Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

By: London Marq

The San Jose Earthquakes took a trip to the Great White North and were welcomed by the eighth-seeded Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place on Saturday night. It would prove to be physically challenging match for San Jose as they drew 22 fouls from Vancouver.

The opening score came from WhiteCaps midfielder Alphonso Davies at the 22nd minute. The Quakes remained off-balance, despite controlling the possession for the majority of the game, as well as passing with 82% accuracy for the match.

San Jose found themselves in themselves in the scoring third often enough, with 11 shots taken. However, as it has been all season, opportunities continue to slip through the Quakes’ fingers. Only 2 of 11 shots required goalie intervention.

The WhiteCaps found more success, and founds that they could work the opposing keeper more often, with 5 of 16 shots on target. In the 78th minute, Vancouver’s Nicolas Mezquida effectively shut the door on the Quakes’ hopes of winning the match, when he scored to make it a 2-0 game.

These two teams played a full 90 minutes of soccer plus three minutes of stoppage time. Vako helped the Quakes avoid getting shutout by the WhiteCaps by scoring his ninth goal of the season at the 90th minute.

The WhiteCaps defeated the Quakes 2-1.

Since it’s late in the season and with a negative cellar-dweller image in place, San Jose needs to reevaluate for the team’s future. If they can’t find a way to build a more consistent team with better chemistry, they will be bottom feeders again next year.

The Quakes return home to Avaya Stadium, where they’ll host Sporting KC on Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 pm PDT.