ISI photos: San Jose Earthquakes and New England Revolution deadlock to a 0-0 draw at Avaya Stadium on Wednesday night
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Earthquakes saw a valuable three points slip away Wednesday night at Avaya Stadium with the Quakes settling for a nil-nil draw with the visiting New England Revolution. With only nine games remaining in the regular season the Quakes are locked with the Portland Timbers for the sixth and final playoff spot with 32 points.
Right on their heels are the Seattle Sounders (31 points) and Vancouver Whitecaps (30 points) pushing for the final berth in postseason play. The Revs, likewise, are trying to move up to the top of the table. They sit in eight place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind D.C. United (29 points) for the East’s last playoff spot.
The Quakes were dealt an early blow when forward Quincy Amarikwa had to be subbed for in the 34th minute with an injury. His replacement Chad Barrett failed to produce much in terms of offensive pressure, leading Quakes boss Dominic Kinnear to sub in Henok Goitom in the 76th minute.
The match itself was quite chippy, with the two teams combining for 28 fouls. Anibal Godoy, Darwin Ceren and Simon Dawkins all received yellow cards for the Quakes while the Revs’ Gershon Koffie and Teal Bunbury were also booked.
San Jose managed only seven shots, with one actually hitting the target of New England keeper Brad Knighton. David Bingham was forced to make saves on 3 of New England’s 12 shots on net.
The Quakes hit the road Saturday to face another team struggling to stay relevant in the East. San Jose faces the Columbus Crew, dead last in the division with 23 points, Saturday at 4:30 pm.
sjearthquakes. com photo: Victor Bernandez finds the inside of the net for the San Jose Earthquakes first and only goal of Friday night against the Houston Dynamos at Avaya Stadium in San Jose
SAN JOSE–Under smokey skies the San Jose Earthquakes took on the last place Houston Dynamo Friday night in an effort to seize hold of sixth place in the Western MLS standings. Houston has lost or tied their last 6 games and San Jose at the moment is on the outside looking in when it comes to playoff hopes. A win tonight coupled with a Portland loss would put San Jose into 6th place. Portland, which has struggled with away games, is on the road against Seattle this Sunday.
It has been tough of late for the Quakes who had played to six draws in their previous 11 road matches. San Jose was able to beat Vancouver 2-1 last Friday which may get them back on the winning track especially since road wins are so very difficult. With the Quakes one point behind Portland for a coveted playoff spot the momentum of that Vancouver win may be just what the team needs. “We are poised to do well in this run to the playoffs,” said forward Quincy Amarikwa. The Earthquakes are 5-3-1 all-time at home against the last-place Dynamos.
It was a tough start for San Jose missing a nice set-up and then watching as Houston drove downfield scoring the first goal of the evening taking the early lead 1-0 when #6 Ricardo Clark scored. Late in the first half the Earthquakes had a direct free-kick, missing on the attempt that could have tied up the game. Houston would take the 1-0 lead into the locker room at the half. Although San Jose created three chances they only took one shot on target.
The second half saw San Jose with several great scoring opportunities but coming away empty. Houston took full advantage creating a great chance early in the second half that enabled #50 David Horst to extend the Houston lead to 2-0. The Earthquakes kept the pressure on Houston and finally found the net off the foot of #5 Victor Bernandez San Jose now trailing 2-1. The second half saw more possession time for the Earthquakes and the creation of more scoring opportunities but there would be no further scoring for either team as Houston went on to win the game 2-1.
Head Coach Dominic Kinnear was disappointed at the outcome of this game. “I’m disappointed, we had a lot of chances but it just didn’t happen,” said Kinnear. He referred a number of times to the lost opportunity to catch Portland but did give credit to Houston despite the fact that they are last in the conference. “They are a good team and work well together,” he said.
While it was not the end all be all for the Earthquakes a win would have been pretty nice and was essentially expected especially playing at Avaya. The most disappointing of all was the fact that this was only the second loss at home for the team.
~ It seems San Jose likes their neighbors to the North, as they finally got their first road win this season and first against the Vancouver Whitecaps in their home all-time, 2-1.
The Quakes’ last win also came against a Canadian opponent, Toronto FC, making San Jose 2-0 this season against their Canadian foes.
Other similarities between the two games, were the score, the goal scorers and the timing. In both 2-1 matches, Quincy Amarikwa scored in the first half and Simon Dawkins doubled the score in the second half.
San Jose moved one point from a playoff spot as they extended their unbeaten streak to five games with their second win in a month.
Both sides hit the crossbar. In the 12th minute, the Quakes’ Fatai Alashe hit the crossbar.
While the keeper helped, San Jose got their first lead in Vancouver in over four years. Off a corner, Amarikwa headed the ball to goalkeeper David Ousted. With his hands on the ball, Ousted stumbled back into the net, but dropped the ball to make it 1-0 in the 14th minute.
In the 60th minute, Simon Dawkins made it 2-0 into a wide open net. Alberto Quintero got the assist.
The Whitecaps’ Blas Perez hit the crossbar in the 78th minute.
Bingham just missed his sixth shutout as Vancouver attacked relentlessly in stoppage time and broke through. Nicolas Mezquida’s shot was saved in the 93rd minute but not the 94th. Off a corner by Christian Bolanos, Kendall Watson headed the ball to the near corner where it bounced before Mezquida used a diving header to put the ball above Bingham. After that, Watson had a close header.
Game notes: have now held opponents to solo goals in their last eight games. In his 50th start with the team, Cordell Cato played 90 minutes for now the sixth consecutive match. First 2-0 win since April 13.
Chris Wondolowski misfired on a few scoring chances in the Earthquakes’ scoreless draw against NYCFC on Friday (Kelley L Cox / USA Today Sports)
By: Eric He
SAN JOSE – Give Chris Wondolowski a prime scoring chance around the net and he’ll usually convert. On Friday night, he had not one, not two, not three, but four great opportunities in the second half to put one past the goalkeeper. None of them went in.
The result? A disappointing scoreless draw for the San Jose Earthquakes against the New York City FC in front of a sold-out Avaya Stadium.
“Not happy with this point, no,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “We should have come out with the win. I think we know that … We had some good looks. To come out with no goals is a bit surprising tonight.”
San Jose applied pressure throughout the second half and consistently knocked on the doorstep. Wondolowski had several chances from in close, none better than in the 69th minute when a deflected shot by Shea Salinas found Wondolowski all alone in front. But his volley bounced off the post to keep the match scoreless.
The captain said that was the opportunity he’d like to have back the most.
“I thought I had a little more time, but I’ve got to finish it,” he said.
Wondolowski also had opportunities in the 52nd and 57th minutes – the first of which was a header from point blank that went wide.
“I wasn’t losing any confidence,” Wondolowski said. “Just bad choices, bad execution, poor finishing.”
Chad Barrett subbed in and had a great scoring chance in the 76th minute off a terrific lead pass, but he was denied by NYCFC goalkeeper Josh Saunders. Another excellent ball in the 84th minute gave Wondolowski a chance on an odd-man rush, but he once again took to long to shoot and his attempt was blocked.
“Soccer’s always that game,” he said. “It ebbs and flows. I think we created some chances, especially myself. We need to finish them, and that changes the whole course of the game.”
The Earthquakes, who outshot NYCFC 19-10, also had the better of opportunities in the first half, but both teams entered the locker room scoreless. The 10th minute featured a cross by Quincy Amarikwa to Anibal Godoy, but his shot went high. Amarikwa had a chance three minutes later in front, but Saunders gobbled up the ball.
Another chance early in the first half saw Alberto Quintero weave his way through the defense, but he couldn’t get the shot off. Godoy had another opportunity in the 24th minute from point blank, but Saunders made the stop.
“The attitude of the guys, they’re disappointed in the locker room right now,” Kinnear said. “Ties are good, but we’ve got to do better than good right now, we’ve got to get some wins. To win games we need to start scoring some goals.”
David Bingham fended off shots as well on his net, with is biggest save in the half coming in the 31st minute, stopping Frank Lampard. As a whole, the Earthquakes managed to keep NYCFC’s star-power at bay, with the high press proving effective.
In fact, it was the first time NYCFC, the highest scoring team in MLS, had been shutout in 11 matches.
“I felt we were solid defensively tonight,” said defenseman Jordan Stewart. “It didn’t look like we were going to concede a goal tonight the way we were playing.”
This is the Earthquakes’ third consecutive draw. They have 12 games remaining and sit two points out of a playoff spot. That isn’t ideal, Wondolowski admitted, but it’s enough to give him hope.
“I think we have a very special locker room,” he said. “I love what we have here. I still think we can do some great things. Nothing’s changed, nothing’s wavered, and the belief is stronger than ever.”
Welcome aboard
Before the game, the Earthquakes made a trade, acquiring El Salvador National Team captain Darwin Ceren from Orlando City SC for Matias Perez Garcia and an international roster slot.
Ceren subbed in for Fatai Alashe in the 82nd minute, making his Earthquakes’ debut.
“I’m motivated to fit in and continue to play well with these guys,” he said. “Now I have to continue to play hard and earn the right to continue to play significant minutes.”
sjearthquakes.com photo: San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski who scored in the 59th minute to help force a draw was the game hero on Sunday in Houston
Chris Wondolowski’s second half goal was good enough to force a 1-1 draw for the San Jose Earthquakes on the road against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday night.
Down 1-0 in the 59th minute, Wondolowski found room in front off a cross from Cordell Cato, and he deflected it in to even the match. It was the captain’s 118th career goal and also marked an important milestone — Wondolowski has now scored against all 21 MLS teams he’s played against. His career actually started with the Dynamo before joining the Earthquakes.
“It’s kind of cool,” Wondolowski said on the accomplishment. “It is special. Houston has always had a special place in my heart and I really spent some great years here. It took a little while but it’s a great feeling.”
He almost had two goals on the night, but his chance from close range late in the first half was denied by Dynamo goalie Joe Willis. Instead, it was Houston which struck first in stoppage time, courtesy of Alex. The Brazilian forward zig-zagged his way around the Quakes’ defense and beat David Bingham to put the Dynamo ahead 1-0.
Opportunities were abound for both teams late to take a 2-1 lead, but the goaltenders stood tall. Simon Dawkins’ try from the left of the box was pushed aside by Willis in the 70th minute. Bingham came up huge in the 90th minute, stopping a free-kick attempt from Cristián Maidana that was headed by Andrew Wenger in on goal.
“We had some real good looks in the second half,” Quakes’ head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “Obviously they were taking control in the last little bit and we were kind of running on fumes there but that goal gave us some real good confidence. We had some real good looks to put up 2-1.”
San Jose outshot Houston 15-13, with shots on target even at three apiece, though the Dynamo controlled nearly 60 percent of the possession.
This is the Earthquakes’ ninth tie of the season, and they remain winless on the road at 0-5-6. They are still eighth in the West, and will face New York City FC at Avaya Stadium next on Friday.
sjearthquakes.com photo by Quakes team president David Kaval: San Jose Earthquakes in Real Salt Lake on Friday
The San Jose Earthquakes couldn’t hang on to a one-goal lead as their match against Real Salt Lake on Friday night ended in a 1-1 draw.
Chris Wondolowski scored in the ninth minute to give the Quakes an early lead, but Luke Mulholland equalized in the 64th minute. Both teams had chances in the final third of the match to break the tie, thought neither was able to convert.
Real Salt Lake outshot San Jose 14-12 and held the majority of possession. Mulholland’s goal was a thing of beauty, as he converted off a clever lob pass by Javier Morales.
The goal answered Wondolowski’s strike from close range, finding the loose ball off a corner kick and converting past the goalkeeper.
Shea Salinas banged a shot off the crossbar in the 80th minute, as the Quakes’ best chance to re-take the lead came up inches high. Goaltender David Bingham and the Quakes’ defense stood their ground to salvage a draw.
San Jose is still without a road win this year and remains outside the playoff picture in the West at 26 points. Next up, the Quakes take on Houston on the road on July 31.
sjearthquakes.com photo: It’s a dog pile celebration as San Jose gets a one goal win over Toronto
SAN JOSÉ, Calif. – The San José Earthquakes faced an uphill battle Saturday night if they wanted to avoid losing two consecutive MLS matches at Avaya Stadium for the first time in club history. Despite being down two men for the final 37 minutes of play, a surprising strike in the 71st minute from Simon Dawkins pushed the Quakes (6-6-7) to a 2-1 win.
“I was dying inside,” said Earthquakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “I just wanted that final whistle to come a little quicker than it did.”
Dawkins pushed the shorthand attack up the field, then cut back on a Toronto defender before firing a shot from dead center. Reds rookie keeper Alex Bono was frozen on the bid, meekly hopping up to try to bat it away before watching it slip over his fingertips. For Dawkins, a designated player signed in the offseason for San José it was his second goal of the year.
“That was the loudest I’ve heared this place,” said Kinnear. “It made the fans go from being mad to being really hopeful. You could feel the sense of stadium from everybody.”
The win was a tremendous all-around defensive effort for the Quakes. Visiting Toronto FC (6-7-6), led by reigning MLS Most Valuable Player Sebastian Giovinco, played more than half the game up a man following Anibal Godoy’s red card in the 42nd minute. Another red card to Alberto Quintero in the 53rd minute gave the Reds plenty of time to leave the Bay Area with a full three points in hand.
“The second half seemed to last six hours,” quipped Kinnear. “Especially after Alberto was sent off. You just wanted to will them to win. But they were willing themselves to win.”
Toronto held nearl a 60-40 possession edge and were able to play in the attacking half for large swaths of the contest. The Reds fired 15 second half shots on keeper David Bingham, with only two hitting their mark.
“The guys were fantastic,” said Kinnear. “David coming out on crosses, we were blocking shots.”
Despite the considerable manpower advantage, Toronto only managed to score once, with the goal coming in the waning minutes of the first half with the Reds down 1-0. A pair of former Earthquakes connected on the then game-tying tally in the 44th minute when defender Justin Morrow tipped in San José native Steven Beitashour’s pass for his third marker of the season.
While Toronto score last in the first 45 minutes, the Quakes had their considerable share of chances. San José opened the match looking to push the pace early, scoring a goal in the 7th minute that ultimately was stricken due to an overeager Chris Wondolowski. Simon Dawkins found Wondolowski behind the Reds backline for the easy chip-in for the Quakes striker seeking to end a six-game goal-less drought. The 100-plus goal scorer will have to keep seeking his skid buster, as the referee called back the goal on an offside.
Former Toronto FC forward Quincy Amarikwa gave the Quakes their first lead in a contest since the middle of May, connecting on a Fatai Alashe cross in the 30th minute. Amarikwa took the cross, coming from Alashe outside the box on the left wing, and redirected it just in front of the Bono into the net for his second goal of the season.
With the win, the Earthquakes move a point behind Portland for and a win behind Vancouver for sixth and seventh place with a game in hand on both. They’ll hit the road for a pair of games against Real Salt Lake (July 22nd) and Houston (July 31st). The MLS All-Star game will also be held at Avaya Stadium July 28th, with the MLS’ best facing off against Arsenal.
The Earthquakes dropped their first home match all year on Friday against FC Dallas (Kelley L Cox / USA Today Sports)
By: Eric He
SAN JOSE – The San Jose Earthquakes’ winless streak reached seven matches on Friday night with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of FC Dallas at Avaya Stadium.
The away team scored the match’s lone goal in the 51st minute off the foot of Maximiliano Urruti, who delivered a bicycle-kick strike to put FC Dallas ahead six minutes into the second half.
The Quakes had their chances in the match, outshooting Dallas 12-7, but were unable to capitalize and find the equalizer. A ball put in the net in the 68th minute was waved off due to goaltender interference. Matias Perez Garcia’s long-range shot in the 70th minute skipped all the way through, but went wide.
“When we were down 1-0, our whole focus was to get that equalizer until the final whistle because we thought we were going to get [it],” midfielder Anibal Godoy said, via a translator. “We’ve done it over the last couple of games, especially at home. But it didn’t work out for us.”
A quality chance for Simon Dawkins 12 minutes later from the left was turned aside by FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz. And Perez Garcia’s poor ball handling despite having room at midfield in the 89th minute was all she wrote for the Quakes, who have been shutout in back-to-back matches.
“Right now we’re just not scoring enough goals,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “We’re playing from behind. It’s easier said than done to go out there and get the first goal. It’s a frustrating period for us right now. We’re a little bit disappointed in ourselves.”
The first half featured plenty of action but no goals. Urruti, the forward who had the bulk of the opportunities for FC Dallas, nearly put his club ahead in the 19th minute when he broke in alone, but Quakes’ goaltender David Bingham deflected it just enough to glance off the crossbar.
San Jose was inches away as well. A free kick by Godoy in the 32nd minute clanked off the post. Ten minutes later, Shea Salinas received a cross at point-blank range but his attempt was denied by Seitz. A header by Quincy Amarikwa on the ensuing corner kick sailed just high.
“This game we had a lot of chances,” Salinas said. “We hit the post. We had a bunch of other times where we were in on goal and it just wasn’t falling our way.”
The two teams went into halftime scoreless, but it didn’t take long for FC Dallas to seize control out of the break.
“We knew they were good in the counterattack and lost the ball in the middle of the field in the counterattack and they scored on us,” Salinas said on Urruti’s goal, which was set up on the rush by a long centering feed that was knocked down, deflected off Quakes’ defender Victor Bernardez, and right to Urruti, who timed his bicycle kick perfectly.
San Jose out-possessed FC Dallas, 54.2 percent to 45.8, and had eight corner kicks to FC Dallas’ five. But it wasn’t enough to get on the scoresheet.
“It’s getting that goal,” Kinnear said. “We’re lacking goals right now. To win games we need to score.”
This is the Quakes’ first loss in Avaya Stadium in 2016; the last defeat came in September of last year. It came at a bad time too, with the team looking to break out of a stale stretch of winless matches and stay afloat in the playoff picture. The Quakes remain at 22 points and eighth in the Western Conference; with a win, they would have been tied for fifth.
“We’re missing opportunities here,” Kinnear said. “Other teams have something to say about it, but we’re good enough to take these opportunities presented for us and put pressure on other teams.”
He added: “Things aren’t falling for us right now but that doesn’t mean we give up; we work harder.”
Next up, San Jose takes on Toronto FC a week from Saturday at home.
photo by sjearthquakes.com: The Quakes take a tough loss in Chicago to the Fire 1-0
With five defenders injured, the San Jose Earthquakes (5-5-7) fell to the Chicago Fire (3-5-7) 1-0 on a goal by Joao Meira in the 38th minute. Even with the win on Friday, Chicago remained in the Eastern Conference’s cellar.
“We didn’t play good, simple as that,” Earthquakes coach Dominic Kinnear said Friday. “We just kept giving the ball away; it wasn’t like we were under a tremendous amount of pressure. We just didn’t play good.”
San Jose was outplayed and out-shot 16-6 (7-2 on goal) by Chicago, a team that had been last in the East in goals scored this season (15). Down several key regulars, the defense struggled to compete with the Fire, but kept the team in the game.
This wasn’t by any means unpredictable: the results simply haven’t been coming on the road for San Jose.With the loss, San Jose is left still in search of its first road win, going 0-5-4 in enemy territory this season. However, Kinnear isn’t too worried about being away from the friendly confines of Avaya Stadium going forward.
“I think the overall performances of the team is more important than the stadium we play in,” Kinnear said. “Saying that, I know we are good enough to win a game on the road, we need to stop giving up the first goal and coming from behind. Sometimes we need a little bit of magic and things to go our way and we’re not getting those right now.”
The defense hasn’t necessarily been the main issue for the Earthquakes — opponents have scored multiple times in just five of the Earthquakes last seventeen contests.
San Jose will look to rebound at home in their next contest, taking on FC Dallas (9-5-4) on Friday.
photo from sjearthquakes.com: Promo for MLS Classico at Stanford Stadium on Saturday between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Los Angeles Galaxy
PALO ALTO, Calif.—The California Clasico never disappoints and 2016’s episode adds another great chapter to the historic rivalry between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Los Angeles Galaxy. The game that really saw everything, between great chances, red cards, and nearly all of the 50,816 fans in attendance yelling homophobic slurs ended in a 1-1 draw, thanks to some late heroics by the never-say-die Quakes.
The fans at Stanford Stadium truly saw fireworks on the pitch Saturday evening, right before one of the largest annual Bay Area firework displays lit up the Palo Alto sky.
San Jose had their mojo early, despite losing center back, Victor Bernardez to a right leg injury in just the seventh minute. Forward, Chad Barrett replaced him, changing the formation with the substitution. Barrett ended up being a vital piece for the Quakes, creating some great chances and knocking home the only San Jose goal of the evening in 90th minute.
The first half ended with no score, although San Jose had 12 of their 23 shot attempts.
Los Angeles scored first, netting home a header in the 69th minute. Steven Gerrard floated a cross from the right side into the middle of the box to find a wide open Giovani dos Santos for the 1-0 lead.
“I thought it was a really soft goal to give up. The ball was in the air a really long time,” said Earthquakes’ coach Dominic Kinnear.
Shea Salinas came in the 62 minute for San Jose, subbing Matias Perez Garcia and ended up being the difference maker. The guy known for his beautiful crosses had been working his magic, and it finally paid off in the 90th minute on a set piece when he found the head of Barett for the late equalizer. Barrett jumped high above the Galaxy defense and headed a one-bouncer past keeper, Brian Rowe for the score.
On military appreciation night, the pitch turned into a war-zone towards the end of the contest, as he nastiness reigned down, finishing with Ashley Cole receiving a red card for unsportsmanlike conduct just before the final whistle blew. LA coach, Bruce Arena, commented on the officiating, “if the officials look at that last 15 minutes of that game, they’d be very disappointed in their performance. That was a poor display.”
San Jose is content with the outcome, as they feel like they did enough to win the contest, but are also happy getting a point of it as well. Both San Jose and Los Angeles are battling for playoff position in the Western Conference. LA currently is one point up on San Jose in the standings. Each team has played 16 games.
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