The Roots faced one of its sternest tests of the young season, squaring off against El Paso at the Coliseum on Saturday night. Despite conceding a goal in the third minute, Oakland rebounded thanks to an Locomotive red card and a stunning goal from Roots debutant Tucker Lepley for a stirring 2-1 comeback victory to jump into third place in the USL Championship Western Conference.
“That’s a massive result for us against a really good team,” said Roots head coach Ryan Martin after the game.
It was not a promising start for the Roots, as El Paso came out guns blazing from the opening whistle, stretching out Oakland’s defense. Two minutes into the game, the Locomotive’s Amando Moreno put the ball into the back of the net, but it was ruled offside.
Unfazed by the call, El Paso kept up the pressure and scored a minute later when Rubio Rubín clinically finished off a nice build-up, slotting the goal past Roots’ goalie Raphael Spiegel.
“I was disappointed with the start to the match,” explained Martin. “I thought we came out a little bit slow and sluggish. The word I’d use is lack of urgency in terms of our performance in the first half in particular. I think at the end, we had a couple of turnovers that we could have managed a little bit better.”
Oakland attempted to calm the game down and begin building their own attack with incisive through-balls slicing up the El Paso defensive back line.
Their strategy paid off for the Roots in the 18th minute when Wolfgang Prentice was sprung behind the defense with a long pass from Neval Hackshaw. While chasing down the ball, Prentice was clipped by El Paso defender Arturo Ortíz for denying a clear goal-scoring chance. Referee Thomas Snyder had no choice but to show Ortiz a red card for the foul and send him off the pitch.
The red card forced El Paso to fall back into a defensive shell. Despite the Roots pumping crosses into the box, it looked like the Locomotive would hold the lead into the half. But Oakland was able to adjust their attacking strategy after El Paso goalkeeper Abraham Romero was tended to for a minor injury late in the first half.
“Statistically, the closer you get to the edge of the box, which we call the gold zone, the higher your chance of scoring really is,” explained Martin. “So we want to be patient and get into the gold zone instead of just lumping balls in the box.”
With only a minute left in the first half extra time, that patience paid off when Roots wide back Jesús de Vicente delivered a curling low cross from just outside the box to forward Peter Wilson right in front of the goal.
Although the ball was behind Wilson, he was able to stab the ball down with his back to the goal. Wilson then quickly turned and delivered a bouncing shot that El Paso goalie Abraham Romero had no chance to stop from hitting the back of the net and leveling the game at 1-1 going into the half.
“I was really happy when we were able to get into a better position to serve it,” said Martin. “And then when you get a guy like Peter, who’s in a pretty good form right now, he does a lot of work.”
Oakland came out on the front foot in the second half, trying to claim all three points. El Paso looked shaky at times, but for the first 35 minutes, the Locomotive defense bent but did not break despite constant pressure.
The Roots best chance in the period was in the 79th minute when the Roots’ Daniel Trejo was able to get free in the box, but his shot was kicked saved by Romero to keep the score level.
Finally, the breakthrough for Oakland came in the 83rd minute thanks to the Roots’ newest addition, Tucker Lepley. A UCLA product, Lepley was selected by the LA Galaxy in the 2024 MLS draft and played 16 games for the Galaxy last season. Earlier this week, Lepley was loaned out to the Roots until the end of the season to have more playing time.
Off a turnover, Prentice delivered a square pass just on top of the penalty box to Lepley. The midfielder took a second to size up the defense, tapped a slight touch into space, and lined up a shot that he blasted into the upper far corner of the net for the 2-1 lead.
“His goal was, was spectacular,” noted Martin. “Comes in on his left, creates a half step, and we kind of knew what he could do. We spoke to the UCLA coaches, the LA Galaxy guys, and we know what he’s capable of.”
After the game, Lepley explained that he was excited to be loaned to the Roots, to have the confidence of the coaching staff, and to have the chance to play and grow with the team.
“I’m just really grateful to have the opportunity to play here, play in this beautiful city, to come on to the field tonight and to ultimately score the winning goal,” said Lepley. “It’s a feeling that I think I’ll cherish for a long time.”
El Paso made the game a little dicey during the final five minutes of extra time with a few half-chances, but Oakland was able to hold them off and grab the full three points and move up to third in the standings.
“The reality of a league of 30 games and then the cup, at the end of the season, you’re judged by your points, and every point matters along the way,” said Martin. “So, plus one last week, and plus three today, and we haven’t lost in a decent amount of time. So the guys are finding ways to get points.”
Next up for Oakland is a USL League Cup game against rival Sacramento Republic next Saturday at the Coliseum. Then, on May 23rd, Oakland will face Orange County FC on the road, who are tied with them at 16 points in the standings.
