September 27, 2020: Oakland Roots vs Michigan Stars

September 27, 2020
2020 NISA Fall Tournament Group Stage, Game Nine
Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI

Oakland Roots 1, Michigan Stars 0
Roots Seo In Kim (Manuel Gonzalez) 4′

Yellow Cards:
David Abidor (Roots) 59′
Tatenda Mkuruva (Stars) 90+’

A win for either team would put them in the playoffs, with the loser having to wait for the result of the Detroit City FC vs New Amsterdam FC match later in the evening.

Ten of the starting eleven for the Stars had started the previous match, including Alexander Satrustegui, who received a red card for two yellow cards he received in the previous match against New Amsterdam FC.  The rumor was one of the yellow cards was rescinded.  Replacing Brian Vang was Sebastein Des Pres.

STARTING XI
Michigan Stars
Tatenda Mkuruva – Keeper
Gonnie Ben-Tal – Defender
Joseph Aidoo – Defender
Tomas Bernedo – Defender
Andres Chalbaud – Defender
Sebastien Des Pres – Defender
James Abraham – Defender
Devon Amoo-Mensah – Defender
Steven Juncaj – Midfielder
Kyle Nuel – Forward
Alexander Satrustegui – Forward

For Oakland, it was a six-player change from the starting eleven that lost to  Detroit City FC.  Daniel Navarro, Niall Irwin, Manny Gonzalez, Seo In Kim, Yohannes Harish, and Johnny Rodriguez started in place of Nana Attakora, Robert Hines, Angel Heredia, Peter Pearson, Matt Fondy, and Jack McInerney.

STARTING XI
Oakland Roots
Christian Herrera – Keeper
David Navarro – Defender
Tarn Weir – Defender
David Abidor – Defender
Niall Irwin – Midfielder
Diego Casillas – Midfielder
Manuel Gonzalez – Midfielder
Ariel Mbumba – Midfielder
Seo In Kim – Midfielder
Yohannes Harish – Midfielder
Johnny Rodriguez – Forward

In the 4th minute, Manny Gonzalez delivered a corner into the box.  Seo In Kim rushed toward goal and back-heeled it past Tatenda Mkuruva, for this first and only goal of the match.

The message on the South Korean goal scorer’s jersey is the Gandhi quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Chances were had by both teams, though it seemed Oakland had the more dangerous attacks.  In the second half, substitutions were entered by both teams.  Oakland added Matt Fondy (for Seo In Kim) in the 55th minute and Michigan swapped out Sebastien Des Pres for Tekodah Lobsiger in the 56th.  In the 65th minute, Cameron Schneider entered the match in place of Alexander Satrustegui for Michigan, and a minute later, Oakland replaced Johnny Rodriguez with Jack McInerney.  Oakland made three more subs within a minute of each other when Angel Heredia replaced Ariel Mbumba in the 72nd minute, and a double swap of Nelson Blanco and Peter Pearson for Yohannes Harish and Niall Irwin in the 73rd.  The Stars made a double substitution in the 79th minute, bringing in Patrick Sullivan and James Pipe for Tomas Bernedo and Andres Chalbaud.  But nothing disturbed the early goal by Seo In Kim, and Oakland won the match.

This gave the Oakland Roots 6 points and a +3 goal differential.  The Michigan Stars remained at 4 points, with a +1 goal differential.  A Detroit City FC win or a New Amsterdam FC win by 5 goals would eliminate the Stars from the competition.

The complete tournament can be found HERE.