Category: San Jose Earthquakes

Chris Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes (right) and dos Santos LA Galaxy (left) both found the back of the net in the Galaxy’s 4-2 win over the Quakes at Avaya Stadium on Saturday night in MLS action Lyndsay Radnedge | Center Line Soccer

By: Joe Lami

SAN JOSE, Calif.—The Memorial Day fireworks came to San Jose early this weekend, as the Earthquakes held the first leg of the California Classico on Saturday at Avaya Stadium. In a first half that saw five combined goals, both team’s back lines struggled.

It took just 10 minutes for San Jose to find the back of the net. Who else but Chris Wondlowski would get the night going burying his sixth goal of the season. The play was created off the boot of Danny Hoesen to the left of the box. The Dutchman’s cross was perfection, as it found Wondo’s right boot right next to the goal line for the easy putaway.

LA equalized the game in the 18th minute off the foot of Joao Pedro, who picked up his first tally in MLS by beating goaltender David Bingham to the bottom right corner. All credit goes to Ashley Cole though, as he was able to split two defenders on the through ball.

The game remained tied until the 35th minute when Bradley Diallo drew a very controversial penalty inside the box. By driving his way inside, he jumped over Quakes defender and flopped to draw the whistle. Fans of Avaya did not agree with referee, Ricardo Salazar, but it wouldn’t sway his opinion. Giovani dos Santos drilled in the penalty to give LA the 2-1 lead.

San Jose answered back immediately, as Danny Hoesen earned another point, by netting his first goal in an Earthquakes kit. The played developed off the left box, as the cross found Hoesen, who was able to backheel it home for the equalizer.

The terrible half continued for the Quakes back line as LA was able to force an own goal off the back of Victor Bernardez. The cross came in from the right side from Diallo and awkwardly was redirected off of Bernardez’s shoulder into the cage for the 3-2 score.

Play really settled down for the first 20 minutes of the second half until another streaking chance for the Galaxy ended in a goal. Giovani dos Santos scored his second of the match on the breakaway. The opportunity was created by Romain Alessandrini who curled a floater into the box from the left side, allowing Giovani to get under it and head home the 4-2 lead.

LA would clamp down the game defensively and ride out the win for their third straight on the road, as they continue to be one of the hottest in MLS. The win moves the Galaxy up the table now into the final playoff position with 17 points.

San Jose’s loss marks the first of the year at Avaya, as they were unbeaten at home for the first six games of the season. The Quakes remain in the top six in the Western Conference in fourth with 19 points but really squandered the chance to make a big jump. They look to rebound on the road against Portland on Friday against a Timbers team that’s neck and neck with the Quakes.

~ 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.

sjearthquakes.com photo: The San Jose Earthquakes pre game photo on Wednesday night at Avaya Stadium before their meeting with Orlando City FC

by London Marq

The San Jose Earthquakes look to bounce back after having a two-game win streak snapped in a demoralizing three-nil loss to the Colorado Rapids last Saturday. This time around, Orlando City travels into Avaya Stadium, also trying to get back in the win column for the first time since the beat the Rapids three weeks ago.For a game that didn’t have any goals early, there was plenty of action in the first half. A combined 13 shots on goal between the two sides. Both teams were finding opportunities in the offensive third, even if they were not finding their marks.

The referee even got to have a bit of fun with his whistle, as this one got aggressive early. Two yellow cards were pulled in the opening 45, one on Leo Pereira(ORL) in the 25th minute and the other on Godoy(SJ) in the 44th. Overall 28 fouls were committed in the match, San Jose responsible for 18 of them. The Earthquakes would draw three more yellow cards in the second half.

As the match progressed into the final minutes with no goals, it looked as if we would be in for a nil-nil draw. But in the 80th minute Orlando City’s Carlos Rivas left foot struck gold giving them the lead. It was short lived, however, as a Chris Wondolowski shot bulged the net just 3 minutes later. Neither team would walk away with the desired three points but both received a constellation prize of one point in the standing, as the finished tied 1-1

The San Jose Earthquakes are now 4-4-4, and play next at FC Dallas on Saturday, May 20th.

By Ben Leonard

The Earthquakes came into last-place Denver looking to build momentum and continue their winning streak—but were quickly stopped in their tracks.

Behind two goals from Shkelzen Gashi, the Colorado Rapids blanked San Jose 3-0 to end their two-game win streak Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce, Colorado. Gashi scored the first goal of the night for Colorado roughly midway through the first half, and the Rapids never looked back.

San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski, top, celebrates after scoring with teammate Florian Jungwirth (23) during the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Portland Timbers Saturday, May 6, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By: Joe Lami

SAN JOSE, Calif.—The San Jose Earthquakes remain undefeated at home after their best performance of the season with a 3-nil win over their rival, Portland. The Timbers came into the contest the top scoring team in MLS, scoring 20 goals in just nine games played, but a beautiful effort by San Jose handed them their second shutout this season.

Coming into the contest, the Quakes scoring had been silent, scoring just nine goals through the first nine games of the season, but it awoke on Saturday night. In the eighth minute, the offense got going and wouldn’t be stopped. A mad scramble in the box found the foot of Jahmir Hyka for his second goal of the season. Chris Wondolowski picked up his fifth assist on the score, putting him second in MLS on the year.

Wondolowski’s night would just be getting started though, as he would find the bottom right corner of the net off with his right foot at the top of the box in the 31st minute. Florian Jungworth dished it beautifully to Wondolowski setting up the goal, marking his first in MLS since his transfer from Germany.

The night wouldn’t be over though, as Jungworth found Wondolowski again in the 55th minute, as Wondolowski was able to chip it past the keeper for the 3-0 lead. Wondolowski’s two tallies push his season total to four and could be a great kick in the pants to get his season back to expectations. 

The Timbers pushed late in the second half to get something past Quakes’ keeper David Bingham, but he stood strong, saving everything sent his way.

“As it was getting late in the game, let’s get more than greedy and get the shutout, but it’s going to take a little bit more since they started pressing a lot of guys forward. Our guys were doing a good job defending the box and [David] Bingham came up with some big saves. I’m really happy with the performance tonight,” said Quakes head coach, Dominic Kinnear.

The victory is an important one for the Quakes season, as it shows that they can soundly knock off one of the toughest teams in MLS at home. The Quakes will continue their long homestead with the top team in MLS Sporting KC rolling into town in two weeks.

~ 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.

news.sportslogo.com photo

By: Joe Lami

The San Jose Earthquakes and the New England Revolution played to a goalless draw on Wednesday in Boston. Goaltenders, David Bingham and Cody Cropper, are to thank, as both sides saw chances at net but the keepers made some magnificent saves in the 0-0 draw.

New England out-shot San Jose 15-8, with a 6-3 margin in on target shots. Despite some stellar goaltending, there was also a bit of sloppiness on the offensive side of the ball, with Chris Wondolowski whiffing on a grade-a chance in the 23rd minute. Just seconds later, Danny Hoesen hit the frame, as the transfer is still looking for his first in a Quakes kit.

San Jose should find themselves lucky, escaping the hostile territory with a point, New England had their chances but didn’t throw enough on target.

With the draw, San Jose remains above the playoff line in the Western Conference table in fifth place. They’ve earned nine points in seven games, going 2-2-3 so far this season, but they need to start turning draws into wins if they want a chance at the MLS postseason.

San Jose has a quick turnaround, as their next draw is on Saturday in Houston, who remains ahead of them in the standings.

sjearthquakes.com photo: Jahmir Hyka celebrates with teammate Florian Jungwirth after scoring his first MLS goal in stoppage time

By–London Marq

SAN JOSE–The unbeatens’ remain unbeaten as FC Dallas travels to San Jose. Entering play FC Dallas was undefeated (3-0-1) and while the Earthquakes had suffered two losses on the road, they had yet to be defeated on the home pitch at San Jose’s Avaya Stadium.

Shots were taken early and often, and it was thrilling to watch as both teams seemed evenly matched. The first two attempts on goal came in just the third minute, the third attempt came in the 13th. That ten minute gap was the longest period of time between goal attempts for the rest of the match.

Despite the goal being peppered with attempts, the first goal wasn’t scored until the 78th minute. Kellyn Acosta, who many believe could be a key figure in US National Soccer in the coming years, scored the Dallas goal on a brilliant pass in the 78th minute.

The game wouldn’t be without dramatics, however, as the Earthquakes valiantly tried to pull the game back even. As the end regulation came and went, the added five minutes was action packed. Dallas was hit with two yellow cards and San Jose fought on. With less than a minute before the the game was going to be whistled dead, Jahmir Hyka slotted a goal in to steal the win from FC Dallas.

It may not have been a win for San Jose, but they did a good job of making sure that Dallas didn’t leave Avaya stadium with three points for a 1-1 draw. In the process, they added a point to their standing and keep an impressive run of homes games alive. On Wednesday the 19th of April, they will try and continue the run when they visit New England sportsradioservice.com’s Joe Lami will be on hand for coverage of that game.