Oakland Roots fell 2-1 against San Antonio FC on Saturday night, unable to gain its first points of the season in front of a historic sold-out crowd of 26,575.
San Antonio opened things up in the 5th minute when Alexander Greive found an opening in front of the net, sending a low shot past keeper Kendall McIntosh. But Roots answered just two minutes later when Justin Rasmussen corralled a ricochet from a corner by Panos Armenakas, finishing a phenomenal bicycle kick to equalize things at 1-1.
But Roots struggled to create opportunities in the remainder of the match. In the second half, SAFC broke the deadlock in the 69th minute when Diogo Pacheco found Luke Haakenson on a through-ball past the back line, lofting a shot over McIntosh for the lead.
Check out our six talking points from Saturday night. Here are our top-10 player ratings.
Too $hort, 10
Too $hort makes our list because he’s a player. Performing his classics, Short got the stadium completely out of its seats. 10/10 performance.
Justin Rasmussen, 7.5
Our top rating goes to Oakland’s goal-scorer, Rasmussen. His finish on the bicycle kick was amazing, saying his instincts came into play at the right moment. He also helped produce one of Roots’ only other chances when sending a low cross on his first touch to target EJ Johnson in the 74th minute. He’s someone who has endeared himself to the fans since arriving in 2024, sprinting toward the Deep Roots section after his goal–blowing them a kiss as he celebrated.
Rasmussen was credited for creating two scoring chances on the night and took two of Roots’ nine touches inside the opponent’s box. He also completed four passes into the final third, but going 0/4 on long balls keeps his score from being higher.
Jurgen Damm, 7
Damm came off the bench for 26 minutes and generated Roots’ only shot on target in the second half just one minute after he entered the game. He received a ball down the left wing, cutting inside before whipping in a right-footed shot.
In 11 touches, he had one successful dribble, one pass into the final third, won 2/2 tackles and three duels. He appeared on both the left and right sides at different moments.
Panos Armenakas, 6.8
Panaldinho sent in the cross from a corner on Rasmussen’s goal and continued showing how vital he is to the squad. He has moments that the trackers at FotMob don’t catch, where he dictates Roots’ buildup from their own zone into the attack, showing nifty footwork to unleash a pass–like in Rasmussen’s cross to Johnson in the 74th. As Glinton commented in the post-match press conference, they need to get him more involved in critical areas, finishing with no touches inside the opponent’s penalty area.
He was Oakland’s predominant factor in the build-up with 10 passes into the final third and six recoveries, completing three long balls in the process. But going 0/6 on duels holds him back from breaking into the sevens.
Wolfgang Prentice, 6.5
Wolfgang had some moments in the first half, sending a dangerous cross that was cleared out for a corner in the 25th. He had one touch in the box, one successful dribble, and won three duels but wasn’t very involved with just 18 touches.
Jose Luis Sinisterra, 6.5
Sinisterra also got limited work off the bench after starting the last two games and did well to get himself involved in dangerous areas. He made his impact quickly with one touch in the box, three passes into the final third, and won five duels.
Neveal Hackshaw, 6
Stuffed the stat sheet with 73 touches and completed 11 passes into the final third, but just 5/14 on long balls. Had seven clearances with three by header, five recoveries, and won eight duels.
Tyler Gibson, 6
Was heavily involved with 57 touches, completing four passes into the final third and 3/5 long balls, while winning five duels. On the defensive side, he had 10 actions and eight recoveries.
Abdi Mohamed, 6
Entered at halftime for Camden Riley. He got involved with 48 touches and completed one pass into the final third. Was called offside in the late minutes on a close call, but made a nice incisive run to get himself in a good position.
Camden Riley, 6
We’re giving Camden a six as well for his opening 45 minutes after being pulled at halftime. He had a good defensive presence with two tackles, four clearances, and eight defensive actions. But he was dribbled by four times at right back, which isn’t his natural position.
EJ Johnson, 6
Did well to put himself in position to score in the 74th on Rasmussen’s ball-in, credited for Roots’ only big scoring chance aside from the goal. Fans wanted a penalty kick after his nearest defender tackled him from behind, but never received the call. Took one shot, one touch in the box, but lost both of his duels.