The Seattle Sounders were an offense machine in the second half of their game against the San Jose Earthquakes scoring four times to defeat San Jose at Century Link Field in Seattle on the final day of the regular season Sun Nov 8, 2020 (photo from soundersfc.com)

by Marko Ukalovic

SEATTLE, Wash.-In a match that did not have playoff implications, the Seattle Sounders scored four goals in the second half to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 4-1 in the regular season finale on Sunday afternoon at Century Link Field.

The “Decision Day” match was more about playoff positioning as both teams had already punched their ticket to the Audi 2020 MLS Playoffs.

San Jose was without Jackson Yueill, Andy Rios and Carlos Fierro due to a combination of yellow card accumilation and injury. Shae Salinas , Luis Felipe and Cade Cowell started in place for head coach Matias Almeyda.

The first half featured both teams going through the motions with sloppy play as neither team played aggressive and waited for counter attacks to happen on a cold, windy day. Only three total shots were attempted in the first 45 minutes.

Seattle forward Jordan Morris had the best chance to score when his initial shot and rebound attempt were both saved by Quakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski in the 38th minute.

The Sounders (11-5-6 1.77) broke through in 52nd minute. Nicolás Lodeiro came rushing into the middle off of his own free kick where he collected the ball and fired a shot past Marcinkowski into lower left corner form eight yards out for his seventh goal of the season.

Seattle doubled its leads two minutes later. Cristian Roldan set up Raúl Ruidíaz, whose shot went off the leg of Marinkowski into the back of the net for his team leading 12th goal of the season.

“We always try to prepare to compete and win. I think discounting the goals, the game was good. If we had taken advantage of our chances in the first half as they did, this would have been a different match. The difference is that they capitalized on their chances and we did not. Nonetheless, it makes me happy to see Cade Cowell be able to play 90 minutes, as well as seeing the other youngsters come on. It was a good game and we still came here to compete,” Almeyda said.

San Jose (8-9-6 1.30) cut the lead in the half in the 57th minute. After Cristian Espinoza won a free kick on the outside of the box, Marcos López bent one in like Beckham with a left footed shot from the right wing that fooled Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei for his second goal of the season.

Seattle received an insurance goal in the 74th minute when Lodeiro, after a turnover by Florian Jungwirth, returned the favor and set up Morris whose chip shot over an incoming Marcinkowski gave him his 10th goal of the season.

The Sounders iced the game six minutes later when Morris’ centering attempt deflected off López into the back of the net for an own goal to close out the scoring.

Frei finished the match with two saves to earn the victory. Marcinkowski also made two saves in the losing effort.

The Quakes now await the date and time of its first round match with Sporting Kansas City, who finished atop of the Western Conference.

“I think this team has shown a lot of character,” said Tommy Thompson on the team’s ability to bounce back after a tough loss. “We’ve gone through great moments this year. We’ve gone through extremely difficult moments as well, but there’s a belief in this group that whoever is on the field can get the job done. We’re going to learn from our mistakes today. Seattle is a great team, and they made us pay. We’ve got to make sure that we’re going to be as sharp as we can against Kansas City, and this game is a good reminder that against the top teams in this league, you can’t take your foot off the gas pedal for one minute. It’s a tough way to end the season, but we’ve accomplished a lot. We’re definitely going to have a short memory going into Kansas City. We’ll be full of confidence and ready to go in a couple weeks.”

GAME NOTES: Both teams each had four corner kicks.

Reno 1868 FC, the USL Championship affiliate of the San Jose Earthquakes, this past Friday announced it would cease operations following the 2020 season.

“We would like to thank everyone at Reno 1868 FC for their hard work and commitment to success over the past four seasons,” said Earthquakes general manager Jesse Fioranelli. “Whether it be developing future First Team players or giving our current First Team players valuable minutes on loan, Reno has greatly impacted and proudly represented the Earthquakes organization. We are currently in the process of reevaluating our player development pathway.”

Reno was awarded a USL franchise in 2015 set to begin play in 2017. Through four seasons, Reno recorded a record of 62-26-28 and earned a playoff berth in all four campaigns under head coach Ian Russell, who was named the USL Championship Co-Coach of the Year.

The Earthquakes held a 6-3-1 record over their last 10 matches, tied for the best record in the Western Conference during that span, while keeping four shutouts.

Homegrown defender Nick Lima made his 100th MLS appearance, starting and playing 90 minutes. He became the second Homegrown Player in Quakes history to reach 100 regular season appearances, following Tommy Thompson.