Welp, RootsFam, it happened again. Another match where Oakland looked like the better team through much of the game, only to watch the result go the other way. This time, Roots fell 4-1 to Lexington SC at the Coliseum, where the visitors scored three of their goals in a span of eight minutes near the end.
The result puts Oakland seven points below the playoff line, putting their postseason hopes on life support.
“The best way to describe it was frustrating. Never want to lose; losing 4-1 is unacceptable. We were on a pretty good stretch the last five games, and obviously needed to turn some of the one-pointers into three, but we’ve gotten four of the last five results. I felt like we played well in a lot of spurts, but it’s been the same story much of the year, where one off play or one moment changes the game,” coach Ryan Martin said after the match.
Phillip Goodrum opened the scoring for Lexington in the 22nd minute on a tough angle shot from the right side of the 6-yard box that was rifled into the top net after a quick counterattack to make it 0-1.
Oakland did eventually find a leveler, and did so in historic fashion in the 52nd minute when an inch-perfect cross into the box from Tommy McCabe after a stretch of wonderful ball movement within the attacking third found a leaping Peter Wilson, who headed it home for his 12th goal of 2026 and his 31st in a Roots kit, tying Johnny Rodriguez as the club’s all-time leading scorer.
Lexington regained their lead in the 78th minute when Goodrum found himself in the right place at the right time once again, tapping in his second of the match to make it 1-2 Lexington with time dwindling.
Just moments later, Lexington found a dagger in the 83rd minute when Marcus Epps streaked down the right side at full pace, beat the last defender, and placed a low shot toward the far post past Kendall McIntosh to make it 1-3. Lexington added a fourth in the 87th minute when Goodrum made it a hat trick with a late header, bringing the final score to 1-4.
Playoffs
Roots’ playoff odds took a drastic hit on Saturday night. They are now seven points back of eighth-place Lexington, with just six matches left in the season.
“If this keeps happening, my hair is gonna look like yours,” Martin said with a laugh, referencing my alopecia.
The result paints a clearer picture of how 2026 became a year of transition. Martin has had to devise what is working, what isn’t, who is doing well in his system, and use the information he’s learned toward building 2027’s team with a vision in mind. A winning streak to end the season could still turn things around for the club, but Martin has always been aware that creating a winning model would likely take longer than one season.
“I’ve told you guys in the beginning when we were really hot, I don’t look at the scores or the standings. Before the game, the message was, ‘What’s in the way becomes the way.’ The reality was, to jump over Lexington, we had to beat them. Now, we have to continue with Indy. For me, the process will be the same as we prepare for them. It’s how much stress we can put the players under to continue to improve them. For me, if you look at the table all the time, you’re going to drive yourself crazy,” Martin said.
Mentality
Inconsistent play. Lack of scoring goals. Lapses leading to costly mistakes. Those have been the trends of 2026.
After Roots’ equalizer in the 52nd minute, Oakland looked like they were going to press for the go-ahead. From there, Jesus de Vicente had a shot deflected out for a corner in the 65th, Peter Wilson rolled a shot narrowly wide five minutes later, while Bobosi Byaruhanga also had a shot deflected in the 73rd. But after that, things unraveled quickly.
“I felt like when we scored the first goal, I felt like we were going to win the game. Our momentum was building. If we stick the second goal, it probably would have ended our way. But it didn’t; we shot ourselves in the foot late. Frustrated, disappointed, but we have to keep going,” Martin said.
Frustrating is definitely the key word coming out of Saturday. Roots looked like the better team for much of the game, but got punished after not finishing its looks.
“We’ve shown that in some moments, we’re fantastic. We’re in most games, we’re defending better, creating more chances, and our set pieces have been good — so you continue to push the guys. That’s the reality of coaching; it’s what you do between tonight and next weekend to get a result. I don’t think we’re far off, but it’s always been the small details,” Martin said.
It all goes back to the process of building Martin’s team. Although the team started hot, the cracks in the foundation emerged over time. Perhaps those cracks were glazed over from last year, when former coach Gavin Glinton similarly talked about attention to detail in critical moments.
When asked about what he’s going to look at on film, Martin responded: “When you look back at it, you look at the habits of players, what decisions they made, and how it affected the management of the game. My mentality is that when you’re trying to build something, you’ll go through ups and downs, but the process has to remain the same… It’s the one moment. Even the third goal on the counterattack; it was three bad decisions from three different players that led to a goal. It’s frustrating; I’ll go through the video and figure out how we can be better,” Martin said.
It’s approaching three months since Roots last scored more than one goal in a game. It’s another issue that, for Martin, comes down to mentality.
“I think its a mentality issue. There is like a relief when we score a goal, but the reality is that you have to go again and score the second goal to end the goal. That’s where I’m disappointed, because we got the first one and got momentum on our side. It was a chance to stick the knife in, but instead, we missed chances and turned the ball over in bad areas. If you do that over and over, you sit where we are on the table,” Martin said.
Peter Wilson & Bruno Lapa
Wilson’s goal was a welcome sight, notching his 12th goal of the season in his first game back in the starting lineup since August 8 against El Paso.
“We felt like we were able to move Lexington from side to side. By the time it got to Tommy [McCabe], he was able to serve one on his left foot. We’ve talked to Peter about getting in position to score and how we can get him behind the back line. He made a great run; it was a picture of what we’re looking for. It just hasn’t happened consistently enough today or in the last handful of games,” Martin said.
Martin’s one change to the starting lineup was Wilson moving back into the rotation instead of Bruno Lapa, who was recently acquired by Oakland. Martin indicated that getting both players into the starting 11 is something he “absolutely” wants to do, and Lapa would’ve started if it wasn’t for a groin injury.
“Absolutely,” Martin said when asked if Lapa and Wilson starting together is something he’s considering.
“Lapa had a groin injury this week, which is why we limited his minutes. We used him down 2-1 to try and push back into the game. But my hope is Bruno continues to get his fitness and build his connection with Pete,” Martin said.
Starting Lineups
- Oakland Roots
One change for Oakland Roots from their last match. Peter Wilson starts in place Bruno Lapan no changes other than that. Garcia and Hackshaw as the CB pairing, De Vicente in the fullback spots, Fisher back in the midfield, while Wolfgang Prentice and Bertin Jacquesson make the attacking partnership.
- Lexington SC
Timeline
Corner – 4′
LEX near chance, pass across the face that leads to nothing – 5′
Corner – 15′
Corner – 22′
LEX goal – 23′
Deflections in the box leads to Xavier Zengue feeding Phillip Goodrum near the right corner of the six-yard box. He roofs a shot over the head of Kendall McIntosh for the goal.
Jacquesson shot (?) from an odd angle on target- 27′
Goodrum shot tipped over the crossbar for a corner – 32′
LEX corner – 32′
Leads to a header that loops high
LEX shot wide – 36′
Corner – 40′
Corner – 44′
First Half notes:
Lexington leads on the only real chance of the game on a great finish by Phillip Goodrum. Oakland is still looking to get into more dangerous spots, really drifting out wide before a cross gets cleared out. Roots with 5 shots, 1 on target, and 7 touches in the box on 61% possession. LSC with similar numbers: 5 shots, 2 on target, 11 touches in the box.
Valot shot on target in the box – 47′
Best chance of the game for Roots
De Vicente very dangerous pass to Wilson in the box, but he couldn’t corral it – 51′
ROOTS GOAL – 52′
PETER WILSON BURIES A HEADER ON A GREAT CROSS BY TOMMY MCCABE.
Tyler Gibson on for Fisher – 58′
Big save by McIntosh – 61′
De Vicente cross deflects toward the net, forces a save and corner – 65′
Corner – 65′
Leads to a longshot by Gibson that sails very high
Peter Wilson rolls a shot wide – 70′
Draws a corner
Corner – 71′
Bobosi shot deflects out for a corner – 73′
Really good work between Valot, Wilson, and Bobosi
Corner – 74′
Great ball by De Vicente goes across the face of goal and lands on the floor. Garcia nearly clips it in but just misses.
De Vicente and Gibson have shots blocked in and around the box – 76′
Neither didn’t make great contact, but more good work in the box
Lexington scores again with Goodrum – 79′
Roots were really controlling the action in the second half, Lexington again with great finishing.
Jacquesson shot deflected out for a corner – 82′
Trejo on for Wolfy, Lapa on for Valot – 83′
Corner – 83′
Lexington scores on a corner kick transition – 83′
Corner – 85′
Leads to McCabe sending a shot high
Lexington scores a fourth – 87′