
Saturday, August 10 – 10:00 PM ET | Pioneer Stadium
Hayward, CA- Loudoun United suffered a 3-1 road loss to Oakland Roots.
Oakland opened up the scoring in the 24th minute following a Loudoun giveaway in the midfield. Johnny Rodriguez picked up the ball from 30 yards out and drove towards the box. Slipping a pass in between the defense, Rodriguez connected with Gage Margvelashvili who received the ball inside the box on right. Margvelashvili then played a ball across the face of goal, beating the onrushing Hugo Fauroux and finding Baboucarr Njie at the back post to put the Roots on the scoresheet.
Baboucarr Njie finishes at the 🔙 post, and @oaklandrootssc strikes first! 💥 pic.twitter.com/EVK3GoSFYp
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) August 11, 2024
Loudoun’s best chance of the half came in the 37th minute following a Florian Valot shot from just outside the box. Dipping and swerving, Valot’s shot caused Timothy Syrel to spill the ball on his save, dropping at the feet of Keegan Tingey whose first touch caused a deflection off the Root’s defender. Zach Ryan found himself with the ball at his feet, however, his attempted shot went high and over the goal.
Second half substitute Kalil ElMedkhar came close to equalizing in the 50th minute. ElMedkhar received a ball from Valot on the edge of the box and took aim at goal, sending a curling shot inches wide of the back post.
Just minutes later, ElMedkhar found the equalizer. Tingey took a throw-in from the right wing, finding the feet of Valot. Connecting with the ball on a first-time cross, Valot’s lifted pass found the head of ElMedkhar whose powerful header from 10 yards out beat a diving Syrel, and found the bottom right side of the net.
Rodriguez secured a go ahead goal in the 62nd minute for Oakland. Guillermo Diaz lifted the ball over the Loudoun defense and found Rodriguez in stride. Driving inside the box, Rodriguez took one touch off his chest and finished the chance past Fauroux who was caught slightly off his line.
Johnny Rodriguez doing super hero things! 🚀
— Oakland Roots (@oaklandrootssc) August 11, 2024
Assist by the one and only, Memo Diaz.
2-1 | #OAKvLDN | #KnowYourRoots pic.twitter.com/hvry015zQQ
In the 81st minute, Oakland added a third and extend its lead via Trayvone Reid. Reid found himself with the ball at his feet and dribbled into the box. Starting on the left wing, Reid cut inside, beat the Loudoun defender and found the net with a curling shot to the back post, leaving Fauroux with no chance.
Trayvone Reid gives @oaklandrootssc a little more breathing room! 🤏 pic.twitter.com/x7OxIFHNWH
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) August 11, 2024
Post Match Conversations
Ryan Martin on conceding three goals:
“We didn’t take our chances quite well, where they [Oakland] did, and they did a great job with it. When you give teams goals and leads on the road, it’s very hard in this league to comeback and get points.”
Ryan Martin on moving forward after a loss:
“Our focus is on ‘can we clean up some of our errors’ and ‘can we push ourselves forward’. So we’ll look at the tape and continue to grow and continue to build. That’s what the beauty of the season is.”
Quick Notes
- Robby Dambrot and Kalil ElMedkhar were awarded Team of the Week Honors for Week 22, with ElMedkhar landing the Player of the Week award.
- Loudoun United announced the signing of 19-year-old Abdellatif Aboukoura on Thursday. The Egyptian currently holds the most goals for any player under 20 years old in the USL Championship.
- The Red-and-White remain on the road, facing off against Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, August 17 at 7:30pm E.T.
