On a night when it might have been easy to pack it in early, the Oakland Roots showed plenty of determination, but ultimately fell short in a 4-2 loss at North Carolina FC on Friday night.
The team faced the challenge of a 3,000 mile trip to Cary, North Carolina, where they were greeted by 86 degree temperatures at game time.
Roots Get Off to Slow Start in the First Half
The Roots faced an even bigger potential challenge in the 17th minute, when goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh suffered a possible head injury in a collision with North Carolina’s Rafa Mentzingen, as both men chased a through pass from Jaden Servania. McIntosh slid on the turf and emerged with the ball seconds before Mentzingen arrived feet first.
McIntosh remained in the match and faced another challenge a few moments thanks to another shot attempt by Mentzingen from the edge of the box.
The home side persisted and had another opportunity in the 21st minute, when McIntosh’s goal kick was immediately deflected back into the Roots’ half by Bryce Washington. Rodrigo da Costa’s left-footed shot from just outside the box drifted wide.
North Carolina was rewarded for their persistence in the 33rd minute thanks to a lot of possession and a little bit of luck. After an unsuccessful cross, Mikey Maldonado slid the ball over to Servania, who faked left, went right, and took a couple of steps to find an opening. His right-footed blast appeared to be a manageable save for McIntosh, but Oakland’s Kai Greene tried to head the ball to safety and instead redirected it into the upper righthand corner of the net.
The Roots had a rare first half chance in the 40th minute, when a free kick by Panos Armenakas was perfectly timed to meet Neveal Hackshaw as he made his run into the box. Hackshaw got off the header, but was unable to put the ball on target. (And the linesman’s flag was up for offside.)
The Roots’ hopes of leaving the field with a single goal deficit were crushed in the 2nd minute of first half stoppage time. Servania won a free kick a half-step outside the box. Maldonado’s spot kick curled around the wall and over Greene’s head and snuck in under the crossbar in the left side of the goal.
Roots Rally in the Second Half
At halftime, the Roots brought on Raphael Spiegel in what appeared to be a last-minute decision to replace McIntosh and give the Swiss goalkeeper his first USL Championship experience of the season.
Under difficult circumstances, the Roots rallied, thanks in part of second half substitute Jürgen Damm.
It began slowly, with a shot in the 51st minute from José Luis Sinisterra from long distance that goalkeeper Jake McGuire struggled with because of the extreme spin on the ball.
In the 56th minute, Armenakas tried to duplicate Maldonado’s feat from a similar angle, but his shot didn’t curve quite enough to sneak inside the back post.
Oakland got back into the match with a goal in the 63rd minute, when Wolfgang Prentice made a run down the left side and crossed the ball to Damm, whose one-timer toward the far post gave McGuire no chance.
Spiegel came up big for Oakland two minutes later, diving to the ground to push Oalex Anderson’s shot away with his fingertips, after Maldonado stole the ball from Sinisterra.
Damm had a chance to equalize in the 72nd minute, as he made a run down the sideline. But McGuire rushed out to cut down the angle, and Damm hesitated, eventually firing his shot straight at McGuire’s chest.
The home side brought on Louis Perez in the 71st minute, and three minutes later he scored the goal that restored their two goal lead. da Costa won the ball at midfield, then found Anderson making his run along the sideline. Anderson’s cross missed da Costa, but caught Perez as he made his run toward the far post. Spiegel slid onto the turf to keep the ball out of the net, but wasn’t able to get there in time.
Oakland halved the deficit again in the 81st minute, when Damm’s low shot was smothered by McGuire. But McGuire lost the ball and Peter Wilson was on the spot to tap it in.
North Carolina FC wrapped the game up in the 8th minute of stoppage time. Perez made his run down the sideline as Anderson ran down the middle of the field. He blasted his shot into the goal as the water cannons behind the goal went off.
Next Match
The Roots return home to the Oakland Coliseum next Saturday to host New Mexico United at 7 PM.
