Wolfgang Prentice sparks Oakland Roots to thrilling road win in Phoenix

Wolfgang Prentice changed the game after coming off the bench, delivering two assists in Oakland Roots SC’s 4-3 road win over Phoenix Rising FC on June 21, a second-half shootout in which all seven goals arrived after the break. Peter Wilson finished with two goals and one assist, Danny Trejo and Florian Valot also scored, and Prentice’s touches directly fed Valot’s header and Wilson’s second goal.

The result was Oakland’s first against Phoenix since September 11, 2022 and snapped Phoenix’s seven-game undefeated run in the series. It also ended Oakland’s four-game league winless stretch, a timely lift for a club trying to stay alive in both the USL Championship table and the cup chase. In a game that could have tilted either way, Oakland’s attack repeatedly found clean combinations in transition, with Prentice acting as the connector rather than the finisher.

That role has become central to Oakland’s season. Prentice led the USL Championship with six assists at the time of the feature, and Oakland’s 24 league goals placed it among the better attacking sides in the competition. His influence has not been limited to one position or one look: in April he was named USL Championship Player of the Month after producing two goals and two assists in three league appearances, averaging a goal contribution every 63.8 minutes. In one match that month, he started at left back and still created two goals.

The Roots have also seen this kind of production from Prentice in Phoenix before. In Oakland’s 2-2 draw there on March 21, he recorded a goal and an assist as the Roots led 2-0 at halftime before giving up late pressure. That earlier showing and the June comeback both point to the same pattern: when Oakland gets Prentice involved early and often, the Roots’ attack gains another layer of movement and chance creation.

For coach Ryan Martin, that matters beyond one night in Arizona. Prentice’s rise, along with Wilson’s finishing and the support from Trejo and Valot, gives Oakland a more dangerous front end at a point in the season when every Western Conference result carries extra weight. The Roots left Phoenix with a win that was as much about the shape of their attack as the final score.