When it looked as if Roots’ defense was improving as the season progressed, the squad allowed another crooked number in an 0-3 loss to visiting Rhode Island FC on Saturday at the Coliseum. Oakland remains winless in 2025, sitting at 0-1-4 on the season. Having closed out their opening homestand, Roots will now head back on the road for a fixture versus FC Tulsa on Saturday, April 12th — before then, we reflect on Oakland’s loss to Rhode Island.
Damm Gets the Start
A splash signing in the offseason coming from Liga MX’s Atlético San Luis, Jürgen Damm’s quickness and ball-handling abilities are key attributes to building the kind of attack that head coach Gavin Glinton says he wants his squad to embody. Damm’s inclusion into the starting eleven on Saturday indicates that the rust has fully shaken loose, and he is ready to go at full-speed.
Self-Inflicted Wounds
At times it looks as if Roots can be their own worst enemy. Oakland has played some very sound defense in 2025, but this majority has been vastly overshadowed by untimely and critical errors that have often led to goals allowed. Coach Glinton addressed these blunders following the match, and said that the squad has played too casually in big moments.
“There’s no sugar coating this — this is an unacceptable lack of responsibility,” Glinton said. “For some reason, we don’t want to do the simple things that lead to success, and we didn’t do them today, for sure.”
Whole Squad Ready
Bobosi Byaruhanga made his debut for Roots on Saturday, and with that the entire group of new offseason additions have been cleared and are ready to play. It’s hard to build team chemistry when you are missing crucial pieces of your envisioned puzzle. With the squad finally at full strength the team can truly start working towards a unified vision.
