# 2019–20 Oakland Roots SC season

The 2019–20 Oakland Roots SC season was the club's first ever and its first in the newly created National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), a newly established third division soccer league in the United States.

## Overview

Oakland Roots announced on June 27, 2019 that the team would apply to join NISA after previously announcing it would take part in the NPSL Members Cup. a tournament put on by the National Premier Soccer League as a precursor to a proposed professional league in 2020. In August, the team was announced into the league along with Detroit City FC and Chattanooga FC. Unlike the other two teams, the Roots were announced as part of the Fall season and took part as members of the West Coast Conference.
On December 11, NISA announced the Oakland, Detroit, Chattanooga, and Michigan Stars FC had all been approved by the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors.
Paul Bravo was announced as the Roots' first head coach on May 9, 2019. On October 31, following the fall season, the club announced they and Bravo had mutually parted ways. Assistant coach Jordan Ferrell was named as interim head coach and later, on December 3, officially named as the new head coach. The team won its first NISA match on March 7, 2020, 2–1, at home against Michigan Stars FC.
The team played two friendly matches against Mexican professional teams early in the season, falling to Liga MX side FC Juárez in early September and beating second division side Club Atlético Zacatepec with both games selling out.
On April 27, 2020, following a stoppage of play and subsequent extension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NISA announced the cancellation of the 2020 Spring season.

## Roster
### Players

    As of April 24, 2020
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
| 1 | GK | Christian Herrera | United States |
| 2 | DF | Daniel Navarro | United States |
| 3 | DF | Wilfred Williams | Liberia |
| 4 | DF | Doueugui Mala | Ivory Coast |
| 5 | DF | Nana Attakora | Canada |
| 06 | FW | Matthew Fondy | United States |
| 8 | MF | Angel Heredia | United States |
| 9 | FW | Jack McInerney | United States |
| 11 | FW | Tristan Bowen | United States |
| 12 | MF | Peter Pearson | United States |
| 13 | DF | Francesco Tiozzo | Italy |
| 15 | MF | Khadim Seye | Senegal |
| 16 | MF | Niall Irwin | Republic of Ireland |
| 17 | MF | David Ochoa | Colombia |
| 19 | FW | Josiah Romero | United States |
| 22 | FW | Alex Garuba | United States |
| 24 | DF | Nikolai Littleton | United States |
| 27 | FW | Julio Cervantes | Mexico |
| 32 | MF | Manny González | Colombia |
| 33 | DF | Robert Hines II | United States |
| 44 | MF | Ariel Mbumba | DR Congo |
| 47 | GK | Taylor Bailey | United States |
| 49 | DF | Tarn Weir | United States |
| 50 | DF | David Abidor | United States |
| 90 | GK | Kevin Gonzalez | United States |
| 91 | MF | Yohannes Harish | Eritrea |
| 98 | MF | Jonathan Orozco | United States |

### Staff

* Jordan Ferrell – Head coach
* Dario Pot – Assistant coach
* Yuta Tanaka – Strength and conditioning coach

## Transfers
### In

| # | Pos. | Player | Signed from | Details | Date |
| 20 | MF | Angel Heredia | FC Tucson | Free transfer | August 21, 2018 |
| 14 | FW | Jesus Maldonado | CD Aguiluchos USA | Free transfer | September 11, 2018 |
| 90 | GK | Kevin Gonzales | CD Aguiluchos USA | Free transfer | September 11, 2018 |
| 24 | MF | Nikolai Littleton | San Francisco City FC | Free transfer | September 12, 2018 |
| 6 | MF | Niall Irwin | Unattached | Free transfer | September 14, 2018 |
| 33 | DF | Robert Hines II | San Francisco City FC | Free transfer | September 14, 2018 |
| 67 | DF | Devante Dubose | Phoenix Rising FC | Free transfer | February 19, 2019 |
| 91 | FW | Yohannes Harish | San Francisco Glens SC | Free transfer | March 18, 2019 |
| 27 | FW | Julio Cervantes | Unattached | Free transfer | March 18, 2019 |
| 10 | FW | Benji Joya | Irapuato F.C. | Free transfer | April 25, 2019 |
| 5 | DF | Víctor Bernárdez | Unattached | Free transfer | June 14, 2019 |
| 23 | DF | Satoshi Chaffin | Seattle Sounders FC U-23 | Free transfer | July 3, 2019 |
| 7 | FW | Dembakwi Yomba | Reno 1868 FC | Free transfer | July 5, 2019 |
| 17 | MF | Octavio Guzmán | CD Aguiluchos USA | Free transfer | July 5, 2019 |
| 1 | GK | Larry Jackson | Fresno FC | Free transfer | July 15, 2019 |
| 19 | DF | Ricardo Guerra | Unattached | Free transfer | July 19, 2019 |
| 21 | MF | Ryan Masch | Unattached | Free transfer | July 19, 2019 |
| 28 | DF | Eric Gonzalez | Las Vegas Lights FC | Free transfer | July 19, 2019 |
| 9 | FW | Jack McInerney | Indy Eleven | Free transfer | July 24, 2019 |
| 13 | DF | Chris Christian | San Antonio FC | Free transfer | August 16, 2019 |
| 4 | DF | Nadeer Ghantous | Cal Poly Pomona Broncos | Free transfer | August 17, 2019 |
| 2 | DF | David Chavez | Unattached | Free transfer | — |
| 7 | FW | Salifu Jatta | Corpus Christi FC | Free transfer | — |
| 11 | FW | Dylan Autran | Asker Fotball | Free transfer | — |
| 15 | MF | Khadim Seye | ASC San Diego | Free transfer | — |
| 44 | MF | Ariel Mbumba | Unattached | Free transfer | — |
| 11 | FW | Tristan Bowen | Unattached | Free transfer | January 8, 2020 |
| 06 | FW | Matthew Fondy | The Olympic Club | Free transfer | January 10, 2020 |
| 12 | MF | Peter Pearson | Tormenta FC | Free transfer | January 28, 2020 |
| 22 | MF | Alex Garuba | Des Moines Menace | Free transfer | January 28, 2020 |
| 17 | MF | David Ochoa | Miami United FC | Free transfer | January 30, 2020 |
| 32 | MF | Manny González | Tulsa Roughnecks | Free transfer | January 30, 2020 |
| 98 | MF | Jonathan Orozco | San Francisco State Gators | Free transfer | February 3, 2020 |
| 5 | DF | Nana Attakora | Ottawa Fury FC | Free transfer | February 5, 2020 |
| 1 | GK | Christian Herrera | Orlando City B | Free transfer | February 7, 2020 |
| 2 | DF | Daniel Navarro | El Paso Locomotive FC | Free transfer | February 7, 2020 |
| 3 | DF | Wilfred Williams | Orlando City B | Free transfer | February 7, 2020 |
| 19 | FW | Josiah Romero | Holy Names Hawks | Free transfer | February 11, 2020 |
| 4 | DF | Doueugui Mala | Phoenix Rising FC | Free transfer | February 13, 2020 |
| 13 | DF | Francesco Tiozzo | Portland Pilots | Free transfer | February 13, 2020 |
| 50 | DF | David Abidor | Hapoel Bnei Lod F.C. | Free transfer | February 13, 2020 |
| 47 | GK | Taylor Bailey | CCSF Rams | Free transfer | February 14, 2020 |
| 7 | FW | Darwin Espinal | New York Cosmos | Loan for NISA Spring Season | February 18, 2020 |
| 49 | DF | Tarn Weir | Panthiraikos F.C. | Free transfer | April 24, 2020 |

### Out

| # | Pos. | Player | Signed to | Details | Date |
| 67 | DF | Devante Dubose | Richmond Kickers | Free transfer | December 12, 2019 |
| 1 | GK | Larry Jackson | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 2 | DF | David Chavez | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 4 | DF | Nadeer Ghantous | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 5 | DF | Víctor Bernárdez | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 7 | FW | Dembakwi Yomba | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 8 | MF | Andres Jimenez | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 11 | FW | Dylan Autran | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 13 | DF | Chris Christian | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 17 | MF | Octavio Guzmán | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 21 | MF | Ryan Masch | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 25 | GK | Jairo Zermeno | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 28 | DF | Eric Gonzalez | Unattached | Not retained | December 17, 2019 |
| 7 | FW | Salifu Jatta | Unattached | Released | — |
| 14 | FW | Jesus Maldonado | Unattached | Released | — |
| 19 | DF | Ricardo Guerra | Unattached | Released | — |
| 23 | DF | Satoshi Chaffin | Unattached | Released | — |
| 7 | FW | Darwin Espinal | New York Cosmos | Loan Terminated | March 5, 2020 |
| 10 | MF | Benji Joya | Unattached | Released | April 16, 2020 |

## Competitions
### NISA Fall season (Showcase)
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Los Angeles Force | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 11 | West Coast Championship |
| 2 | California United Strikers FC (O) | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 9 | West Coast Championship |
| 3 | San Diego 1904 FC | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 15 | −6 | 6 | |
| 4 | Oakland Roots SC | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 3 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 26 October 2019. Source: Match reports

#### Matches
### NISA Spring Season

Details for the 2020 NISA Spring season were announced January 27, 2020.

#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Oakland Roots SC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | Playoffs |
| 2 | California United Strikers FC (Q) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Playoffs |
| 3 | Detroit City FC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 | Playoffs |
| 4 | Stumptown Athletic | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | Playoffs |
| 5 | San Diego 1904 FC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 6 | Chattanooga FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Los Angeles Force | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | |
| 8 | Michigan Stars FC | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 7 March 2020. Source: Match reports

#### Matches
### U.S. Open Cup

Oakland will enter the 2020 U.S. Open Cup with the rest of the National Independent Soccer Association teams in the Second Round. It was announced on 29 January that their first opponent would be USL Championship side Sacramento Republic FC.

## Squad statistics

    As of Match played 7 March 2020

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Fall Season | Fall Season | Spring Season | Spring Season |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | GK | USA | Christian Herrera | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | GK | USA | Taylor Bailey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 90 | GK | USA | Kevin Gonzalez | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | DF | USA | Daniel Navarro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | LBR | Wilfred Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | CIV | Doueugui Mala | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | CAN | Nana Attakora | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | ITA | Francesco Tiozzo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | USA | Nikolai Littleton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | USA | Robert Hines II | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 50 | DF | USA | David Abidor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 8 | MF | USA | Angel Heredia | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | USA | Peter Pearson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | SEN | Khadim Seye | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | IRL | Niall Irwin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | COL | David Ochoa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | COL | Manny González | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | COD | Ariel Mbumba | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 91 | MF | ERI | Yohannes Harish | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 98 | MF | USA | Jonathan Orozco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 06 | FW | USA | Matthew Fondy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | USA | Jack McInerney | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 | FW | USA | Tristan Bowen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | USA | Josiah Romero | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | USA | Alex Garuba | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 27 | FW | MEX | Julio Cervantes | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Left during season ||||||||||
| 1 | GK | USA | Larry Jackson | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - |
| 2 | DF | USA | David Chavez | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | - |
| 4 | DF | ISR | Nadeer Ghantous | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - |
| 5 | DF | HON | Víctor Bernárdez | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - |
| 7 | FW | HON | Darwin Espinal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | GAM | Salifu Jatta | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - |
| 7 | FW | SLE | Dembakwi Yomba | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | - |
| 8 | MF | USA | Andres Jimenez | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - |
| 10 | MF | USA | Benji Joya | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | USA | Dylan Autran | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - |
| 13 | DF | USA | Chris Christian | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - |
| 14 | FW | MEX | Jesus Maldonado | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 17 | MF | MEX | Octavio Guzmán | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - |
| 19 | DF | MEX | Ricardo Guerra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 21 | MF | USA | Ryan Masch | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | - | - |
| 23 | DF | JPN | Satoshi Chaffin | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | - | - |
| 25 | GK | USA | Jairo Zermeno | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - |
| 28 | DF | USA | Eric Gonzalez | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - |
| 67 | FW | USA | Devante Dubose | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - |

### Goal scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Fall Season | Spring Season | Total |
| 1 | FW | 9 | Jack McInerney | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | MF | 21 | Ryan Masch | 3 | - | 3 |
| 3 | FW | 22 | Alex Garuba | - | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | 23 | Satoshi Chaffin | 1 | - | 1 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Fall Season | Fall Season | Spring Season | Spring Season | Total | Total |
| 4 | DF | Nadeer Ghantous | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Nana Attakora | - | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Angel Heredia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Andres Jimenez | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Jack McInerney | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Benji Joya | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Dylan Autran | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Chris Christian | 0 | 1 | - | - | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | Khadim Seye | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Octavio Guzmán | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Ryan Masch | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Nikolai Littleton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Eric Gonzalez | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | Robert Hines II | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 91 | MF | Yohannes Harish | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |