Category: San Jose Earthquakes

Keane’s hat trick the difference

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Photo credit: (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The San Jose Earthquakes ended their scoring drought, but extended their winless drought, as the Los Angeles Galaxy won the second matchup of the California Clasico with exclamation points, 5-2 Friday.

Robbie Keane scored the first of Los Angeles’ five straight goals. Two of his goals were penalty kicks, and it was his second straight MLS game with a hat trick, which he last accomplished on July 4th.

San Jose’s scoring drought ended in the 22nd minute, but they have now lost three straight MLS games, four including their ICC match.

San Jose got off to a promising start. Every time Los Angeles was close, the Quakes would knock the ball away with stout defense.

Quincy Amarikwa may have missed his first opportunity in the 12th minute, but he did not miss his next two for San Jose.

Off a free kick, Amarikwa ended the Quakes’ drought with his first goal since rejoining the team.  Sanna Nyassi crossed the ball and Amarikwa received it at the top of the box as the ball slid past goalie Brian Rowe.

Amarikwa’s brace goal came in the 25th minute, two goals in his second game of his second stint with San Jose. Clarence Goodson gave the assist.

Going by the crowd, there were two plays they felt should have been called, one being the Quakes rolling over a Los Angeles player and another play at the endline.

The Galaxy eventually got a penalty kick as Tommy Thompson was called for a penalty against Steven Gerrard, who made his MLS debut until the 87th minute.

Keane cut the lead in half, shooting past goalie David Bingham.

Gerrard then scored his first MLS goal in the 37th minute, as the ball eventually found its way to him from the other side. That resulted in two goals for each team in an active first half.

In the second half however, momentum went mostly to Los Angeles, as they scored three more goals. San Jose went without a shot on goal in the second half while the Galaxy kept making breakways toward goal. Gerrard first had a run. On the second one, the pass from Keane went to Sebastian Lletget, whose shot hit the crossbar and went out.

Los Angeles had more similar close calls later.

Shea Salinas drew a yellow card against Gerrard in the 55th minute. The Quakes had three yellows in the second half.

Keane and Gerrard connected on a free kick in the 64th minute for Keane’s middle goal

In the waning minutes, Bingham made a save, then in going for the loose ball, ended up knocking Bagio Husidic to the ground for Keane’s second penalty goal. Gerrard had scored right before the penalty made it null.

Lletget capped the game off in the 92nd minute. Robbie Rogers got the assist. Los Angeles has scored at least five goals in three of their last five games.

Game notes: Before the game, it was announced that San Jose had signed Marc Pelos,i Bay Area native, from the youth national team. Both teams were missing a player, the Galaxy Omar Gonzalez and the Quakes Chris Wondolowski, due to Gold Cup action.  The Quakes face the Vancouver Whitecaps in their next MLS action on July 26 at 4pm.

Sportstalk Podcast @ M Lounge and Restaurant downtown San Jose Mon Jul 13, 2015

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Cast: Joe Lami (host), Mary Lisa Walsh, Ben Leonard, Jeremy Harness, Matt Harrington, Lee Leonard (producer) the cast got to enjoy San Jose’s favorite place for Asian Fusion. Owner Ashwini and General Manager Irma invite you to try some of M’s favorite recommendations the lobster thermador, the vegetable samosas, king crab, calamari, cream corn soup, fried prawns, Nonya Shrimp Por Phia, M Style Water Chestnuts, and San Jose’s favorite the hot and sour soup.

Ashwini and Irma invite you to enjoy Friday and Saturday night DJ dancing on the M Lounge and Restaurant floor starting at 9:30PM. Happy Hour is 3:00PM-7:00PM and 9:00PM to closing everyday. M Lounge and Restaurant located at the corner of Second and San Fernando in downtown San Jose at 88 Second Street. Open everyday Monday to Thursday 11 AM-11PM and Fridays and Saturdays 11AM-12AM. We loved M Lounge and Restaurant you will too stop by for lunch and dinner daily.

Coach Takes The Blame In Quakes Loss

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By: Joe Lami

SAN JOSE, Calif.—

It only took ten minutes for the Houston Dynamo to get on the board on Friday night, as they easily defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0.  Ricardo Clark had a diving header for his fourth goal of the season.  It was set up on a beautiful cross from the left side by Alexander Lopez that floated into the middle of the box, where Clark dove past Quakes’ defender Shaun Francis for the 1-0 lead.

The Quakes best chance came in the 32nd minute on a free kick.  Following a yellow card issued to Dynamo goalie, Tyler Deric, for delay of game, the free kick was set up at the top of the semi-circle. Victor Bernandez received a tap pass from Matias Perez Garcia and rocketed a right footer directly into the corner crossbar on the right side.

Bernandez had another outstanding play in the 56th minute, but this time it was on defense. Clark was going for his second goal of the match, as he kicked a bounce shot past Quakes’ goalie David Bingham, but Bernandez was able to get in front of the shot to keep the deficit at one.

Quakes’ head coach, Dominic Kinnear, commented on Bernandez play “Victor’s been consistent and good all year”.

San Jose had trouble stringing together passes in the final third, which eventually led to their demise, as they were unable to find the back of the net.

The Dynamo put the nail in the coffin in the 81st minute, after a mistake on defense from Fatai Alashe. Alashe tried to kick it back to Bingham, but the kick wasn’t strong enough leaving Bingham out high and dry. It led to a two on none, where Leonel Miranda passed it across the box to Will Bruin, who had a tap in goal for his eighth goal of the year.

Kinnear put the loss on himself, “I’ll take the blame for this one.  I think that every once in a while a coach doesn’t prepare his team properly.  I don’t think we played well tonight and I think I had a lot to do with it”.

San Jose was without captain and leading, Chris Wondolowski, as he has been called up for international duty to participate in the Gold Cup for the United States Men’s National Team.

Late goal ruins Quakes’ bid for draw in Portland

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By: Eric He

Just minutes away from escaping Portland in a scoreless draw, the shorthanded San Jose Earthquakes were felled by a stoppage time goal by Jack Jewsbury in a 1-0 defeat to the Timbers.

Off a free kick by Diego Valeri from the left of the box, Jewsbury knocked redirected the deflected ball into the net, a fortuitous bounce that cost the Earthquakes a point.

It seemed like luck would favor San Jose in this game. In the 87th minute, Timbers forward Gaston Fernandez headed a cross by defenseman Alvas Powell past David Bingham, but was whistled down for a narrow offside.

The Earthquakes themselves were a victim of the referee’s decisions. Tommy Thompson was knocked down in the area in the 83rd minute after a fantastic run, but the penalty didn’t come.

Instead, San Jose, which fought and clawed enough to deserve a draw, will head home with nothing.

The Earthquakes were playing shorthanded without Chris Wondolowski and Cordell Cato (Gold Cup), Sanna Nyassi (suspension) and Matias Perez Garcia (undisclosed injury), so a draw would have been more than ideal.

A couple of controversial calls went against both teams in the first half.

In the 24th minute, a header by Quakes forward Mark Sherrod off a corner kick was deflected away off the goal line by Powell, but it appeared to be a handball that wasn’t called.

In the 40th minute, Timbers midfielder Valeri burst in and shot one past Bingham, but it was called back due to an offsides that the referee on the sideline missed.

The Timbers sustained pressure for the majority of the first half, generating chances and controlling pressure. But Bingham stood tall in net and the shorthanded Quakes were able to withstand the onslaught.

Notes

The Earthquakes were outshot 23-7, including 7-2 in shots on target. …They have never beaten the Timbers in the MLS era. … The game’s start time was delayed six hours from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST because of an unbearable heat wave in Portland. … The Earthquakes remain on the outside looking in on the playoff picture with 25 points. … Their next game will be on Friday at home against Houston.

Quakes Blanked by Galaxy in U.S. Open Cup Round of 16

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By: Eric He

An early goal was all the Los Angeles Galaxy needed to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in Round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup at Avaya Stadium Wednesday night.

The win came just five days after the Quakes dominated the Galaxy 3-1 in a MLS game at Stanford Stadium.

In the sixth minute, midfielder Kenny Walker lofted a perfect pass to Jose Villareal, who touched it down with his right foot and fired a rocket with his left foot past Quakes’ goalkeeper Bryan Meredith.

“I think we were a bit unaware of the danger that was happening at that present time and it is very surprising that at six minutes we gave up such an easy chance,” said Quakes head coach Dominic Kinnear.

Despite doubling the Galaxy in shots (14-7), the Quakes only had three shots on goal and could not squeeze one by Galaxy goalkeeper Bryan Rowe. Rowe turned aside the Quakes, who pressured all game for the tying goal. He made a tremendous save on a header by JJ Koval off a corner kick in the 51st minute.

Kinnear praised his team for a better effort in the second half: “I thought in the first half all second balls fell to them and they obviously got some chances out of it and got some possession. Where I thought in the second half we were around the ball a heck of a lot more and that’s the reason why we were knocking on the door for as long as we were.”

The Quakes had nine corner kicks to the Galaxy’s zero, in a game played in front of 13,329 at the Quakes’ home stadium.

San Jose will now return to MLS action, as their next game will be on Sunday in Portland against the Timbers.

Quakes surge past Galaxy in California Classico

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By: Eric He

PALO ALTO — For the past several years, the annual California Classico between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Los Angeles Galaxy has lived up to its billing as one of the premier MLS games of the year, and this season’s match at Stanford Stadium was no exception.

In a tight contest filled with intense action in front of a sellout crowed of over 50,000 fans, the Earthquakes defeated the Galaxy 3-1 with three unanswered goals, two coming in the second half.

The Quakes came out strong to start the second half and it paid off with a goal in the 53rd minute by Goodson. Off a corner kick by Matias Perez Garcia, Goodson beat his defender to the ball and headed it past Galaxy goaltender Jaime Penedo to give the Quakes a 2-1 lead. It was Perez Garcia’s sixth assist in his last seven games.

They continued pressing, and Cordell Cato, who subbed in for Sanna Nyassi in the 60th minute, delivered a huge insurance goal just 12 minutes later. After some hard work by Shea Salinas to win the ball, Cato eluded Dan Gargan and had plenty of time to fire a hard shot past Penedo from close range.

The win gives the Earthquakes 25 points, tying them with the Portland Timbers for the final playoff spot in the West.

The first half featured highlight-reel goals for both teams – Juninho for the Galaxy and Chris Wondolowski for the Quakes.

It was Juninho who struck first in the 17th minute with a bolt from well beyond the penalty area, a shot that Quakes’ goaltender David Bingham had no chance to stop.

Wondolowski answered in the 28th minute, finishing it off after a terrific feed by Perez Garcia. Perez Garcia deked out Leonardo, creating room for the cross. It was Wondolowski who started the play to begin with, stripping Gargan of the ball and finding Perez Garcia on the right flank.

Otherwise, both goaltenders stood tall in a fast-paced half.

The Quakes nearly scored right off the bat. On the net-mouth scramble in the opening minute, Wondolowski was denied from point-blank by Penedo.

Penedo also made a strong play in the 20th minute, knocking the ball away from Salinas after the Quakes’ midfielder had a clear path from the left side.

Bingham, meanwhile, made crucial stops in consecutive minutes – in the 23rd minute he denied a free kick off the foot of Stefan Ishizaki followed by a point-blank save on Robbie Keane in the 24th minute.

Shots and possession in the first half were relatively even, as the teams went in the locker room with a goal apiece.

Notes

The Earthquakes have lost just once in their last nine MLS games. … They have also lost just once in 11 regular season games against the Galaxy at home. … The Galaxy’s road winless streak is now at 16 games. … On Friday, the Quakes traded defender Ty Harden to the Fire for forward Quincy Amarikwa. … The Quakes are 35-23-17 all-time in the month of June. … The Quakes have allowed one or fewer goals in seven of their last eight matches. … Since 2008, they have played 13 home games away from their home venue and are now 7-4-2 in those matches.

Quakes break winless streak

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By Pearl Allison Lo

~ The San Jose Earthquakes beat the top MLS team, the Seattle Sounders, in a 2-0 Saturday matchup.

It was San Jose’s first win since May 16, when they won by the same score, their second consecutive win over the Sounders this season, David Bingham’s second consecutive clean sheet and the Quakes’ second shutout on the road.

Seattle was without Clint Dempsey, who was serving the first of this three-game suspension from the US Open Cup.

It was the Sounders’ second scoreless game at home and their second shutout in the last three games.

Quakes’ head coach Dominic Kinnear said, “If you looked at the standings before the game, we were kind of on the outside looking in, so for us to get this win will help us catch up to some teams.”

Former Seattle-ite Sanna Nyassi gave the Quakes their first goal. San Jose was able to get the ball back before it crossed midfield, through fancy footwork as they jostled against along the sidelines. The ball went from Shea Salinas to Matias Perez Garcia to a wide open Nyassi to make it 1-0. Nyassi also had another goal during the game. He last scored on April 11.

The Quakes’ second goal was Matias Perez Garcia’s first goal of the season. It started with a clearance. Cordell Cato then got it when it was still in Seattle’s end and eventually passed it to Perez Garcia. Garcia then worked the ball around several defenders before scoring on goalie Stefan Frei in the 73rd minute. Garcia celebrated by kissing his wrists and kneeling while shooting the air with both hands.

On the goal, Cato said, “We were defending and the ball came out to Matias and I saw that there was open space and he got the ball to me. I made a long run and then I held up for him to catch up. He was asking for the ball and I made the pass and it was magic. He did the rest.”

Game notes: It was San Jose’s Marvell Wynne’s 250th regular season appearance. The Sounders’ Marco Pappa and the Quakes’ Chris Wondolowski were tied with four shots apiece. Changes from the last time San Jose faced Seattle were instead of Paulo Renato, Shaun Francis, JJ Koval and Innocent Emeghara, Clarence Goodson, Jordan Stewart, Shea Salinas and Adam Jahn. Changes from last game were Adam Jahn and Nyassi instead of Mark Sherrod and Cato. Now when getting the first goal and leading at the half, San Jose is  4-0-1 and 4-0-2 respectively in 2015. The Quakes next host the annual California Clasico against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Stanford Stadium June 27 at 7:30pm.

Quakes Advance To Round Of 16, Defeat Sacramento Republic FC in Shootout.

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By Shawn Whelchel

The San Jose Earthquakes needed 120 minutes of play, and six penalty kicks in a shootout to defeat the Sacramento Republic FC on Tuesday night, but the team earned a second consecutive trip to the Round of 16 on Tuesday night in a spectacular come from behind win in San Jose.

The Quakes drifted lazily throughout much of Tuesday night’s U.S Open Cup matchup, but rode the momentum of a scoring outburst from captain Chris Wondolowski to eventually eliminate Sacramento for the second straight year.

Sacramento wasted no time in putting the pressure on San Jose during their first trip to Avaya Stadium, earning a goal within the opening minutes of Tuesday night’s contest. After sitting out the last three games following a red card suspension, Republic FC midfielder Rodrigo Lopez earned a penalty kick after being tripped up by Shaun Francis inside the box.

Bryan Meredith, who was playing his first minutes of the season in place of normal starter David Bingham, received a tough welcome to the pitch as Lopez was able to shoot the ball past the reserve goal keeper, and into the top left of the net for a goal at the six minute mark.

Sacramento would not let off the gas throughout the rest of the half, continuing to put pressure on Bingham and the San Jose defense. Although they would bend, the defense would not break a second time, disallowing a second goal by Sacramento at the 43′ minute mark following a pair of impressive saves by both defenders and goalie alike.

The Earthquakes failed to return the same amount of offensive pressure that Republic was delivering, only threatening once on a Mark Sherrod header near the halfway mark of the first that bounced wide of the net.

Sacramento started the second half of the game much like the first, earning an early goal while providing all the offensive pressure of the opening minutes. Republic’s second goal of the game came off the foot of Emrah Klimenta, who was able to beat San Jose up the right side of the pitch to sneak a ball under the outstretched leg of Meredith for a 2-0 advantage at the 53′ minute mark.

But San Jose’s fire was ignited at the 73′ minute mark, as a scoring outburst salvaged what looked to be a lackluster game from the Earthquakes up to that point. Mike Fucito started things off by putting goalkeeper Patrick McLain to the test on back to back scoring chances. After sending two tough strikes toward McLain, teammate Chris Wondolowski was able to slip undefended into the front of the net to play the rebound and sink his first goal of the night to cut Sacramento’s lead in half.

Wondolowski would show off his knack for scoring just five minutes later after heading in a perfect cross from Marvell Wynne to tie the match at 2-2. Wondolowski would barely miss a hat trick in the 86th minute but missed just high on the cross bar. The two teams would attack to no avail during the remainder of regulation before being forced to overtime.

Although both teams found a way to threaten, neither could scratch during the first overtime session, leaving a 2-2 tie heading into the second, and final, fifteen minutes. Drained from the extended play, the two sides couldn’t muster up any real scoring threats in the second overtime either, sending the game to a shootout.

San Jose looked to be in trouble after consecutive blocks to Khari Stephenson and Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi put them in a deficit. But Meredith was able to hold off Sacramento’s Emrah Klimenta to keep his team alive. After an equalizer for San Jose notched things back up, Sacramento faltered on their sixth try of the night as James Kiffe launched a ball over the top of the net to secure a victory for San Jose.

Game Notes:

Tonight’s game was the first time San Jose Goalkeeper David Bingham did not play any minutes throughout the entire season.

Tuesday’s win advances their U.S Cup record to 14-11 all-time since the team began participating 12 years ago.

Tuesday night’s game was the first time a non-MLS team has played at Avaya Stadium.

Wondolowski’s two goal night gives him 99 goals as a member of the Quakes, and his franchise leading 176 multiple-goal game.

Quakes Squander Early Opportunities, Draw Against Dallas

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By Shawn Whelchel

The San Jose Earthquakes had to swallow a disappointing nil-nil draw at home on Sunday evening, after a host of missed opportunities and a card-slinging ref was the only action the match saw.

The contest started with a streaky first half that saw both teams squander prime scoring opportunities under the hot San Jose sun. After a rather uneventful first 15 minutes of the game, the Earthquakes offense came to life after putting some early pressure on the Dallas defense and goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.

It was then Dallas’ turn to return the favor, as Michael Barrios dribbled his way into the San Jose box, but was denied following an athletic save by Quakes keeper David Bingham, who punched the ball over the post to make the leaping save.

The Quakes responded by squandering perhaps the most opportune scoring chance of the first half. Cordell Cato sent a low,bouncing cross from the right side of the pitch that pulled Kennedy out of the goal. Both Mark Sherrod and Clarence Goodson had an attempt at a wide open net, but failed to put a foot on the manageable ball.

The Quakes would threaten one more time, this time on a bouncing header by Victor Bernardez that went high over the goal, before settling for a nil-nil draw heading into the half.

Although his team couldn’t capitalize on the scoring chances, head coach Dominic Kinnear liked the pressure his players were putting on Dallas’ defense.

“I’d rather be generating chances than taking chances the other way,” said Kinnear. “Sometimes scoring eludes ya, and it can be difficult, but I thought our effort was really good tonight.”

The second half saw more red cards than scoring opportunities for both teams, as referee Baldomero Toledo lived up to his trigger-happy reputation. The first came against the Quakes, as Sherrod attempted to stop over Kennedy, who had left the goal to smother a ball. Although seemingly incidental, Toledo sent Sherrod off to the displeasure of both the crowd and head coach Dominic Kinnear.

It was then Dallas’ turn to lose a player, as midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson would run into Cato, who was mid slide on a challenge, earning him an early exit from the game. The third, and final, card of the game was again against San Jose, as JJ Koval was sent off after a lunging challenge towards the foot of a striding Dallas player.

The string of red cards brought the game to a halt, disallowing both teams to gain rhythm or amass any real threat amidst the stoppages.

“I thought we were in for a good second half here,” said Kinnear. “They came out a little bit better in the second half, and then we started playing well. I thought Matias was playing really well for us as well, and then unfortunately the red card really changes things up in a negative fashion, probably for everybody except for Dallas.”

The Quakes had one scoring opportunity, stemming from a Chris Wondolowski header that bounced over Kennedy, but missed just a foot right of the post. The two teams traded possession, and players, before time ran out for a nil-nil tie to end what was a disappointing game for the Quakes.

Although the Quakes had numerous opportunities to earn a win, Kinnear wasn’t ungrateful for the single point his team earned in the tightly contested Western Conference.

“I think we are right in the middle with that one,” said Kinnear. “If you would have asked me at halftime I wouldn’t have taken a point. With the way the game was going I thought we were leaning on them a bit. Soon as you go down a man you obviously think the odds are stacked against you.”

The Earthquakes will stay in the South Bay for a match against Sacramento Republic FC on Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Quakes’ defense unsolid

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By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Sebastian Giovinco was the talk of the match without scoring, as San Jose’s five-game unbeaten streak fell to Toronto FC Saturday, 3-1, after a rain delay.

The Quakes gave up three goals for the first time this season as they outshot Toronto, but on goal, Toronto outshot San Jose 8-2.

Giovinco was named Man of the Match as he had two assists for the first time this season. He also clanged the bar twice, early and late in the game, as Toronto has now won two straight at home.

The last time the Quakes gave up multiple goals coincided with the game before the start of their unbeaten streak, April 17. In turn, San Jose has only scored multiple goals three times this season.

Former San Jose defender Justin Morrow gave Toronto the first goal with a header  in the 22nd minute. It was his first goal of the season as Giovinco and Jonathan Osorio gave the assists.

Two minutes later, a Toronto Ashton Morgan handball set up a Chris Wondolowski penalty kick. Wondolowski replicated the location of his 100th goal, with his 101th goal, which was a penalty shot too, in the lower left of the net. This makes four straight goals for Wondolowski, the first time since 2012.

This would not be enough for the Quakes this time, however.

The game winning goal was set up when Sanna Nyassi failed to clear the ball when Giovinco got the ball from him. Nyasia went down afterwards. The ball then went to Luke Moore, who kicked the ball to Warren Creavalle. Creavalle rocketed the ball forward from beyond the penalty box, to make it 2-1 in the 33rd minute. It was also his first goal of the season.

Moore gave Toronto an added boost with hi first goal of the season as well in the 71st minute. Toronto kicked the ball forward from midfield to Giovinco. Giovinco then kicked the ball sideways to Moore who came in to the play late, but was able to knock the ball into the net. Bingham touched the ball, but the kick was too strong.

Game notes: For San Jose, JJ Koval made his first start in awhile, Mark Sherrod saw his first action of the season and the team was without Fatai Alashe, Tommy Thompson and Matias Perez Garcia. Coach Dominic Kinnear said Perez Garcia “still has a bit of a groin problem.” The Quakes will look to preserve their unbeaten streak at home now when they host FC Dallas at 4pm June 7.