Johnny Rodriguez posted the fastest goal in team history and goalkeeper Paul Blanchette was credited with 9 saves in helping the Oakland Roots earn a 1-1 draw with Detroit City FC on Saturday night at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward.
The Roots and Detroit City FC are old rivals, having spent the 2020 season in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). And as it turned out, both of the goals in this match were scored by players who are holdovers from the 2020 season.
Rodriguez opened the scoring 23 seconds into the match. Trayvone Reid dished the ball off and Rodriguez did the rest, turning to his right and sending in a blast from well beyond the penalty area that settled in the lower right-hand corner of the net, in spite of an acrobatic save attempt by Detroit goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher.
Blanchette made his first save in the fifth minute, when Detroit earned a free kick from 25 yards out. Abdoulaye Diop’s shot curled around a pair of Roots defenders and took a bounce off the turf. It appeared to be heading in at the near post, but Blanchette rushed over to deflect it over the endline.
But Detroit scored on the subsequent corner kick. Richard Ballard crossed the ball into the box. Oakland defenders were unable to clear it. The ball made its way to the far post and was nodded in by Detroit’s captain, Stephen Carroll, who has been with the club since 2017.
Blanchette Steps Up As Oakland Holds On
While Oakland fans are used to seeing Blanchette make acrobatic saves, this match was one of his best. He started by making a pair of tough saves in the 25th minute. He stopped a rocket by Ballard at the left post, but was unable to hang on to the rebound. Blanchette then scrambled to the right post where Rhys Williams tried to nutmeg him, but Blanchette used his feet to make the stop.
The Oakland keeper made another tough stop in the third minute of first half stoppage time. Ben Morris ran into the penalty area and sent in a low, hard shot, but Blanchette went to ground to deflect it to Neveal Hackshaw, who punted it away.
Blanchette prevented an own goal in the 70th minute, on an attempted clearance by Hackshaw. Detroit’s Darío Suárez grabbed the rebound and dribbled across the goalmouth to try and find a clear angle, but Blanchette pursued him and deflected his shot attempt over the endline.
Perhaps Blanchette’s best saves came in the 89th minute. Maxi Rodriguez’s blast from just beyond the penalty arc was on target, but Blanchette hurled his body into position to deflect it off the post. The rebound went to Williams who was perched at the edge of the six-yard box, but Blanchette changed direction to push his shot away.
“I don’t know what to say about Paul,” Head Coach Noel Delgado said after the match. “I’m running out of adjectives and compliments. A double save at the end to keep the game like that. That’s why they call him Paul the Wall.”
Plenty of Chances for Oakland
Oakland had 16 shots on goal, including 5 on target, but many of them ended in easy saves by Steinwascher, including shots by Jeciel Cedeño in the 30th minute, Memo Diaz in the 38th minute, and Joseph Nane in the 41st minute.
In the 47th minute, Hackshaw blasted a shot from distance that sailed over the bar.
Cedeño had another shot attempt in the 77th minute, but his shot deflected off of a Detroit defender and went wide for a corner kick.
Second half substitute Anuar Peláez had a chance to score the winner in second half stoppage time, but his weak shot went straight into the arms of Steinwascher.
“I think a little bit for our side was physical,” Delgado said. “You could see at the end of the game, players falling down. We had three games in eight days, it’s tough. I thought were okay, but the effort was outstanding.”
The Roots were resting several players who had played heavy minutes, including Bryan Tamacas and Napo Matsoso. They suffered a further blow when they found out during warmups that Lindo Mfeka would also be unavailable for this match.
“It was just a physical battle for us,” Delgado said. “Obviously, Lindo going out in warm ups was tough, having to change on the fly. Gives us one less player depth. We had a couple other guys that we had to rest today. But I’m just very happy with the boys’ desire. You know, I thought you started the game unbelievably disappointing, the set piece goal. But I just thought the boys put their heart on the line tonight and, you know, it looked like a tie early on and Paul had some amazing saves at the end.”
Etsgar Cruz Makes His Debut
In the second half, Delgado brought on Etsgar Cruz and Ryan Her as substitutes. Cruz was making his USL Championship debut four days before his 18th birthday, after starring for the Roots’ development team, Project 51O. Ryan Her was appearing in his third match for the Roots, after completing his college career at the University of the Pacific.
“These guys getting minutes is important to us,” Delgado said. “They’ve done well in training when the pressure went up and it was good to get some fresh legs in there. Happy that Etsgar made his debut.”
Charleston Bound
The Roots’ next match is Friday, August 4 at the Charleston Battery.
“We’re gonna watch this game, give the boys a day off tomorrow, then focus on giving a little recap on it,” Delgado said. “And we know Charleston is a good team, and travel across the country. So just start preparing.”
