It’s been a busy week, Roots and Soul fam. On Sunday, Oakland Soul traveled to Stockton Cargo for its W League season-opener and played to a 0-0 draw. Then on Tuesday, Roots made the trek to San Jose Earthquakes for its first U.S. Open Cup clash against an MLS side, falling 1-nil after conceding a goal in the 76th minute.
For Roots, they played a strong first half but couldn’t produce the same fluidity in the second half. After producing six shots with three on target in the opening 45 minutes, they could only muster one shot attempt in the later going.
“Obviously disappointed, but I’m very proud of the guys. I thought they put one hell of an effort tonight. We were very good in a lot of moments and dominated the first half. We were probably unfortunate not to get a goal or two,” interim head coach Gavin Glinton said.
Regarding the Soul’s 0-0 draw, it was a result that likely left more to be desired from head coach Jessica Clinton and co. Oakland cranked off 14 shot attempts and missed a couple of big chances, very-much leaving the feeling of a first game.
“We had 14 shots but three or four of those were open goals,” coach Clinton said.
Here are our Roots and Soul talking points. Click this page jump to Soul.
Oakland Roots
The traveling support
We named Oakland Roots fans our RootsBlog Players of the Match for being its usual boisterous self on Tuesday night. Although it was a historic meeting between Roots and Earthquakes, Oakland’s supporters were the real storyline coming out of the game. For Oakland fans, especially the Oakland 68s supporters group, the match signified much more than a game of soccer, but a chance to give Quakes and A’s owner John Fisher a piece of their mind.
“In football, there’s always a derby. The game is built on derbies and this one, we hope for it to be big for some time to come. Any time you chance to place David vs. Goliath and, furthermore, when that Goliath is in you back yard, there’s always going to be a little extra in that,” Glinton said. “And then you obviously have all the other noise from the fans, and the guys want to win for the city, the Bay Area, and for the fans. It’s difficult to separate that completely, but I thought they did a good job controlling their emotions and being able to implement the game plan.”
“We could definitely hear them, they are loud,” Memo Diaz said with a laugh.
Ask any Roots supporter how they feel after the 1-nil loss and you’ll likely hear someone who felt like they won. They were loud, proud, and authentically Oakland. Tuesday’s specific attendance numbers in favor of The Town will be difficult to quantify, but sounds from the broadcast stream left people thinking Roots were the home team.
A’s fan group, Last Dive Bar, gave bracelets to each player on Roots’ roster before the game. It was the same bracelets that left two Athletics players in hot water. Memo was among those players, who often sits with the Oakland 68s when attending A’s games.
“I love that,” Diaz said of the support he receives. “I’ve been here for four years and they’ve always been in our bleachers and obviously are always in the Coliseum. Their support is always great knowing they showed up tonight, it was a great feeling for us.
Oakland Roots continue to show they are one of the most vibrant fan, fastest growing, and well traveling fanbases in the USL Championship.
Tale of two halves
Roots looked like the better side through the opening 45 minutes , as mentioned above with six shots, three on target, and drew two corners. But San Jose took over in the second half with winning-scorer Ousseni Bouda, veteran midfielder Jackson Yueill and defender Tommy Thompson.
Oakland went into the half with the better side of possession at 52 percent, holding San Jose to just four shouts without any on target or any corners. In the latter 45 minutes, however, the Quakes turned the table on possession to their side, finishing with 55 percent of the ball, 17 shots, four on target, and drew three corners.
“When you see guys like that come on, you know they are going to bring a lot of energy and have a high level of quality. I thought we started to run out of gas a bit, but we started to make subs and try to bring some energy into the game. It’s difficult with the goal coming late and then the red card soon after that. Then they were able to positionally dominate us,” Glinton said.
Then in the 82nd minute, Johnny Rodriguez was called for a red card and Oakland couldn’t generate anything from there. Glinton feels they stopped trying to get in behind “for whatever reason” and already had an idea of things to address.
“In the second half, we weren’t as aggressive for whatever reason. But they did come back out into the game, but the red card makes things very difficult,” Glinton said. “I thought we stopped looking to get in behind them. I don’t know if we were worried about their transition but they stopped creating space behind that back line and forcing them to defend.
“When you give a team like San Jose confidence and they are very good going forward. We talked about making sure that we countered back, but I think we didn’t do it as much in the second half.”
Oakland had most of its looks over the final 15 minutes of the first half. Diaz looked to play Rodriguez making an open run towards San Jose’s left post, but he couldn’t get to the end of it. Then Jeciel Cedeño took a shot on target from atop the penalty area, but 19-year-old GK Emmanuel Ochoa was well-positioned for the stop.
Johnny had a really good opportunity go narrowly wide in the 42nd minute, where his shot took a deflection off of a San Jose to push the ball wide. The next minute, Gagi Margvelashvili had a free header sail high over the net, he likely wants that one back.
Memo also had a shot go wide in the 45th minute, while Rodriguez tried to bend on a shot from a couple of feet above the penalty area between two defenders but Ochoa was there to stop it easily.
Roots had another great chance coming out of halftime when Neveal Hackshaw looped in a header after receiving a cross from a corner, but Ochoa tipped Hackshaw’s shot onto the crossbar. From there, it was all San Jose.
Roots under Glinton
Tuesday marked our first interview with Glinton, giving us our first chance to begin learning who exactly is leading the squad. During his press conference, he described wanting to shift the team’s culture and tactical vision of their system.
“There’s a couple of things we want to clean up culturally, as well as making sure from a tactical point of view that we’re limiting chance-creation and creating more chances on the offensive end. I thought we did that tonight in the first half very well. Against San Antonio, we did that against a very aggressive team with some young kids,” Glinton said.
“So, we’re going to continue working on a couple of details and cultural things to build on and improve. It hasn’t been too much, just attention to details for the most part.”
Making a change head coaching change is difficult on any team. It’s an admission of defeat and that the previous coach wasn’t getting enough out of the roster in hand. Glinton thinks the team has responded well since Noah Delgado’s departure, including in its 2-2 draw against San Antonio with five teenagers and 20-year-old backup GK Tim Syrel.
“We’ve had two matches and in both of those matches, being able to play some of our younger kids. Guys who were able to get their first start against San Antonio and then, obviously, the level of competition we had tonight. I think guys have come through on both tests very well. They seem united, they seem upbeat, focused, and very attentive to the detail we’ve had in both matches,” Glinton said.
“I couldn’t be happier, it’s always difficult, but they’ve done a good job of just keeping their head down and grind through.”
Glinton walks into a coaching situation where he gets to further establish his voice as a leader around the organization and build his resume. It’s his first professional managerial job throughout his career after previously being an assistant coach at New Mexico United and being a high-level club coach in Sacramento before arriving to Oakland as Delgado’s first assistant.
When asked about the imprint he’s looking to leave on his system, Glinton responded he wants his side to be the aggressors, be proactive, and push the game. They still have “a way to go,” but Glinton is seeing some of his message getting through.
“We like to play with a lot of intensity and we like to be proactive,” Glinton said. “We want to get on the ball and we want to force the opposition into making difficult choices. We want to be the ones pushing the game. We’ve got some way to get there, but you can see some of the strides we started to make tonight and I thought we did that in the first half against a very good team. We want to be the ones who are proactive and pushing the game with intensity.”
It’s also worth mentioning that although Oakland listed it’s usual 3-5-2 on the lineup graphic, they visibly ran a formation like a 4-4-2 diamond on Tuesday night. It’ll be interesting to see if they run out similar personnel against New Mexico on Saturday.
Dom Dwyer
Dom Dwyer made the trip to San Jose with his fellow teammates and worked out with the team in pre-game warmups, but when the lineup came out for Tuesday’s game, Dwyer was nowhere to be found. Glinton explained the decision to keep the veteran striker out.
“We’re just integrating him into the team,” Glinton said. “We’ve had a group that’s ready and we want to make sure we put out a group for every game that’s competitive and able to win. We’re still working him into the group, we like having him available and as soon as the time is right, you’ll see him.”
When asked if he has an idea of the first game Dwyer will be available, Glinton firmly responded with a smile: “Nope.”
It’s clear Dwyer appearing in the lineup and eventually starting will be taken on a game-by-game scenario.
Oakland Soul
First-game feels
Oakland Soul’s 0-0 draw while playing away at Stockton Cargo on Sunday, May 5 had all the look of a first game of the season for Soul. Oakland dominated the game in both facets, recording 14 shot attempts, but just couldn’t find the finishing touch.
Miranda Nild had a shot on target in the 10th minute to force a diving save resulting in a corner. Lizzie Vranesh had a shot go wide the following minute, while Nild had another shot go wide nine minutes later. Henar Urteaga and Sam Tran also had shot attempts in the first half.
In the second half, Arianna Veland had a header close to the net sail high in the 60th minute. Perhaps the best chance of the game was in the 66th when Tran made a slick run in behind on a breakaway, but her shot clanged off of the post. She looked in disbelief.
Nild also had a golden opportunity in the 77th after gathering a fumble by Cargo’s goal keeper, but her shot also went wide.
“Like we just said to the players, that’s not the score we want or work for. Cargo put a problem in front of us and were really good at adjusting at halftime. I thought from a playing perspective, we were very good,” Clinton said.
Despite a tie not being the result Soul players, staff, and fans envisioned, Clinton sees better fluidity than at this time last year.
“Let’s just look back to this time last year in our playing style to where we are now. Holy cow, we’re so much better. 14 shots, we should’ve scored some, that’s for sure and I think some players will walk away a bit disappointed by that. But, we move on,” Clinton said. “We didn’t lose and walked away with a point; Cargo was good, we were very good, we just didn’t put it in the back of the net.”
Despite going scoreless in the first game, Soul continued its possessive and fast-moving brand from 2023. If Roots fans are feeling withdrawals from having an attack that’s obsessed with having the ball and reeling off shots, they should tune into Soul games going forward. Expect many more matches where Oakland cranks out over 15 shots.
The fast-nature of the W League
The W League season being an accelerated month-and-a-half is a testament to the fast-nature of the club. With the a large portion of Soul’s roster being college student-athletes, much of the lineup is still coming together and is expected to have consistent alterations.
Kyah Coady, for example, played on Sunday night in her very first day with the team. She was literally meeting Clinton and teammates for the first time prior to the match against Cargo. Coady, a student at San Jose State, is finishing up her spring semester of college like many others on Oakland’s full roster that hasn’t been announced.
“We had three players on the field tonight who have either just joined us on Thursday or we actually met for the first time tonight. Kyah Coady is one of them, we haven’t seen her yet but she came in and what a difference maker she was,” Clinton said. “Part of it is figuring out what players are working well together from a relationship standpoint.”
Making debuts on Sunday included Veland in the midfield, Marissa Garcia at center back, Coady, along with Shaelan Murison in the second half. Lizzy Vranesh is a second year player, but featured in the Central Attacking Midfield role after appearing in other positions throughout her career.
“With Kyah, I knew she was a good player from video and recommendations, but I haven’t actually seen her play. She was a bright spot when she came on. Ari [Veland] and Henar working together was great. Lizzy as a #10 when she’s not normally a #10, but we put her there as we work through our rotations, and she was good,” Clinton said. “We’re filtering them in, but the group we have in our system now all believe in the system we play. Learning their names is probably the hardest part of filtering them in.”
Oakland has an unofficial roster of around 45 athletes, while 28 are currently listed on the team’s site–meaning we’re bound to see a lot of new faces in the coming weeks.
Home-opener vs. Olympic Club next
It’ll be another “Soul’d” out crowd at Merritt College for Soul’s home-opener on Mothers Day this Sunday against Olympic Club. Last year, Soul won both times against OC, including a 1-nil win at Pioneer Stadium and 6-1 win when playing away at USF’s Negoesco Stadium.
Olympic Club notably hired away one of San Francisco Glens’ personnel directors, meaning they’ve fielded a stronger roster for 2024. Although it’s unclear if any former Glens made the jump to OC, a historic athletic club in the city, they have 10 new players on its available roster.
Clinton wants her team to focus on attacking in the final third, not overdoing things, and executing when the opportunities are there.
“Being aggressive in the final third,” Clinton said when asked about what they want to work this week. “I think we were a little too patient in the first half trying to feel through things. In the second half, we wanted to be more aggressive. Now we just want to examine whether we were too aggressive [in the second half], where the balls that we were playing in from too long of a distance, and what type of ball and runs are we looking for.”
“It’s building relationships and feeling each other out, and also executing around the final edge of the box. We will definitely hit that target this week.”