Category: San Jose Earthquakes

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.

sjearthquakes.com photo: The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Sporting Kansas City 2-1 Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park during their first road game of the 2017 season. The Sporting KC’s Benny Feilhaber (10) nails a goal with eight minutes left in the first half as San Jose goalkeeper David Bingham (1) anticipates the shot at in Kansas City Mo on Saturday night in MLS action

By London Marq

The San Jose Earthquakes visited Sporting Kansas City where they looked to defend their 2-0 record. The trip to Children’s Mercy Park was the first road game of the season.

The game was in question until the end as San Jose managed keep it close. Until the final minutes of the match, Kansas City clung to a one-nil lead. The goal was supplied by Benny Feilhaber with eight minutes left in the first half.

Despite having 15 shots on goal, compared to the Quakes five, Sporting failed in creating separation. The relief came from an unlikely source, the San Jose keeper David Bingham let a ball get by him the the final minute and the ball went into the net for San Jose’s own goal to put KC on top 2-0.

San Jose was able to score in added time as Florian Jungwirth scored  at 90+1,but it was too little too late. The W went to Sporting Kansas City.

Kansas City def. San Jose 2-1

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footballtips.com photo: San Jose Earthquakes celebrate one of the three goals scored against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Avaya Stadium on Saturday in the 3-2 victory match for San Jose

by London Marq

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Earthquakes walked away from their first match of this season against the Montreal Montreal with a one-to-nil win. They looked to double up on wins against Canadian clubs with their second game of the season and stay in favorable position in the early season table. It was an exhilarating match, as the San Jose Earthquakes hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps on a night gorgeous night at Avaya Stadium.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to start. The opening salvo was taken by Vancouver just a minute and forty-three seconds into the game from the boot of Erik Hurtado. The Whitecaps came out in control and the Earthquakes had trouble gaining momentum. Then just shy of 15 minutes later, the Whitecaps struck again scoring on a curving goal from Nicolas Mezquida (16:22). It looked dire for San Jose, down two goals on two shots in under 20 minutes.

The turning point for the Quakes came six minutes later, when the ball broke past the back line of the Vancouver defense and San Jose had a one on one breakaway with the opposing keeper. The keeper, David Ousted, was beaten off the ball and made a last ditch effort to save the goal by tripping the forward who would have been in on goal. David Ousted was then ousted from the game with a red card, in the 23rd minute and Vancouver was down to ten men for the remainder of the match. The game was never the same.

Momentum switched immediately in San Jose’s favor, as they had a plethora of scoring chances following the red card and would capitalize eventually on a shot from the San Jose’s National Team representative, Chris Wondolowski (31:46). The Quakes never looked back. Vancouver failed to even attempt any more shots on goal for the remainder of the half, and would end up taking only four shots total. Meanwhile the shots piled up for San Jose in the second half. The Quakes went on to score two more beautiful goals in the second half. Nick Lima tied the game in the 54th minute and the game winner was delivered from Anibal Godoy in the 79th minute.

San Jose would hold on to win 3-2, getting the coveted three points on the table.

This was not just a good win for San Jose, but for Major League Soccer, who could use more games like this one. There was drama, and plenty to be excited about throughout the match.

It’s off to Sporting Kansas City for the Quakes next match on Saturday March 18th.

sjearthquakes.com photo: Jubilation on the field at Avaya Stadium in San Jose as the San Jose Earthquakes take the home opener on Saturday night against the Montreal Impact 1-0

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. – While it’s just one match in, it looks like the question is when, not if the restocked San Jose Earthquakes will break their three-season MLS playoff drought under new General Manager Jesse Fioranelli. In its home opener Saturday night, San Jose bested the Montreal Impact 1-0, outshooting their opponents 17-5. The win over the 2016 Eastern Conference runner-ups is the first regular season win by San Jose over its foes from the North in franchise history.

“We were 2-0 last year and everyone said this the greatest team in San Jose in awhile,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear when asked about the clear influx of talent on his squad this year. “We know how the season went. It all depends on health and guys’ hunger and desire to keep winning. I like the roster we put together. You can’t base off one game, but  it does show the potential you do have off this one game too.”

Aníbal Godoy scored in the 17^th minute of a first half that saw the Quakes dominate on the shot counter 9-1. The Impact would be down a man for over 25 minutes after a red card in the second half, but the Earthquakes would settle for the lone tally against Montreal (0-1-0).

“They went deep into the playoffs last year and they haven’t made a whole lot of changes to their squad,” said Kinnear of Montreal. “You can pick from those playoff performances to show how dangerous they can be.”

San Jose (1-0-0) nearly made its mark just two minutes into the match after Simon Dawkins lofted a cross to the 2016 team goals leader Chris Wondolowski. Wondolowski would leap up to try to connect on a header, but his chance went over the crossbar.

Wondolowski would again nearly score his 122^nd career MLS goal in the 7^th minute on an aggressive play by Montreal keeper Evan Bush. Bush came out of the net to contest a lead pass from newcomer Marco Ureña well outside the penalty box. Bush’s boot would be blocked by Wondolowski with a vacant net in the distance, but Wondolowski’s shot at the empty goal would be deflected out of bounds.

“The two forwards, the energy the give the team was excellent on both sides of the ball,” said Kinnear.

Wondolowski finally broke through, settling for an assist on Godoy’s marker in the 17^th minute. Godoy stripped an Impact player with a quick tip to Wondolowski. Wondolowski converted on the give-and-go, hitting Godoy on the run. Godoy was able to cash in on the quick passing, chipping the ball into the net for the 1-0 lead and the Panamanian’s fourth goal since joining the club midway through 2015.

The Impact opened up the second half as the aggressors, but slide tackle by Hassoun Camara in the 67^th minute would shift the balance. Camara had earned a yellow card earlier in the game and was booked again for a red, leaving Montreal with 10 men over the remaining 23-plus minutes.

The offense didn’t immediately start clicking up a man, but an 80^th minute bid by subs Danny Hoesen and Shea Salinas almost doubled the lead. Hoesen,on loan from FC Gronigen of the Dutch top tier, started a run but had his pass booted away. Salinas picked up the loose ball, firing it on net, beating Bush but seeing his shot go wide of the cage.

“The subs we made were all attacking players,” said Kinnear. “We wanted to make sure we kept the pressure on Montreal, especially with ten men. It’s been a good last two weeks of training. The intensity has been good. It definitely carried over onto the field tonight.”

A three-on-two break in the 86^th minute again gave life to the Avaya crowd but Wondolowski’s shot would run wide of the net to keep the striker searching for his first goal of the season early in the campaign.

“One thing we can work on is we were just missing that second goal,” said Kinnear. “I think it would have made the game less ‘nervey’ for me at the end.”

The Earthquakes welcome another Canadian club to Avaya Stadium next Saturday, with the Vancouver Whitecaps making the trip south to Northern California. Vancouver finished one point ahead of San Jose last season for 8^th place in the Western Conference.