A deflected goal for the Las Vegas Lights started an avalanche for the visitors, sending the Oakland Roots to their first home loss of the season, 3-0.
The Roots looked to rebound from their defeat at Phoenix the previous weekend. They put in a determined effort in the first half to take the lead. Oakland’s best chances in the first half were off the foot of Baboucarr Njie.
In the 9th minute, a cross by Memo Diaz found its way across the box to Njie, but the Vegas defense blocked his shot. Later in the half Njie found himself unmarked at the top of the box, but Lights keeper Raiko Arozarena pushed away his shot.
In the second half, the game quickly turned when Coleman Gannon of Vegas took a shot on target that deflected off a Roots defender Niall Logue and into the net past a wrong-footed Oakland keeper Paul Blanchette.
Oakland almost immediately leveled a minute later when Vegas keeper Arozarena’s kick was deflected by Roots forward Miche-Naider Chéry into the path of Oakland’s Trayvone Reid. However, Arozarena was able to recover and block Reid’s shot.
Just a few minutes later, Las Vegas’s Gaoussou Samake got inside Memo Diaz’s defense and calmly finished to put the visitors up 2-0.
Vegas put the game to bed in the 66th minute with a goal from Valentin Noël.
Afterward, Roots coach Noah Delgado was left wondering how everything went wrong in the second half.
“We’re going to have to look at the film, but some individual mistakes and some collective mistakes. There were chances that we shouldn’t have given up, and some we should have capitalized on,” said Delgado.
Oakland will look to rebound next week when hosting their NorCal neighbors, Monterey Bay FC on April 6th at 7 pm.
