Author: smallforce

No Bull Quakes fall 5-1 in return to MLS action in New York

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~ Photo credit: AP

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The home side prevailed, five goals the New York Red Bulls’ most in a match this year, with San Jose getting a goal Wednesday in the Quakes most lopsided loss this season 5-1.

Five goals was also the most the Quakes have given up in MLS play this year, with the four goal margin their worst loss as well.

The Red Bulls’ Daniel Royer had two goals, leading all with six shots and teammate Sacha Kljestan had a goal and two assists.

New York Sean Davis’s goal was the only goal in the first half. It came at 38 minutes.

The Red Bulls’ other goals came in two quick pairs. Kljestan and Felipe scored in the 73rd and 75th minutes. After San Jose’s newest Designated Player Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili scored in the 88th minute, Royer was quick to respond with his two goals in the 90th and 91st minutes. It was Qazaishvili’s MLS debut.

Game notes: Tommy Thompson led the Quakes with four shots in 66 minutes. San Jose’s next match is Sunday at 7:30pm versus the Seattle Sounders.

Coach Chris Leitch suffers first loss; Quakes take two goal loss 4-2 to Atlanta

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~ Photo credit: Atlanta United FC Twitter

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The Atlanta United FC scored four goals in the second to overcome an early deficit Tuesday, winning 4-2 over the San Jose Earthquakes.

For a first time matchup, there were plenty of sparks on the Fourth of July. Two red cards and six yellows were issued. Quakes’ Kofi Sarkodie got his second yellow in the 32nd minute, putting San Jose a man down in the first half. Teammate Victor Bernardez got his red card in the 93rd minute.

Tommy Thompson kicked off the scoring with his first career MLS goal in the 2nd minute. He entered the league in 2014. Thompson led the Quakes in the game with four shots and two shots on goal.

The rest of the half consisted of Sarkodie’s first yellow in the 10th minute, a yellow card to Atlanta Anton Walkes in the 15th minute, a yellow card to San Jose goalie David Bingham in the 18th minute, Sarkodie’s red card and yellows to Atlanta’s Carlos Carmona and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez in the 42nd and 45th minutes.

Atlanta dominated possession in the game by a percentage of 67 to 33.

In the 55th and 65th minutes, Carmona and Josef Martinez made it 2-1.

Chris Wondolowski re-tied the game a minute later, with his second goal in as many games.

Anton Walkes and Martinez tacked on two more goals though, in the 81st and 89th minutes. Martinez now has four goals in his last five games. Miguel Almiron assisted on both of his goals.

Game notes: The loss ended a five game unbeaten streak for the Quakes and became a three game win streak for Atlanta. The last time Atlanta gave up two goals was April 8. San Jose will next play in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Galaxy July 10 at 7pm. The Quakes eturn to MLS play July 19 at 4:30pm versus the New York Red Bulls.  

 

 

Quakes down early; Valeri hits back of the net for Timbers as Portland ends winless streak

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~ Photo credit: San Jose Earthquakes

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Diego Valeri scored twice Friday as the Portland Timbers ended their longest winless streak of the season with a 2-0 win over San Jose Friday.

All the Timers really needed was Valeri’s 50th minute goal, as the Quakes became shorthanded in the 37th minute.

Darwin Ceren was ejected after receiving his first yellow in the 36th minute.

Portland took advantage, making no substitutions during the game, outshooting San Jose 22-6 and had double the possession time.

The only Quake to have more than one shot in the game was Tommy Thompson, who produced the team’s only shot on goal.

Valeri scored again in the 94th minute.

It was Portland’s most goals since April 29. They had gone five games without a win, which started when San Jose shut them out 3-0. The Timbers last had a clean sheet March 12.

Game notes: Zarek Valentin had the assist on Valeri’s first goal. San Jose keeper David Bingham was forced to make a season-high six saves. The Quakes, who suffered another two goal loss, are still winless at Portland all time (0-7-3). San Jose next plays Sporting Kansas City June 17th at 6pm.

Quake’s Hyka gets late goal for 1-0 win as Dallas FC unbeaten no more

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~ Photo credit: Stewart F. House Forth-Worth Star Telegram

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The San Jose Earthquake’s Jahmir Hyka scored a late one against FC Dallas again, this time giving them three points in a 1-0 win at Toyota Stadium Saturday.

Marco Urena had the assist as Hyka looped the ball over Matt Hedges and past keeper Jesse Gonzalez on the left, breaking Dallas’ 10-game unbeaten streak.  Last meeting Hyka scored the only goal for San Jose too in stoppage time.

Playing on short rest, the Earthquakes broke other streaks as well. San Jose ended Dallas’ 14-game unbeaten streak in Texas and eight game unbeaten streak head-to-head. It was the Quakes’ second road win in 12 games.

Dallas had the stronger first half.

Hyka thought he had scored in the 76th minute earlier as well, but it was called offsides.

It was San Jose’s David Bingham’s third clean sheet in five games.

Game notes: Dallas outshot the Quakes 16-8 and had 62.3% of the possession. Carter Baum on Twitter said, “FCD had their lowest shots on target percentage of any match this year (3 of 16), while having the most shots blocked this year (6). The Quakes play the LA Galaxy Saturday at 7pm.

Quakes win first on the road

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~ Photo by @MLS

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ San Jose got their first 2017 road win along their first ever matchup against Minnesota United FC Saturday 1-0.

Jungwirth prevented the Loons’ first win streak when he scored in the 54th minute. Jahmir Hyka had the corner kick and Chris Wondolowski passed it to Jungwirth.

It was San Jose’s first goal since April 14. Minnesota had gone 191 minutes without conceding a goal.

@FiftyFiveOne on Twitter’s first and third star went to Jungwirth and Cordell Cato for defense. As detailed by Quakes Epicenter, Jungwirth had 7 clearances – 4 tackles – 5 interceptions and 1 blocked shot.

The Quakes capped their road trip with their first win since March 11, one loss and one tie. They now have a 3-3-3 record.

Cato found the crossbar in the 14th minute for San Jose’s best first half chance.

Minnesota’s first attempt to score came in the 20th minute, but was blocked.

Jungwirth’s goal was preceded by three Quake attempts in the second half, the 49th, 51st and 53rd minute. Jungwirth had a first header attempt in the 49th minute. He also had the first scoring attempt after his goal, his second header in the 59th minute.

The Loons hit the woodwork twice, one before and in the 87th minute. Minnesota had three minutes of stoppage time.

Game notes: Abu Danladi was the only Minnesotan with more than one shot. The Quakes’ Danny Hoesen had a game and season high four shots . Jungwirth had a season high three shots. San Jose next plays the Western Conference leading Portland Timbers Saturday at 7:30pm.

Oakland A’s Thursday game wrap: Angels sweep Oakland in finale 2-1; A’s Graveman goes six but no run support

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~ AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ ANAHEIM– Los Angeles completed a three game sweep over the A’s Thursday to move back to .500 as the Halos in the final game of the series get a 2-1 win.

It was the Angels’ fourth straight win and the A’s fourth straight loss. Oakland has only produced one run in three of their last four games.

Both starting pitchers kept the game close like the first game of the series, but the scoring started early, unlike that game. This game was the only game of the series with no home runs.

Los Angeles’ Ricky Nolasco (2-2) was the winner this time in a rematch of this year’s Opening Day starters. He had a solid performance with help at the end. Nolasco worked 5.2 innings, giving up three hits and one run while walking two and striking out four. He threw 98 pitches.

A’s starter Kendall Graveman (2-1) was also strong, as he pitched six innings, giving up a season-tying six hits, two runs and four strikeouts while making 84 pitches. It was his first loss.

The Angels’ first inning strike would be all they needed. With two outs, Mike Trout doubled, Albert Pujols brought him in with a single and C.J. Cron brought Pujols in with a double to make it 2-0. Trout now has hits in 11 games and Pujols’ RBI put him at 15th overall with Rafael Palmeiro. Cron went 2 for 3 with the RBI.

On Pujols, Manager Mike Scioscia replied, “Albert, he just keeps going, and everytime he does something, it’s fun to watch the Hall of Famers, the immortals, that he’s in the same conversation with.”

Oakland did not get a hit until their sixth batter. Ryon Healy’s ball got past shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

In the fourth inning, the A’s started the scoring the same way as the Angels. With two outs, Jed Lowrie doubled and Khris Davis put Oakland on the board when his hit dropped in front of Kole Calhoun in right field, making it 2-1.

Graveman saved himself from a jam in the fifth using a rare move. With no outs and runners on the corners, Graveman made a double play around third base when he tagged both Ben Revere and then Cliff Pennington, who both got caught in between bases in the fifth inning. Scioscia said, “I don’t know if I’ve seen a pitcher do that. That’s a tremendous effort on his part.”

With two outs in the sixth, Nolasco got a little loose, walking his first two batters. He got Yonder Alonso into an 0-2 count and then later might have escaped earlier, but Pennington misplayed the ball. With the bases then loaded, Scioscia brought in Blake Parker. Fortunately for the Angels, Parker struck out Healy to end the threat. Nolasco had gone 17 innings without walking a batter.

Graveman struck out Trout and Pujols in the bottom of the inning.

In relief, each side saw a batter get on base. For Los Angeles, Yunel Escobar singled against Daniel Coulombe. For the A’s, with one out, Alonso drew a walk. One out later, Stephen Voght pinch hit and ground out to Bud Norris to end the game.

It was Norris’ fourth save in his last four appearances.

Game notes: Oakland will play the Houston Astros in a three-game series starting Friday at 5:10pm. Nolasco struck out a batter in each of the second through fifth innings. Each of the four relievers that followed him also had a strikeout.

 

Stanley Cup Playoffs & San Jose Sharks game #2 wrap: Short handed goals help shutout Sharks 2-0; Series even at 1-1

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~ (Picture from The Mercury News by Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~The Edmonton Oilers scored two shorthanded as San Jose was shutout 2-0 Friday in Game 2. Zack Kassian got his first goal of the playoffs at 42 seconds in the first period short-handed with an assist by Mark Letestu his first of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. At 10:31 in the third period Connor McDavid scored the short-handed goal which was good enough for the evening’s scoring for the Oilers with assists from Darnell Nurse and Cam Talbot.

This was a 2-0 game in which the Sharks would not come back.

Edmonton scored on one third of the San Jose power plays in the game as they tied the series at one apiece. The pandemonious crowd celebrated their first playoff win since 2006.

The Oiler’s Cam Talbot made 16 saves in his first playoff shutout.

The Sharks got on the power play for the second time late in the first period. It went the wrong way when Zack Kassian scored 42 seconds into the second.

In the third, Edmonton outhit San Jose 15-4. Their 4-1 shot advantage became 8-1 after Edmonton emerged from their first power play of the game.

A Sharks’ Brent Burns’ shot hit Oscar Klefbom, who had to leave the game later.

Things went awry again with 21 seconds left in the Sharks’ second power play of the period. Connor McDavid, with Marc-Edouard Vlasic to his right, scored past goalie Martin Jones to make it 2-0.

San Jose had a close opportunity when Talbot was forced to make a save with 2:10 left to go in the game.

Game notes: The Oilers outhit the Sharks 41-21. San Jose outblocked Edmonton 25-16. The Sharks’ Justin Braun had six blocks. Kassian and Adam Larson had six hits apiece. Quotes from San Jose after the game included, “We’ve got to work hard and help each other out,” by Burns and “We’ve got to get back to #SJSharks hockey” by Brenden Dillon. San Jose will look to do just that when they head back to SAP Center, Game 3 on Sunday at 7pm.

Sacramento Kings Wednesday game wrap: Kings can’t keep up drop 115-95 decision as Clippers clinch No. 4 seed

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Sacramento Kings’ Ben McLemore, left, is fouled by Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. The Clippers won 115-95. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES– The Clippers kept their lead at Staples Center this time with a 115-95 win over the Sacramento Kings Wednesday in the NBA’s regular season final night.

With the win, Los Angeles has home court advantage in playoffs and will face the Utah Jazz, who also won. The Clippers ended the regular season with wins in their last seven.

The Kings were at a higher deficit in the fourth quarter, 21 points behind and were not close to shortening it like the last time the two teams met.

However, Los Angeles head coach Dave Joerger pointed out, “What’s validation for it? For Game 82, [the Clippers] had their starting group on the floor with five minutes to go, for whatever reason. But they had to because we pushed them to it. We pushed it to them last week.”

Overall on the season, Joerger said, “[It was a ] terrific season. [I’m] really proud of our guys. They fought and played hard to the end…Guys have really hung in there.”

Sacramento’s Willie Cauley-Stein finished with a game-high 19 points as part of his double-double with 14 rebounds. Los Angeles’ DeAndre Jordan had a double double with 18 points and 17 rebounds, and tied a season-high with four blocks.

The Kings have now lost 19 of the last 23 games versus the Clippers and lost the season series 1-3.

Sacramento had the higher shooting percentage after the first half but Los Angeles got better as the game continued. Quarter by quarter, their lead went from nine to 10 to 14 to 21.

The first quarter’s fourth tie was part of a 12-2 run that gave the Clippers a lead they would not relinquish. Part of it was an 8-0 run with 4:11 left. Within the 12-2 run, the Kings’ Ben McLemore fouled twice, Los Angeles’ J.J. Reddick scored from the line three times and Jordan had three rebounds, including one off Marreese Speight’s missed shot.

In the second, the Clippers’ biggest lead went to 10 points with 2:37 left. Before that, Sacramento twice got to within two points but could not tie up the game.

It was still close at the half, Los Angeles leading 53-47. The Kings shot better at 48.8% but the Clippers had 18 points off three’s compared to six for Sacramento.

Then Los Angeles started pulling away. By the end of the third, they were shooting 50% compared to 49.2% for the Kings. Reddick’s 201st three capped an 11-2 run and was the first time they got a 14 point lead in the quarter. Reddick’s three also set a club record with the most three’s in a season.

Sacramento reached 100 points with 6:21 left in the game and followed that with two buckets to reach their biggest lead of the match for the first time.

After a video tribute to the Clippers’ Paul Pierce, playing in his final regular season game, chants of “We want Paul” erupted from the crowd including Coach Doc Rivers, as Pierce entered the game. Pierce was reluctant to go on the court both times but the Inglewood native commented, “To be able to end it all here in front of family and friends, being back home, it’s special.”

 

 

 

San Jose Earthquakes Saturday game wrap: New York downs Quakes 2-1

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~Photo: New York City Football Club Twitter

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ New York City’s Thomas McNamara made his mark as San Jose’s road woes and New York’s home dominance combined in a 2-1 result Saturday.

In the 67th minute, four minutes after he came off the bench, McNamara made the final kick after a number of players passed en route to the goal, including a pass from David Villa with his back to the net.

On their home turf, New York has posted a 9-0-2 record in 11 games. The Quakes meanwhile are now 1-13-7 on the road.

San Jose’s Victor Bernardez gave them their only card in the 80th minute, but its color was damaging as they went down a man, already down 2-1.

The Quakes had more possession in the second half, but were missing the score.

New York dominated almost all of the first half with 70.5% possession, while San Jose had more shots on target, less fouls and more clearances.

The Quakes’ Chris Wondolowski made the game’s first attempt in the 3rd minute and was nearby when Marco Urena scored his first goal for his club. With no lag from international competition and travel, he got a deflection and scored from a diagonal in the 6th minute.

New York was not far behind. Jack Harrison tied the match in the 10th minute as goalie David Bingham’s initial save deflected into the net.

Harrison got close again, but could not corral the ball from Andrea Pirlo in the 22nd minute.

New York had four corners in a row from the 36th through 38th minutes and San Jose blocked three of their shot attempts in the 40th minute, the first two from Harrison.

In the 74th minute, the Quakes’ Shea Salinas missed and goalie Johnson made his fourth save against Nick Lima. It was the third straight game in which Johnson had to make four saves.

Salinas took the corner kick in the final seconds, but San Jose was unable to capitalize.

Game notes: The Quakes’ Anibal Godoy rested. San Jose next hosts the Seattle Sounders Saturday at 7:30pm.

 

San Jose Sharks Thursday game wrap: Oilers leap frog over Sharks with three straight goal comeback 3-2; SJ’s 8th loss out of 9

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(Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Edmonton used three straight goals to win a tiebreaking game over San Jose Thursday, 3-2.

The Oilers now sit one point behind the Anaheim Ducks, despite the Sharks peppering goalie Cam Talbot with 40 shots. It was the most he faced since January 20.

A second period unsuccessful 2-0 breakaway would loom large for San Jose after the game. It was the fourth straight game Sharks’ opponents strung together three goals as Edmonton won their fourth straight.

Patrick Maroon’s two goals and Connor McDavid shorthanded goal and assist contributed to the Oilers’ three goal stretch. 5-0

San Jose started each period well. It was especially clear when Jannik Hansen made it 1-0 in the first again, but this time at 1:01. The Sharks’ only lead lasted until 10:22.

Then, Edmonton’s comeback started with Talbot who sent the puck up the ice off the boards to Leon Draisaitl, McDavid and then Maroon. The Oilers used a controlled zigzag to maneuver around San Jose.

The tie lasted until the tides took a twisted turn. The Sharks killed off a penalty at 16:26. 10 seconds later, they got a power play. Almost halfway through though, despite Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Patrick Marleau’s sticks, McDavid was unstoppable as he sped straight to the net from the blue line. It was his first career shorthanded goal.

San Jose outshot Edmonton 14-6 in a scoreless second period. The Sharks’ Patrick Marleau’s breakaway shot went wide and the Oilers had a shot hit the goalpost.

Maroon matched McDavid with two points as he stood alone to deflect Kris Russell’s shot. The game winner came at 7:51 of the third.

Down but not out, Pavelski, San Jose’s player best known for his tips, batted in Vlasic’s shot at 13:59. Hansen, with the second assist, completed a Gordie Howe hat trick.

The Sharks had three more shots and three others blocked before the buzzer.

Game notes: San Jose ends March on a back-to-back against the Calgary Flames Friday at 6pm.