July 6, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Oakland Roots News Release
Oakland Soul battle FC Olympia
(Oakland Roots, Credit: Oakland Soul SC)
Soul erased a one goal deficit in the second half to push their first round playoff game in the East Bay versus FC Olympia to overtime, but it was the visitors who would emerge victorious after the overtime frame, defeating Soul in the Round of 16 of the USL W League playoffs by a final score of 2-1 on Friday night.
Oakland looked dominant in the first half of play, hemming the visitors into their defensive third for much of the opening frame. Despite the attacking pressure from Soul, they were unable to put points on the board, and headed into the locker room at halftime still knotted up at 0-0.
Olympia looked a bit stronger out of the gate in the second half. In the 59th minute, they would strike first when a Soul turnover in the defensive half led to an Olympia advantage two-on-one. As she crossed the line to enter the penalty area, Olympia’s McKenna Martinez took a shot while falling which found an opening to the right side of the goal, finding twine to put her side up 1-0.
Soul wouldn’t have to wait long for an equalizer, however. In the 64th minute Jordan Geis answered when she received a pass on the left wing from teammate Kyah Coady and proceeded to take an unbelievable shot from a tough angle outside the penalty area which beat the Olympia keeper to even the match up at 1-1.
Oakland earned numerous breakaway opportunities during the remainder of the contest, but wouldn’t score again.
In the 95th minute, FC Olympia earned a corner kick which deflected off Soul netminder Layla Armas before bouncing off of Oakland’s Aki Yuasa and into their own goal to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
Soul fought hard for an equalizer, spending much of the remaining time in the opponents defensive area, but the visitors remained steadfast, holding steady until the final whistle to earn a 2-1 victory and advance to the next round of the USL W League playoffs.
Oakland Soul SC vs FC Olympia
USL W League Playoffs | July 5, 2024
Venue: Cal State University, East Bay, Hayward, California
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Weather: 85 degrees, Sunny
SCORELINE:
OAK: 1
OLY: 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
OLY: McKenna Martinez 59′
OAK: Jordan Geis 64′
OLY: Aki Yuasa (OG) 95′
OAKLAND SOUL LINEUP: Layla Armas, Kyah Coady (Ella Colombini), Vickie Jones, Sydney Shepherd (Marissa Garcia), Zoe Franks (Clare Robke), Aki Yuasa (Kennedy Schoennauer), Tatiana…