Oakland Coliseum- In a battle between two of the top four teams in the Western Conference, it was the Oakland Roots that defended the Oakland Coliseum with a 2-1 victory over El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday evening in Oakland. In front of a sparse crowd, El Paso Locomotive FC could have had two opening goals in the first five minutes, but a goal by Eric Calvillo was called offside. Current golden boot leader Rubio Rubin added his 7th goal of the season in the third minute.
A red card in the 19th minute to Arturo Ortiz completely flipped the contest, as the Oakland Roots were able to pick up goals from Peter Wilson before halftime and newcomer Tucker Lepley in the 83rd minute. This is the first Oakland Roots victory since April 22nd against the Las Vegas Lights.
A victory on Saturday evening puts the Oakland Roots in third place in the Western Conference and tied with Orange County SC on points, with one game in hand. This sets up another huge showdown down in Southern California in two weeks against Orange County SC.
Here are our top-10 player ratings from Saturday.
1. Tucker Lepley, 7.9
Creative Damage. Those were a few words that newest Oakland Roots Tucker Lepley used to describe his playstyle and the 24-year old demonstrated why with the game winning goal. Lepley, on loan for the remainder of the season from MLS side LA Galaxy, already appears to be a top player for the Roots. The attacking midfielder was 25 of 26 on accurate passes and should be a menace at the USL level.
2. Jesus de Vicente, 7.8
Another week and another amazing performance from Jesus de Vicente, as the left back may have made a strong enough argument to start over Julian Bravo when he returns from injury in the near future. The 25-year old created three chances for the Oakland Roots and picked up another assist on the season. De Vicente slotted in a perfect cross to Peter Wilson for his 5th goal of the year.
3. Tommy McCabe, 7.7
Would you believe that Tommy McCabe was consistent and calmly controlled from his midfield spot? Of course you would its Tommy “The Proffesor” McCabe. The veteran touched the ball 140 times and was nearly perfect with 118 of 128 on passes for a cool 92% accuracy rate. The Oakland Roots will go where McCabe leads them.
4. Florian Valot, 7.7
Having Florian Valot, Tucker Lepley and Danny Trejo coming off the bench is a trove of riches for the Oakland Roots, but Valot may be too good to not start. The 33-year old midfielder hasn’t recorded his first goal for the Roots, but Valot did have seven defensive contributions and added in six passes into the final third. Valot continues to be a versatile piece this season.
5. Peter Wilson, 7.6
I am still wanting more from Peter Wilson, but the defending USL Golden Boot winner did pick up his 5th goal of the season after deflecting a Jesus de Vicente cross just before halftime into the back of the net. Wilson continues to have opportunities that he isn’t cashing in on, but you could also look at this as the Roots are creating chances that just need to be finished. Something to monitor over the coming weeks.
6. Michael Edwards, 7.6
After one week of not being in the top 10 rankings, Michael Edwards bounced back with another vintage performance. Outside of the first five minutes, which were bad for I would argue for the whole team, Edwards continues to be one of the top defensemen in the USL. Edwards had 14 passes into the final third and was a staggering 97% on accurate passes with 73 of 75 completed. Long term contract when?
7. Neveal Hackshaw, 7.5
Neveal Hackshaw had his second quality game in a row for the Oakland Roots. I know Hackshaw has the wrath of the fanbase bearing down on him, but the 30-year old veteran was key on both the deep balls to Wolfgang Prentice for the red card and setting up Jesus de Vicente for the assist to Peter Wilson. Also congratulations to Neveal Hackshaw for his 100th Oakland Roots appearance and 250th overall USL appearance.
8. Faysal Bettache, 7.0
After helping secure a point last week against Loudoun United with a perfect cross to Peter Wilson, Faysal Bettache picked up the start this week against El Paso Locomotive FC. Bettache really blended in with the scenery this week and did his job with little flash. Was replaced by Danny Trejo in the 65th minute.
9. Wolfgang Prentice. 6.9
Overall Wolfgang Prentice had a solid evening, but the 26-year old forward caused the most important play of the game. In the 19th minute Neveal Hackshaw sent a deep ball to Prentice down the left side of the field and Arturo Ortiz clipped the back of Prentice’s heel and a red card was shown. The goal scoring may have stopped for Prentice, but he did add another assist on the pass to Tucker Lepley for the game winning goal.
10. Danny Trejo, 6.7
Danny Trejo continues to be an enigma for me. He is still clearly talented and will have at least one moment every game where I am legit “wowed”, but turnovers and mental mistakes continue to be an issue. Trejo did have the most touches in the box with five, even with less than a half of playing time and also added a team high with three shots. The veteran attack was only 57% on pass accuracy with 12 of 21 passes completed.