Oakland Roots put two goals on the board but fell 4-2 to Orange County in the first game of the 2025 season after conceding one prior to halftime and three in the second half. The latter stage goals came in quick succession with OC putting in scores in the 47th and 53rd minutes before Wolfgang Prentice scored Oakland’s first goal of the season in the 71st.
OC made it 4-1 in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, but Roots found some solace with a late penalty kick goal by Baboucarr Njie after EJ Johnson was knocked down in the box.
Gavin Glinton had some tough choices for his roster without players like Peter Wilson, Jurgen Damm, Julian Bravo, Bobosi Byaruhanga, and Neveal Hackshaw. Johnson, meanwhile, started on the bench.
Here are our top-10 Roots player ratings from the match:
Panos Armenakas, 7.5
Sprang Wolfgang Prentice for Oakland’s first goal. He was heavily involved with 42 total touches, creating three scoring chances. He completed four long passes, six into the final third, and took three corners. He seems to be the preferred option on set pieces, but his passes couldn’t get past the first man on several occasions. I look forward to seeing how Panos operates when Roots has its mainline strikers fully available.
Wolfgang Prentice, 7.5
Wolfgang was impressive as a substitute when putting away his goal. He made an instinctive run in behind, took one touch to the inside to free himself up, and then slotted home a well-finished goal. Still some areas for improvement, but it was a good start for Wolfy.
Tyler Gibson, 6.5
Had a good presence on the ball and looks like a facilitator, also completing six passes into the final third. But he didn’t create scoring chances, was just 2/7 on long balls, and 1/4 on duels.
Danny Gomez, 6.5
Created one scoring chance, was 4/7 on long ball completions, won a tackle, and four ground duels. Gomez still has a lot of potential, and if he can take the next step in his development, 2025 could be a prime year for him to make a difference. He’ll have Bobosi Byaruhanga on his heels for minutes soon.
Baboucarr Njie, 6.5
Babou scored Oakland’s penalty kick and he did well to put it away, but I thought it was a peculiar choice. There was a lot of debate standing over the spot before Njie took the reins. It was similar to a game late last season where Njie insisted on taking a PK ahead of Roots’ striker on the field, Dom Dwyer, and wound up missing it. It may be overly critical, but like last year, it felt like a moment where Roots could get one of its goal-scoring options some mojo.
EJ Johnson, 6.5
EJ got 33 minutes of action as Roots chased Orange County down 3-nil and showed some potential. He’s big, fast, and physically imposing–often running down OC to make a play. He won Roots’ penalty when getting pulled down on a ball over the top and showed how instinctive in close contact situations, drawing four fouls.
Jose Luis Sinisterra, 6
Created one scoring chance and took three shots, but none were on target. Although he was 0/3 on dribbles, he still showed some of his fleet-footed abilities. I hope to see more of him as a difference-maker in the attack when Glinton has a full roster to choose from.
Ali Elmasnaouy, 6
The youngster got a surprise start, but every fan in attendance could quickly see the physical development he made over the offseason. He clearly has a lot of potential this coaching staff believes in. He was 0/2 on dribbles in his 57 minutes, but completed two long passes and won two duels.
Justin Ramussen, 6
Rasmussen moved up to left wing but had a tough time getting going with just 12 recorded touches. He rotated up to the striker spot in a fluid-moving attack, but it didn’t seem to pay off.
Abdi Mohammed, 6
FotMob was a bit more harsh on Abdi with a 5.8 rating, but he had some good moments. He played all 90 minutes and created one scoring chance, one successful dribble, and completed 3/6 long passes. Defensively, he won one tackle, had three clearances, six recoveries and took six defensive actions. Positive things to build on.