Category: MLS

The San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski jumps for joy after scoring one of his two goals against Real Salt Lake at Earthquakes Stadium in San Jose on Wed Oct 28, 2020 (@SJEarthquakes photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif.- San Jose Earthquakes captain Chris Wondolowski continues to rewrite the record books in the MLS.

His two goals provided all the offense the Quakes would need in a huge 2-0 shutout victory over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday evening at Earthquakes Stadium.

The win propelled San Jose up to the 7th seed in the Western Conference playoff race with 27 points, three ahead of 8th place Vancouver, with only two matches remaining in the regular season. Real Salt Lake has gone scoreless in back-to-back games and are currently on the outside looking in at 9th place with 22 points.

“Tonight, it was the first of many playoff-esque games,” said Wondo shortly after the match. “We had that mentality coming in (to the game). It wasn’t going to be the prettiest (match) but knew it was going to be full of energy. To grind out a 2-0 victory was beautiful.”

San Jose (7-8-6) were rejoined by Marco Lopez, who was inserted into the starting 11, Vako and Guram Kashia as they returned back from international playing duty.

The Quakes controlled possession in the first half establishing their game and had Real Salt Lake (5-8-7) defending its half of the pitch for most of the first 45 minutes.

For the second game in a row, San Jose scored early in the first half. Carlos Fierro led an attack down the left side of the pitch. His cross landed on the foot of Cristan Espinoza, who fired a left-footed shot that deflected off the hand of Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Andrew Putna and in turn bounced off the left post. Wondolowski cleaned up the rebound all alone from five yards out, tapping home the ball into an empty net for his fifth goal of the season and increased his MLS record goal mark to 164.

Wondo almost had his brace 12 minutes later when he was on the receiving end of a cross by Nick Lima. His one-timer from point-blank range was stoned away by Putna who used his whole body to keep the ball out of the net.

Real Salt Lake had a chance to even the game just before halftime in the 41st minute. A corner kick sailed right on to a crashing Marcelo Silva, whose header beat Quakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski but not the left post. Marcinkowski pounced on the loose ball ending the RSL threat.

Real Salt Lake refocused in the second half and controlled possession for much of the half in its attempt to get the eqaulizer. However, the backline from San Jose consistently collasped into the middle and cleared away any crossing attempt mustered by Real Salt Lake.

San Jose played exceptional to keep Real Salt Lake’s leading goal scorer Damir Kreilach from getting any quality scoring chances. The Croatian forward came into the match leading his team in goals with eight, but was left frustrated as he was closely marked by San Jose’s defense throughout the match.

“I think we played the game well. I take away the lesson that we learned last game and also the desire and effort from each one of the players. We have recovered our system of play for a while now. We have recovered the intensity. But It’s up to the players to play each game intelligently, differently, and they have been doing that very well,” Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda said.

The Quakes received an insurance goal to put the game away in the 74th minute. Shea Salinas, who came on as a substitute for Fierro in the 70th minute, attacked from the right side and sent in a cross that found a wide open Wondolowski who deposited the ball past Putna for his second goal of the match.

Wondo’s team leading sixth goal of the season and 165th of his career gave him his 24th multi-goal game of his career, which ranks second all-time in MLS history. The assist for Salinas gave him 47th for his Quakes career, tying him with Ronald Cerritos for the most asssits in team history.

The closest Real Salt Lake came to getting on the scoreboard was in the 80th minute when Andy Rios conceded a free kick to RLS just outside the box. Albert Rusnák’s attempted shot was blocked and cleared by San Jose.

Marcinkowski didn’t register a save in earning his fourth shutout of the season. Putna made three saves on five shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had five corner kicks to only one for Real Salt Lake.

Wondo’s first goal was also his MLS record 45th game-winning goal.

San Jose now leads the all time series 12-11-11. They are now 5-1-1 in seven matches against Real Salt Lake at Earthquakes Stadium.

San Jose held RSL without a shot on target for just the second time since Aug. 2017.

Real Salt Lakes road woes continued as they are 1-4-3 away from Rio Tinto Stadium.

UP NEXT: The Quakes host LAFC in its home season finale on Sunday 11/01 at 7:30pm at Earthquakes Stadium.

The Vancouver Whitecaps make it up field on the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night at Providence Park in Portland in their one goal win over the Earthquakes 2-1 (@ WhitecapsFC photo)

Marko Ukalovic

PORTLAND, Ore.-The Vancouver Whitecaps scored two goals in a six-minute span early in the second half en route to a much needed 2-1 comeback victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on a chilly Saturday evening at Providence Park.

Vancouver’s win snapped a four-game losing streak to San Jose. The Whitecaps have won three out of its last four games and have tied San Jose for seventh place in the Western Conference with 24 points. The Quakes are 4-2-1 in their last seven matches with three matches left in the regular season.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Canada still has its border closed and therefore Vancouver has needed Providence Park to play its matches, including it’s final four where there will be the home team in three of them.

San Jose (6-8-6) controlled play in the first half as they won the possession battle 62%-38%. Cristian Espinoza had a quality chance to put the Quakes on the board in the 18th minute when Chris Wondolowski set him up with a back pass just outside the box but Espinoza fired high and wide of the net.

The Quakes scored the match’s first goal in the 24th minute. Espinoza started a counter attack near the end line at midfield. He raced down the right side centering the ball right into the middle where an open Carlos Fierro one-timed a right footed shot into the lower right corner of the net beating Whitecaps goalkeeper Evan Bush for his second goal of the season.

The Fierro/Espinoza combo has become a deadly weapon for head coach Matias Almeyda. Espinoza recorded his team leading eighth assist (fourth overall in MLS) on Fierro’s goal. The goal was a rarity for San Jose as that was just its seventh first half goal of the season, compared to the 22 they have scored in the second half.

Vancouver (8-12-0) made its comeback early in the second half. Left back Ali Adnan rifled in a free kick from 30 yards out into the upper left corner of the net that Quakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski had no chance at in the 51st minute. It was Adnan’s second goal of the season.

Then just six minutes later, a defensive breakdown by San Jose led to an odd-man rush inside the box where Cristian Dájome’s shot from the left side deflected off the hand of Marcinkowski over to Tosaint Ricketts. The Canadian midfielder made a point-blank finish into an empty net for his second goal of the season.

“Vancouver came out and wanted to press us down the middle, and we played right into the teeth of it,” said Wondolowski on the Whitecaps second half success. “Also, we just weren’t able to connect passes. I think once we did connect a pass, we didn’t move after and give us an option. When we do that, we become stagnant. We lose a lot of possession and a lot of passes that we shouldn’t. That usually feeds into another team’s counterattack. They punished us twice and rightfully so. Then we’re playing catchup. I thought we combined well after that. We just couldn’t hit that final pass.”

The two quick goals by Vancouver shell-shocked San Jose as they were never able to recover the rest of the second half. Their passing was sloppy and rushed which resulted in turnovers. Even with substitutions made at the 71st and 72nd minutes, they could not regain the momentum they had established in the first half.

“I think we had a great first half in which we had the lead. We were interpreting how to play the game. But then we went back to making the same mistakes that were made previously. In five minutes, there was a lack of concentration that the opponent took advantage of. Once the opponent took the lead, I think the momentum in the match shifted. We were not able to find that final pass to create those chances that would give us the tie or win,” Almeyda said.

Despite having a few chances in the final five minutes of the match, San Jose was not able to score the equalizer and were left to contemplate the disappointing result.

Bush only needed to make one save for the victory. Marcinkowski finished with two saves on the evening in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: Both teams had six corner kicks during the match.

Vancouver leads the overall series 9-8-9.

San Jose had its shutout streak snapped at 234 minutes (over 2.5 matches), plus stoppage time.

UP NEXT: The Quakes return home to host Real Salt Lake on Wednesday 10/28 at 7:30pm at Earthquakes Stadium.

The San Jose Earthquakes face Vancouver Whitecaps for this Sat Oct 24th’s game at Providence Park in Portland neutral site game (@SJEarthquakes image)

On the Quakes podcast with Marko:

#1 The Quakes (6-6-7) are in seventh place heading to Portland to play a neutral site game against the Vancouver Whitecaps (7-0-12) the Quakes have gone undefeated in four of their last five games how crucial of a game is this one to keep their playoff hope going?

#2 In their last game last Sunday they battled the Seattle Sounders (9-4-4) tooth and nail to get a nil-nil draw and the Sounders are not a very easy task to accomplish that task.

#3 The tie gives San Jose 24 points on the season as they hold on to the seventh spot in the Western Conference and have earned a point in five of its last six matches

#4 Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda said that after all the loses the team had suffered before going undefeated in four of their last five it took hard work and having to admit the team was doing bad and gaining their confidence back it certainly started with that shocking win against LAFC (7-4-7) back on Sep 27th.

#5 Neutral site game on Saturday night at Providence Park in Portland against the Vancouver Whitecaps the Whitecaps have won two of their last three games including a game against LAFC. The Quakes shutout the Caps 3-0 last time they met Wed Oct 14th at Earthquakes Stadium. Marko set this match up for us.

Marko does the Earthquakes podcasts each Friday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

The San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski (8) goes for the header against the Seattle Sounders Alex Roldan (16) in the first half of Sun Oct 18, 2020 at Earthquakes Stadium San Jose (AP News photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif.- The confidence is continuing to grow for the San Jose Earthquakes pursuit of a playoff berth in the Western Conference. They battled to a hard fought scoreless draw with the Seattle Sounders on Sunday evening at Earthquakes Stadium.

The tie gives San Jose 24 points on the season as they hold on to the seventh spot in the Western Confernce and have earned a point in five of its last six matches (4-1-1). The tie also allowed Seattle to remain even with the Portland Timbers atop the conference with 31 points.

“I think that the players have regained their confidence and we have worked hard to be able to compete again. It wasn’t easy to get back up after so many losses and conceding so many goals. We insisted, based on our path, to recognize that when the team is doing bad, they suffer, but when they are united and play as a team, they compete. I think we now see a team that works hard, where everyone runs and everyone plays. The players now play with a confidence that they didn’t have a month ago. I hope they can keep this momentum, stay calm, and strive for more,” Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda said.

Seattle (9-4-4) were without superstar forward Raul Ruidiaz, who remained in quarantine in Peru following his positive COVID-19 test while on international duty with the Peruvian national team. 

The first half featured a wide open, up-style tempo as both teams exchanged scoring chances back and forth during the opening 45 minutes.

Nicolás Lodeiro tried giving Seattle an early lead in the sixth minute when he fired in a shot on net, only to have Quakes goalkeeper J.T, Marcinkowski make a two-handed save.

San Jose (6-7-6) had their best look of the first half in the 42nd minute, as Chris Wondolowski got on the end of a free kick from Cristian Espinoza and headed a shot that looked bound for goal, only to see it cleared off the line by Seattle’s Will Bruin to keep the contest scoreless.

The Quakes just missed a go-ahead goal in the 64th minute, when a shot from Carlos Fierro looked headed for the bottom corner of the goal. Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei was up to the task, however, laying out to make the save.

“The team is here to fight. We have to carry this team as high as we can. We are obviously aiming for playoffs; we are either in or out. The team, day after day, game after game, we know what we want and are getting closer to that. We are aiming for a trophy, but first our focus is playoffs. Tonight, we competed against a first-place team; a team that once defeated us by a lot of goals, but I believe they played against a different team tonight. We are a team that will fight, and it won’t be easy to knock us out,” said Fierro.

Both teams had a late chance, with the Quakes nearly striking again off an 80th-minute shot from Judson that was also saved by Frei. Seattle nearly struck back on the other end just a minute later, but Jordan Morris saw his dangerous cross intended for Bruin go out for a goal kick after springing free on the left side.

“It was a positive performance for us,” said left back Tommy Thompson after the game with four match remaining for the Quakes. “Any time we’re at home, we want to win. We fought hard, we could’ve won it there at the end. But I think it’s a good step forward for us against a great team and we got to keep this momentum going.”

The Quakes’ defense recorded its third shutout in the last four matches and held the league’s second highest scoring offense to just four shots, a season low.

Marcinkowski finished the evening with only one save for his second consecutive shutout and third on the season. Frie also made one save in his shutout performance.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had six corner kicks. Seatle had two.

Judson was named Man of the Match.

Wondo started in his 300th match for San Jose becoming the third player in MLS history to reach the milestone for a single club (Nick Rimando – RSL, Kyle Beckerman – RSL). He is the only player to accomplish the feat with his original MLS club.

The Quakes held Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris without a single shot for just the second time in his 14 starts this season.

Seattle leads the overall series 12-10-8.

UP NEXT: The Earthquakes travel to Portland, Oregon where they will play the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday 10/24 at 7:00pm at Providence Park.

The San Jose Earthquakes converge during their game against the Los Angeles Galaxy Wed Oct 14th, 2020. The Quakes say after going winless in nine straight games things are getting better after winning three of their last four games (photo from USA Today)

On the Earthquakes podcast with Marko:

#1 How big was it for the Quakes after coming off a 3-0 shutout against the Portland Timbers to throw a shutout themselves with a huge 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday?

#2 Nick Lima played a key role in the Wednesday contest scoring the first goal and the last goal of the evening.

#3 The Quakes have defeated any team named LA in their last three contest with LAFC and twice with the Galaxy.

#4 The Quakes have 23 points putting them tied with the Minnesota United for sixth place in the Western Conference.

#5 The Quakes next task is the Seattle Sounders this Sunday at 7:30pm at Earthquakes Stadium talk about the Quakes chances to pick up a fourth win in five games?

Marko does the Earthquakes podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Marko Ukalovic

LOS ANGELES, Calif.- Nick Lima could not have picked a better time to score his first multi-goal game of his carrer.

The San Jose defenseman led the offensive attack by scoring the first and last goal for the Earthquakes in a 4-0 shutout route of the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday evening in the fourth installment of the California Classico at Dignity Health Sports Park.

The win for San Jose gives them 23 points, tied for sixth place in the Western Confernce with Minnesota United. LA suffered their six straight loss and currently reside in the basement of the West. The Quakes are 6-2-2 in their last 10 matches against the Galaxy.

San Jose (6-7-5) dominated the match from start to finish in just their second road win of the season. They controlled the possession by a two-thirds margin over their SoCal rival.

The Quakes hard work payed off in the 44th minute when Carlos Fierro found Andy Ríos on the left side of the box. Ríos then chipped it into the middle where Lima fired a shot past Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann for his first goal of the season.

Klinsmann, the son of former US Men’s National Soccer team coach and World Cup champion Jurgen Klinsmann, made his MLS debut and first career start for Galaxy head coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

It was a debut to forget for the 23-year old native of Munich, Germany. His team played sloppy and at times lifeless out on the pitch with countless turnovers that resulted in San Jose counter attacks that kept Los Angeles (4-9-3) on its heels the whole match.

San Jose picked up in the second half where they left off in the first. In the 52nd minute, the Quakes doubled its lead when Fierro sent a perfect cross into the middle where Ríos sped past Nick DePuy and kicked in a one-timer past Klinsmann for his team leading fifth goal of the season.

“Carlos (Fierro) and I have a good relationship beyond the pitch,” said Ríos about the chemistry the duo have created with each other. “We got to know each other well even though I got to play a little more than he did last year due to his injuries. Regardless he’s doing really well now, he’s fit. We are both doing very well physically. We always want to combine with one another and having good movement on the field creates a good connection. He’s doing really well in having the ability to cross the ball accurately to players inside the box. He’s always looking for a teammate and doesn’t do it blindly. His game is noticeable now and is important to our game.”

The closest the Galaxy came to getting on the scoreboard was in the 58th minute when Cristian Pavón had a good look at the net but his shot was stopped by Quakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski.

San Jose continued to pour it on in the 76th minute. From midfield, Jackson Yueill sent in a long ball to a wide open Tommy Thompson down the middle. Thompson’s initial shot was knocked away by Klinsmann, but Thompson gathered his own rebound and from angle a geometry teacher would be proud of, slammed the ball into the far side of the net for his first goal of the season.

“I think we have repeated this type of performance many times in the past, except without the goals. Even when things were going badly, we always had this system of play. A few times we were able to achieve this offensive system. We are happy with today’s victory. However, we are not surprised that Nick [Lima] and Tommy [Thompson] scored tonight. 10 days ago, Paul Marie scored a goal and 15 days ago, Marco Lopez also scored a goal. It’s nice when we are able to finish the play but it’s not surprising because that’s always what we’re aiming for,” Almeyda said.

Lima then put the icing on the cake for the Quakes two minutes into stoppage time for his second goal of the contest. Cade Cowell, celebrating his 17th birthday on the evening, made a nice move around a Galaxy defender near the endline before chipping the ball back into the middle where Lima blasted the ball into the upper middle of the net where a defenseless Klinsmann could only watch and cringe.

“I think that the team is very confident, and we want to make a push,” said captain Chris Wondolowski about his team’s chances on making the playoffs with five matches remaining. “I think that making the playoffs is first and foremost. We want to do that. We want to do that any way, shape, or form. I think that we learned a lot from last year, and I’m hoping we learned a lot from our mistakes. We can’t rely and depend on the last day. We have to put everything against the wall. We have to be smart. We have to get points where we can. That being said, we want to host. We want to be in the top four. I think that’s our sights right now, where we want to be, and where we think we can be. We have a lot of work that we still need to do. I still think there’s a lot of points out there, but I think that’s a reasonable goal. I think that’s something we’re shooting for, but first and foremost, we’ve got to get into those playoffs. Once we do, we know we can make a run.”

Marcinkowski finished the match with three saves for his second shutout of the season. Klinsmann made a valiant effort with seven saves in the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had five corner kicks. LA had four.

Lima was named the Man of the Match.

The Galaxy were shorthanded with Jonathan Dos Santos and Rolf Feltscher out due to international play. The Quakes were without Vako, Guram Kashia and Marcos Lopez for the same reason.

With Lima and Thompson each scoring their first goals of the season, 15 different players have now scored for San Jose in 2020, the third most in a single season in Quakes history despite having played just 18 games to date.

Cowell was credited with the assist on Lima’s second goal, marking the first assist of his MLS career.

Rios was also credited with an assist on Lima’s first goal, marking the first assist of his MLS career.

UP NEXT: The Quakes return home to host Western Conference leader Seattle Sounders on Sunday 10/18 at 7:30pm at Earthquakes Stadium.

The San Jose Earthquakes took another tough defeat at Providence Park going undefeated in 13 visits there against the Portland Timbers and Sun Oct 11, 2020 was no different in another loss to the Timbers (photo from the Portland Timbers) 

by Marko Ukalovic

PORTLAND, Ore.- Jaroslaw Niezgoda scored two goals in a six-minute span in the second half as the Portland Timbers dominated the San Jose Earthquakes in a 3-0 shutout victory during a rainy Sunday evening at Providence Park.

Portland has won five matches in a row to tie the Seattle Sounders for atop of the Western Conference with 30 points. The loss snapped San Jose’s three match winning streak. However the Quakes did not lose any ground in the standings as they stayed at the seventh spot with 20 points, one ahead of both Colorado and Houston, with six matches left to play.

The Earthquakes are winless in 13 trips to Providence Park (0-10-3) dating back to 2011.

Oswaldo Alanís made his return to the starting lineup at centerback for Quakes head coach Matias Almedya, after missing the past five games with a lower body injury. It was his first action since September 16th.

San Jose (5-7-5) held their own in the first 45 minutes getting quality scoring chances only to be thwarted away by Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark when they put shots on goal.

Two of the Quakes best chances to get on the scoreboard in the first half came at the beginning and at the end. Chris Wondoloski’s header from a Cristian Espinoza cross in the sixth minute and Jackson Yueill’s point blank shot in the second minute of stoppage time were stoned away by Clark.

Portland (9-4-3) seized momentum and control of the match a minute into the second half. Diego Chará came streaking with the ball down the right sideline when his cross was headed in by Niezgoda into the upper right corner of the net for his first of two goals on the evening. His fourth goal of the season came at the 46th minute.

The Timbers continued to pressure the Quakes inside their zone led by Diego Valeri. The Argentinean midfielder hurried Tanner Beason into a turnover after a diving save by Quakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski. Beason’s clearing attempt went right to the foot of Niezgoda who fired the ball into an empty net for his fifth goal of the season. It was the first career multi-goal game for the 25 year-old striker from Poland.

San Jose had a golden opportunity to cut Portland’s lead in half in the 67th minute when Carlos Fierro was all alone after receiving the ball of the left side. Fierro was one-on-one with Clark when he punted the ball high and far over the net resulting in a goal kick for Portland.

The Quakes appeared to have scored in the 71st minute after a corner kick led to Beason kicking the ball in the net right on the goal line. However, VAR review determined he was offsides and the goal was erased off the board.

The MLS is Back Tournament champions sealed the game in the 86th minute when once again Chará creating the opportunity with a chip cross over two Quakes defenders that was headed in by Felipe Mora, normally a starter for head coach Giovanni Savarese, came in as a sub in the 61st minute, for his seventh goal the season. It was Chará’s second assist of the evening.

San Jose was left frustrated on what could have been had they been able to cash in on the earlier opportunities they had in the match.

This was also the first match where Almeyda only used one substitute during the match with Shea Salinas coming in for Tommy Thompson in the 65th minute.

Clark finished with seven saves for his fourth shutout of the season. Marcinkowski made five saves in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had seven corner kicks. Portland had three.

Florian Jungwirth was suspended for the match for yellow card accumulation.

San Jose were also without Vako, Guram Kashia and Marco Lopez as they were out playing internationally.

Each team were issued two yellow cards.

UP NEXT: The Earthquakes conclude their two-game road trip when the travel to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy on Wednesday 10/14 at 7:30pm at Dignity Health Sports Park.