LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington Sporting Club got back on track Wednesday evening, shutting out the Oakland Roots 2-0 at home. Led by a one-goal, one-assist performance from Phillip Goodrum, the Greens’ victory was their fourth in their last five league matches.
Lexington finished the first half strong, heading into the break with all the momentum. It came out of the locker room to start the second period with the same intensity and was rewarded for its efforts five minutes into the half.
Braudílio Rodrigues forced a turnover in Oakland territory and found Nick Firmino out wide. Firmino fired towards goal just as Phillip Goodrum flashed across the face of goal to get a flick onto the service, accounting for his fourth of the season.
Across all competitions, it was the forward’s sixth to lead his club.
“After the Louisville game, I felt as though I owed it to the club and this fan base to get us on the board and help us earn those three points,” Goodrum told the media after the match.
He played playmaker shortly thereafter, assisting Blaine Ferri to double Lexington’s lead in the 63’ minute.
After winning possession in its own box off a Roots corner, the Greens broke in 4-on-1 fashion down the length of the pitch. Goodrum led the charge, laying it off to Ferri who chipped it over the keeper.
In goal, Oliver Semmle was tested four times and he was up for the task. Two of the German’s stops were simply magnificent as Semmle collected his fifth clean sheet of the campaign.
With the result, Lexington improved to 6W-6L-3D and vaulted from 11th place in the Western Conference to fifth with 15 matches remaining in the season.
GOALS
50’ LEX: Phillip Goodrum (assist: Nick Firmino)
63’ LEX: Blaine Ferri (assist: Phillip Goodrum)
LINEUPS
LEX: Oliver Semmle, Jacob Greene (88’ Joe Hafferty), Kendall Burks, Javain Brown (90+2’ Arturo Ordóñez), Xavier Zengue, Blaine Ferri, Aaron Molloy, Marcus Epps, Nick Firmino, Braudílio Rodrigues (70’ Tarik Scott), Phillip Goodrum (90+3’ Malik Henry-Scott)
OAK: Kendall McIntosh, Jesús de Vicente (80’ Julian Bravo), Neveal Hackshaw, Michael Edwards, Keegan Tingey, Tommy McCabe, Bobosi Byaruhanga, Wolfgang Prentice (64’ Bertin Jacquesson), Florian Valot (88’ Faysal Bettache), Tucker Lepley (64’ Danny Trejo), Peter Wilson (89’ Jackson Kiil)
UP NEXT
It is a quick turnaround for Lexington who will promptly fly to the Sooner State to take on FC Tulsa, last season’s Western Conference champions, on Saturday, July 25. The match is set for an 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
