After opening the season with a 1-0 win at Monterey Bay, the Oakland Roots return home for their first match at the Coliseum this season. As they prepare for the home opener, here are my three questions that stand out.
Can the Roots turn the Coliseum into a fortress?
At last year’s home opener, one could feel the electricity in the atmosphere when 26,575 fans packed the Coliseum and brought it back to life. The night started off as a time machine to days we thought had left us.
It didn’t last long.
San Antonio scored in the fifth minute of the game. Some fans, confused by San Antonio wearing black kits, even cheered for the goal, thinking the home side had scored.
Roots briefly reignited the crowd when Justin Rasmussen delivered a memorable bicycle-kick equalizer two minutes later. But after that point, San Antonio took control, and Oakland’s attack fell dormant, only managing two shots on goal. They lost 2-1.
The opener set the tone for what would become a frustrating season at the Coliseum. Despite the excitement surrounding the move, Roots failed to turn Oakland’s sports cathedral into a home-field advantage. Out of 15 home games in the USL Championship, Roots lost over half of them (8). They only won four matches, and each was spaced at least six weeks apart. Opponents shut out the Roots six times at home.
More frustratingly, some of the Roots’ flattest performances came at the Coliseum while they attempted to keep playoff hopes alive. A 0-2 drubbing by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in August and a listless performance in a 1-3 loss to a Hartford side on three days’ rest in October immediately come to mind.
Beyond the hype of moving to the Coliseum, Roots gave fans little to cheer about at home.
Ryan Martin has been vocal about the team’s fans being a marquee reason for his decision to come to Oakland. He hopes to reverse the struggles at home, and Saturday will serve as the first test.
Is Raphael Spiegel the No. 1 keeper?
When the Roots announced their starting 11 at Monterey Bay, the decision to start Raphael Spiegel surprised some supporters.
On a statistical level, Kendall McIntosh’s performance appears superior to Spiegel’s last year. According to FotMob, the Roots started McIntosh 24 times and Spiegel six. In those games, McIntosh conceded 37 goals and averaged 1.54 per match, while Spiegel conceded 15, averaging 2.5 per match. Moreover, McIntosh’s save percentage of 64.3% outperformed Spiegel’s 51.6%.
McIntosh also outperformed him percentage-wise as a distributor. McIntosh completed 67% of his passes and 31.8% of his long balls to Spiegel’s 59.2% on completed passes and only 26% on long balls.
Based on last season’s numbers alone, McIntosh clearly held the edge. However, Martin’s decision to start Spiegel suggests they see something beyond the stat sheet.
In his interview with USL All Access on Tuesday, Martin highlighted what he values in a goalkeeper: “What I value right now is someone who can make decisions consistently, someone who’s brave in terms of the way they want to approach the game, and I’d say someone that can affect the structure and the players around them to help us build and make the right decision to play out.
Spiegel’s performance validated Martin’s decision. Spiegel made four saves, including a massive one in the 66th minute. Spiegel supported Martin’s desire for the keeper to help build play, upping his accurate pass rate to 71%.
With New Mexico’s more potent offense coming into town this week, Saturday will serve as a massive opportunity for Spiegel to cement himself as the team’s number one. If not, it may crack the door for McIntosh to reclaim his role.
Who will help Peter Wilson in the attack?
With Florian Valot out against Monterey and presumably out this Saturday, Roots fielded a pretty defensive-minded lineup. Martin previously stated that he desires adaptability and wanted to focus on building the defense this season after the club conceded the league’s most goals.
The defensive lineup brought forth some tradeoffs, putting some players in new roles. Tyler Gibson played further and wider up the pitch than he usually did in 2025. Additionally, Faysal Bettache filled in where many expected Valot to line up.
As a result, the offense funneled towards Wolfgang Prentice on the wing. Wolfgang consistently got the ball to the byline, cut it back, and passed it into dangerous positions in the box. Wolfgang’s service was dangerous, but the finishing presence was lacking. Peter Wilson made strong runs that drew the defense’s attention; however, nobody filled the spaces created by Wilson.
This created a situation where Danny Trejo tied with the Roots’ two fullbacks, Mark Fisher and Julian Bravo, for the team-lead in touches in the opposition box with three in just 19 minutes of work. Roots’ center-backs, David Garcia and Michael Edwards, came in just behind them with two touches each.
It took a USL Goal of the Week nominee by Mark Fisher to break the deadlock, which doesn’t seem like a sound approach to consistently rely on. Someone will need to join Wilson in the box and make dangerous runs. But, the big question remains: who?
Roots enter the home opener with reasons for optimism. A strong defensive performance and three points away from home got the season started correctly. The answers to the three questions above may help determine how that optimism builds.