The Oakland Roots recorded their first victory ever in their short history with a convincing 2-0 win over CA Zacatepec on Sunday evening.

Another sold-out crowd welcomed the Roots to the friendly confines of Laney Stadium after a difficult, winless three-game road trip in Southern California. They faced off against a Zacatepec team that is leading the Mexican second division league.

Oakland struck early to calm any doubts that it wouldn’t be their night. Roots midfield maestro Benji Joya found some space and split the Mexican team’s defense. Forward Jack McInerney ran onto the pass and perfectly placed his shot short towards the far post and away from the Zacatepec keeper.

Minutes into the second half the Roots doubled their lead when midfielder Octavio Guzman was able to get onto a long flicked pass from defender Chirs Christian before the Zacatepec keeper and lofted his shot over his head and into the net.









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Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Image 2 of 13 The starting 11. The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) The starting 11. The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 3 of 13 Benji Joya. The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Benji Joya. The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 4 of 13 Jack McInerney scores Oakland Roots first goal against CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Jack McInerney scores Oakland Roots first goal against CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 5 of 13 Image 6 of 13 Players celebrate Oakland Roots first goal against CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Players celebrate Oakland Roots first goal against CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 7 of 13 The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 8 of 13 Octavio Guzman chips the keeper. The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Octavio Guzman chips the keeper. The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 9 of 13 The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 10 of 13 Image 11 of 13 Devante Dubose. The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Devante Dubose. The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 12 of 13 The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) The Oakland Roots took on CA Zacatepec. (Photos: Marcus Edwards) Image 13 of 13 Bay Area Soccer: Oakland Roots win first ever game, College, UPSL roundup 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

In the second half the benches for both teams emptied out and the Roots were able to have four Oakland-raised players (Julio Cervantes, Devante Dubose, Nikolai Littleton, and Yohannes Harish) on the pitch at one time.

Although Zacatepec outshot the Roots (20 to 10) the final scoreline was a two-goal victory for the home side as they celebrated with the fans afterward.

With the Roots first-ever victory now behind them, the team can look to claim their first NISA league game victory at home against the LA Force this Saturday, Oct. 19th at 7 pm.

College Soccer Roundup

(Correspondent Michael Koenig contributed this roundup)

8th-ranked Saint Mary’s (10-1-0, 1-0-0) faced a tough challenge at Santa Clara (6-4-1, 0-1-0) before prevailing 2-1 in the West Coast Conference opener for both clubs. The Gaels’ Joseph Restani scored the first goal of the match in the 29th minute, tapping in a rebound from Valentin Sponer’s header on goal. Restani has now scored in five of the Gaels’ six most recent matches. Julian Bravo equalized in the 65th minute when his left-footed shot deflected off a Gaels defender into the net. In the 78th minute, Broncos’ defender Alejandro Perez was called for a handball inside the box and Anders Engebretsen converted the penalty kick for the game-winner.

Cal (6-3-2, 2-2-1) scored three times in the first half en route to a 4-0 win over San Diego State on Thursday. Goals were scored by Thomas Williamson (6th minute), Simon Lekressner (12th), Jonathan Estrada (32nd), and Fahmi Ibrahim (89th).

On Sunday, Cal’s match with UCLA ended in a 3-3 draw. UCLA took the lead twice in the first half, with goals from Milan Iloski (10th minute) and Matthew Powell (14th); the Bears quickly answered both times on goals from Paolo Carrillo-Weisenburger (11th minute) and Jonathan Estrada (23rd). In the second half, the Bears took their only lead of the match, on Estrada’s second goal of the match (69th), but Alexis Triadis scored in the 83rd minute to even the match again.

7th-ranked Stanford (9-1-2, 3-1-1) won both matches on their Southern California road trip by identical 1-0 scores. Their victory at UCLA on Thursday night ended a three-match winless streak. Charlie Wehan scored the only goal of the match in the 81st minute. Jared Gilbey passed the ball to Ousseni Bouda at the corner of the box. Bouda immediately back-heeled the ball just as Gilbey made his run. Gilbey crossed to a charging Wehan who redirected it into the back of the net.

In Sunday’s match at San Diego State, Bouda scored the game-winner from 25 yards out in the 58th minute. The goal was his fourth of the season, tying Zach Ryan and Gabe Segal for the team lead.

USF (2-7-0, 0-1-0) lost to #12 San Diego 4-0 on Saturday in their conference opener. Miguel Berry scored two goals and added an assist while Jimmy Ryan and Alex Churness also contributed goals. The Toreros outshot the Dons 16-5 and notched their seventh shutout of the season.

In Women’s Soccer, 24th ranked Santa Clara (7-5-1, 1-0-1 WCC) celebrated making the rankings by defeating Pacific on the road 3-0. They then continued their successful week by stomping San Diego at home by a 6-0 scoreline. All six goals were scored in the second half. Maddy Gonzalez scored two of them.

St. Mary’s (6-6-1, 0-2-1 WCC) were strong-armed by San Diego 5-0 last Wednesday. The team rebounded nicely against Portland when Kaytlin Brinkman scored with seconds remaining to earn a draw on Saturday.

USF (8-4-2, 1-1-1 WCC) lost at home against Loyola Marymount on a second-half penalty kick. Over the weekend, they traveled to Washington to take on Gonzaga. The Dons took a 3-1 lead in the second half but ultimately conceded two to earn a 3-3 tie on the road. “We were up 2-1 at the half and we talked about getting that third goal which we did early, but then kind of faded,” said USF head coach Jim Millinder. “I was hoping their second goal wouldn’t come till about 15 minutes later, but it came early and then they got their equalizer.”

Second-ranked Stanford (12-1-0, 5-0-0 PAC-12) continued their perfect start to Pac-12 play with a successful trip up north. They defeated Oregon 2-0 and thumped Oregon State 5-0. Catarina Macario had three goals during the two games. She has eighteen goals in thirteen games this season.

Cal (9-3-2, 1-2-2 PAC-12) tied their two games in Oregon this past weekend. The tied Oregon 1-1 and went scoreless with Oregon State.

UPSL Roundup



On Saturday, San Leandro FC defeated the Oakland Stompers 4-1 at Raimondi Park in Oakland. The match between Stockton TLJ FC and JASA Redwood City ended in a 0-0 draw. On Sunday, Contra Costa FC hosted Pajaro Valley United in a battle of co-division leaders. The match ended in a 3-3 draw. And Real San Jose defeated Vacaville Elite 3-2.