presses. He holds the ball up. He makes good runs. He’s getting himself there, but then he just can’t seem to find the goal. So. It felt like it was like a matter of time for the ball to just hit the net and things to start going right, but I can’t tell you that I thought he was going to end up with 19 goals when he was sitting with three 14, 15 games ago? Incredible testament to who he is as a person. Um, his mentality, his way to just continue to compete and just go after it, even when things weren’t going well. And it’s good to see him getting rewarded. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with that guy.”
Peter Wilson on Winning the Golden Boot
“I was watching the Charleston game before and I saw Cal Jennings score, but I was calm. I knew I was going to score, because I’ve been scoring eight games in a row now, so I knew I was gonna score. What was it like when the ball went in? It was just, I don’t know. Euphoria, honestly. And the way the fans felt surreal.
“Out of body moments like this, and especially not when you’re looking back at it. It’s just, I don’t know. It was amazing. Honestly, this is why you play. Moments like this that will stick with you for a long time. Not only today, but for the rest of my life, I will remember that for sure.”
