Category: San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose Earthquakes Saturday game wrap: Chippiness costs Quakes

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~ By Pearl Allison Lo

photo credit: Los Angeles Times–The San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski collides with LA Galaxy goaltender Brian Rowe during the first half on Saturday

LOS ANGELES~ San Jose lost their perfect start to their California Clasico rivals, the Los Angeles Galaxy, in a 3-1 rough and tumble match Saturday.

Gyasi Zardes had a brace, breaking through the draw off the game’s seventh yellow card, the Quakes’ Simon Dawkins was ejected in his first return road start, teammate Chris Wondolowski scored his third goal in as many games and Robbie Keane had a penalty kick goal.

In the first half, San Jose had their defense up with headers turning away shots, but their offense could not get close enough. The Galaxy outshot the Quakes 7-1.

Los Angeles had a hitch in their start when in the 3rd minute, Steven Gerrard had to leave with a left calf injury. Baggio Husidic came in for the substitution.

The first shot of the game came in the 9th minute when the Galaxy’s Mike Magee’s shot went wide right.

Wondolowski and Los Angeles goalie Brian Rowe had a head to head collision.

San Jose’s first shot was a high header by Quincy Amarikwa in the 15th minute.

The Galaxy got their second and third yellow cards a minute apart. Jelle Van Damme and Nigel de Jong were carded in the 21st and 22nd minute.

In the 29th minute, de Jong had his third shot of the game, a free kick from where he had a dangerous free kick earlier. It was saved by goalie David Bingham.

Andres Imperiale got the Quakes’ first yellow card in the 41st minute.

Things finally turned red when Dawkins was ejected in stoppage time.

In the second half, San Jose caught up a bit on the yellow card side. Los Angeles outshot the Quakes 10-5, with nine of those shots coming from inside the box.

After Victor Bernardez committed a foul, Magee’s first shot in the second hit his teammate, his second hit Anibal Godoy, who cleared the ball at the line in the 49th minute.

Magee had a fourth shot attempt in the 51st minute, and after it was saved, had a what does it take to score reaction.

Amarikwa had another shot, his second and the second for San Jose, in the 51st minute. Wondolowski and Rowe had another collision after Rowe caught the ball.

In the 55th minute, Imperiale had his first MLS shot amidst his MLS debut and first MLS start.

The Quakes’ Marvell Wynne received a yellow in the 56th minute, in about the same spot as Bernardez earlier. This one was costly, as off the free kick that same minute, Van Damme had a header, Wondolowksi missed the clearance in the box and Zardes kicked the ball past Bingham for the 1-0 lead.  Magee also had an assist.

Zardes’ brace occurred in the 62nd minute in about the same spot, as he received a backwards pass from Husidic. It was a light touch by Zardes, but Bingham was too far out to get back in time.

Zardes went for the hat trick in the 72nd minute, but his shot went wide right.

Wynne got wide open, but his shot hit Daniel Steres, who got back in time. Wynne was then able to kick the ball to Wondolowski, who came in to help and surrounded by defenders, Wondolowski was able to spoil the Galaxy’s shutout in the 89th minute, to extend the Quakes’ streak with at least a goal to a MLS-longest 16 games. He also now has the most goals by any active player against Los Angeles, with seven.

It was then announced that there would be four minutes of stoppage time, so ostensibly San Jose had time to equalize.

However, Bernardez got Keane inside the box and in the 91st minute, Keane scored his fourth penalty kick goal against the Quakes, the most by any player against one team since the start of 2011 MLS, according to @OptaJack.

In the 92nd minute, Alan Gordon got the game’s last yellow card, as Matias Perez Garcia limped off the field.

Game notes: The only change in the Quakes’ lineup was Imperiale, who was questionable, playing for Clarence Goodson. San Jose suffered just their second loss in games started by Godoy (9-2-3). Sporting Kansas City, who plays Sunday March 20th, is now the only team with a perfect record. The Quakes next play D.C. United to start off April,l on the 2nd at 7:30pm

Earthquakes defeat Timbers behind Amarikwa’s incredible goal

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By: Eric He

photo credit: squawka.com–San Jose Earthquakes Quincy Amarikwa is congratulated after scoring the Quakes second goal on Sunday at Avaya Stadium

SAN JOSE – Quincy Amarikwa’s wonder goal helped the San Jose Earthquakes prevail 2-1 over the defending-champion Portland Timbers at Avaya Stadium on Sunday evening.

Amarikwa scored in stoppage time of the first half on a perfectly placed chip shot from well outside the box to put the Earthquakes ahead 2-0.

“I made my second touch and looked up and I saw the keeper still struggling to get back to his end line,” Amarikwa said. “I figured if I could put it over his back right shoulder, I’d have the best opportunity to get a goal in that situation. Knowing there was a bunch of puddles on the field, I wasn’t sure if the best course of action would be to dribble, so I had a go and it went in the back of the net.”

Portland, which outshot San Jose 16-8 in the game, put forth a valiant effort in the second half, finally getting on the board in the 89th minute on a goal by Jack McInerney. It was too little, too late, however, as the Earthquakes hung on for the win.

“It’s nice to execute a nice game plan,” said captain Chris Wondolowski. “I thought we knew what we wanted to do.”

The Timbers started off controlling possession and outshot the Earthquakes 10-3 in the first half, but six of those shots were off-target.

Still, they had their fair share of scoring changes, but Lucas Melano banged one off the crossbar five minutes in and a sliding block from Clarence Goodson thwarted Fanendo Adi’s bid on a rush.

Meanwhile, San Jose made its attempts count.

In the 30th minute, Wondolowksi directed in a cross from Anibal Godoy for his second goal in as many games.

Then – in stoppage time – came the goal of the early MLS season. Amarikwa chipped one from 35-feet out on the right flank that eluded the diving Adam Larsen Kwarasey to give San Jose a 2-0 advantage heading into the locker room.

“It gives you chills when you see plays like that no matter what,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said.

When asked about the parallel between his shot and a Stephen Curry long-distance 3-pointer, Amarikwa did not hesitate.

“I’ve been watching Curry shoot from everywhere so I was like, ‘Oh man. If he can do it, I can get lucky one time,’” he said.

Wondolowski noted that it was a well-deserved goal for the scrappy forward.

“His work ethic is contagious,” Wondolowski sad. “He does so much that doesn’t show up in the box score. He doesn’t get as much credit as he should. That’s why I’m so glad he gets a world class goal where people can see how great he is.”

The Earthquakes notch their first win over the Timbers for the first time in five matches and start the season 2-0-0. They head into Saturday’s match against the Galaxy on the road with a head full of steam.

Bingham Stands Tall in Earthquakes Shutout

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By Ben Leonard

photo credit: San Jose Mercury News–San Jose Earthquakes David Bingham (1) makes a save against the Colorado Rapids Sunday

SAN JOSE, Calif. —On a blustery, cold day at Avaya Stadium, the ominous grey chill seemed to freeze up the Earthquakes offense. Near misses and wasted possessions plagued San Jose in its opener, with a new-look offense in need of some tuneups.

In the face of these miscues, one man stood tall: keeper David Bingham. The Colorado Rapids pounded Bingham with shot after shot, but he fought through opener jitters to keep the Rapids off the board in a 1-0 Earthquakes victory. Bingham made leading save after leaping save, majestically leaping like a gazelle to break the Rapids’ hearts over and over again.

The Rapids got off a whopping 18 shots, including 10 inside the box, but the sure-handed Bingham didn’t give in — it’s not in his DNA. Bingham fought his way through four years in the lower level North American soccer league with the San Antonio Scorpions, even playing for Norway’s Strømmen IF, working his way up to San Jose last season to find his way into the starting lineup. As an MLS journeyman, he has become accustomed to dealing with adversity.

In last year’s season opener, his debut as a starter, Bigham found himself on the other side of things against Dallas, losing 1-0. Not one for drama, Bingham dismissed notions that his experience helped flip the script: “It’s the opening game of the season, so you’re excited for it, just like last season. This year obviously I have a year and 34 games under me, so that was nice, but at the end of the day, you have to be prepared for each game and I felt like we were today.”

Bingham was quick to credit his teammates’ stingy defense, especially from the dynamic duo of Victor Bernárdez and Clarence Goodson, who both came up with huge tackles to save goals, for his success today. “It’s huge. I think without either one of their tackles, I think they finish those chances. It’s great plays on their half, and you have two guys who have played for their national teams for years and years, so it’s great to have them healthy. When we’re healthy, we have one of the best back fours in the league.”

Bingham also did well in order to fight subpar conditions on the field. Heavy rain in previous days had softened the turf significantly, and there were lots of confetti and streamers littering the goalie’s box for the opening festivities. Several players lost their footing on the wet sod, killing several key chances. Bingham, however, thought it was just “part of the game” that it was a little sloppy in some places, something he just “had to deal with and move on from.”

Overall, Bingham was satisfied with the team’s performance: “I thought it was a good game defensively, [even though] we had some moments where we obviously weren’t up to par. But I think it’s most important to get the win, and we got the shutout today, which is nice. we know what we need to work on going forward, and we’ll work on it this week to take a step forward for next weekend.

 

 

 

 

Wondolowski Header Hands Earthquakes A Win On Opening Day.

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By Shawn Whelchel

photo credit: San Jose Mercury News– San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham (1) dives to make a save grabbing the ball away from Shkelzen Gashi (11) of the Colorado Rapids on Sunday

SAN JOSE–Chris Wondolowski’s header was all the San Jose Earthquakes would need to secure a win on opening day of the 2016 MLS season, as a strong defensive effort from David Bingham would keep the Colorado Rapids off the scorecard for a 1-nil victory at Avaya Stadium.

Bingham had an outstanding day guarding the net for San Jose, making five saves on 18 shots from the Rapids, while showing off his hands and athleticism repelling a second-half flurry from the visiting team.

San Jose would secure their lone goal with the help of a new face-and their old reliable captain-as Alberto Quintero would feed a beautiful ball into the cutting Wondolowski for the go-ahead score at the start of the second-half. Despite a second-half outburst from the Rapids which saw them line-up 13 of their 18 total shots on the day, San Jose walked away victors for their 13th consecutive match without a loss against Colorado.

The Quakes got off to a sluggish start on the slippery turf at Avaya on Sunday, doing most of their work on the defensive side as the Rapids looked to be the aggressors early on.

Bingham received no grace period to start the season, being thrust into action to stop multiple Rapids’ attempts throughout the half. Kevin Doyle and Dillon Powers-who accounted for three of the Rapids five first-half shots- sent a trio of dangerous balls towards San Jose’s net. San Jose’s offensive attack couldn’t offer Bingham an extended spell either, as Colorado dominated the time of possession at 57.1 percent throughout the first 45-minutes of play as well, keeping the 26-year old Bay Area native on his toes.

While Bingham was busy showcasing his good hands, Colorado goaltender Zac MacMath had a relatively easy going early on. Quincy Amarikwa broke free on a dangerous run towards the goal near the 33′ minute mark, but was thwarted by a well-timed tackle by Rapids defender Jarred Watts near the goal. San Jose would loft up a few lazy shots throughout the frame, but failed to seriously threaten in a lackluster opening half.

But the revamped Earthquakes would shake off the season-opening cobwebs to start the second half, earning their inaugural 2016 goal off the head of the man who put through 16 for the team last year.

Just seconds after the sound of the whistle, newcomer Quintero- who was loaned to the team from Lobos BUAP in February-would feed the cutting Wondolowski a well-placed ball that would find the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage.

San Jose would continue to keep their newfound intensity up, with both Wondolowski and Tommy Thompson nearly missing a second goal for their club. But with time running out, Colorado launched a furious attempt to find an equalizer against Bingham.

Marco Pappa nearly connected with the back of the net on two attempts, including a free-kick attempt and a dangerous header attempt at the 88′ mark that just scraped the left-side of the goal post before heading out of bounds. Dominique Badji would also threaten the Earthquakes lead with a dangerous sprint up the middle of the pitch for an uncontested try that sailed into the second deck. Badji would represent the Rapids last attempt before game’s end as well, with Victor Bernardez showing some defensive prowess to stop the midfielder’s attempt before Bingham would make his fifth and final save.

The win represents the second-straight opening day victory for the Earthquakes at Avaya, and sets them off on the right foot for the 2016 MLS season. San Jose has a week off before facing the Portland Timbers on March 13 at 4:00 p.m.

Quakes see end of 2015 season

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By Pearl Allison Lo

~ In an important Decision Day match, San Jose was unable to hold on to their lead against FC Dallas, in a 2-1 defeat Sunday.

The Quakes have now missed the playoffs for three straight years, but were the closest to making that portion of the season this year. San Jose ended up four points under the red line, behind the Seattle Sounders FC, LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City, who finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively with 51 points apiece.

The Quakes’ website now reads “Thank You, Quakes Fans. SJ 74” on top of a video, which when clicked, says “Thank you, Quakes Fans, for an unforgettable 2015 season.” It featured gratitude from Chris Wondolowski, Jean Baptiste Pierraci, Bryan Meredith, David Bingham, Marvell Wynne, Marc Pelosi, Shaun Francis, Paulo Renato, Shea Salinas and moer.

San Jose’s Quincy Amarikwa first had an attempt on goal in the 11th minute.

Two minutes later, he did not miss. Fatai Alashe used some footwork to get the ball to Amarikwa who just had one person in front of him. There might have been a shove as the defender tumbled to the ground. Matt Hedges raced to help and both he and Amarikwa bumped into each other. Amarikwa then switched directions and worked his way around Hedges. After taking a few more steps, Amarikwa shot the ball past a sliding Hedges and just underneath goalie Jesse Gonzalez. It was Amarikwa’s sixth goal.

The Quakes’ lead held until Fabian Castillo got the ball along the endlines against Wynne, past a diving, Bingham past two defenders and FC Dallas’s Mauro Diaz. Diaz was able to get the ball out eventually and into the net in the 38th minute.

In the first half, only players for San Jose had multiple shots on goal. Those shots belonged to Wondolowski and Amarikwa. The Quakes outshot FC Dallas 7-3.

Things then got bad in the 67th minute when San Jose went a man down. Matias Perez Garcia and Diaz ran into each other and then collided again when Perez Garcia raised a hand to Diaz. Protests afterwards by the Quakes ran about two minutes. Perez Garcia received a red card and Diaz a yellow after he motioned Perez Garcia to the locker room. That was the only card FC Dallas received during the game. San Jose received two more yellow cards later on in the match.

Things got worse when the Quakes’ Clarence Goodson’s second attempt at a clearance hit Victor Ulloa, who gave it to Castillo. Castillo gave it back to Ulloa at the edge of the box and Ulloa scored against Bingham, who came out to meet him. It was Ulloa’s second goal of the year.

Game notes: San Jose’s Victor Bernardez, who returned due to yellow card accumulation, got another in the 27th minute. The New York Red Bulls ended up winning the Supporters’ Shield over Dallas. The Quakes remained winless in three meetings this season versus FC Dallas. Salinas reached over 10,000 career minutes with San Jose. Wondolowski led all with five shots on goal, the next set of people with two shots.

Earthquakes Vault into Playoff Position in Draw with Whitecaps

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By: Eric He

With just three games left in the season, the San Jose Earthquakes needed every possible point. They got just one Saturday night in a 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps at Avaya Stadium, but it was pivotal one.

An equalizer by Chris Wondolowski in the 62nd minute salvaged a draw for the Earthquakes and moved them into a tie with the Portland Timbers for the sixth and final playoff position in the West. Both the Earthquakes and Timbers have 44 points, but the Earthquakes — for now — own the tiebreak with a better goal differential. Portland, however, has one more game remaining than San Jose.

The Whitecaps, who are second in the conference with 49 points, struck first on a goal in the 38th minute by Christian Techera, who picked up a loose ball in front, cut it back past two Earthquakes defenders and lofted it over the head of David Bingham.

But when they needed him most, the Earthquakes’ best player delivered. It wasn’t the prettiest of goals, but Wondolowski followed up on a juicy rebounded created off a drive and shot by Cordell Cato, evening the game at 1-1.

It nearly ended in disaster for San Jose, as an errant free kick by Anibal Godoy in the 93rd minute created a two-on-none breakaway for Vancouver. But David Bingham bravely dove and cut off the Whitecaps’ Kekutah Manneh, preserving the game and perhaps the Earthquakes’ playoff hopes.

San Jose has some time off before its next match against Sporting KC on Oct. 16.

Grabavoy grabs game for NYC

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By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Ned Grabavoy played a part in each of his teams’ goals, as New York City FC won over the San Jose Earthquakes in the teams’ first-ever meeting Saturday, 3-2.

It was the first time Grabavoy got on the goal scoring column this season. The last time Grabavoy scored two goals in a game was May 19, 2013.

Both of the teams’ leading scorers scored in the game as all of the goals came in the second half.

Grabavoy inadvertently assisted on his first goal of the year. He passed the ball to David Villa before Villa returned it to him, as Grabavoy scored the game’s first goal in the 51st minute.

In the 63rd minute, Grabavoy scored his second goal of the match from a cross by Frank Lampard.

Villa then made things look even more daunting two minutes later, when he scored past a flying David Bingham. It was Villa’s team-leading 16th goal.

San Jose did not give up though. However, New York City matched their intensity.

After a corner kick that a New York City player hit, the ball hung in the air before Quincy Amarikwa headed it in to make it 3-1 in the 72nd minute.

Amarikwa later got pulled down for a penalty, resulting in a penalty kick by Chris Wondolowski. The conversion was Wondolowski’s sixth out of six penalty attempts for the season and his team-leading 15th goal, to make it 3-2 in the 76th minute.

Game notes: The Quakes resume play September 27 at 4pm versus Real Salt Lake.

Earthquakes draw for second consecutive match

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By: Eric He

The San Jose Earthquakes have been stuck in quicksand the last two matches, earning consecutive draws, the latest one being a 1-1 tie with the Montreal Impact at Avaya Stadium on Wednesday night.

Despite the Impact playing down a man for about half the game after Ambroise Oyongo tripped up Matias Perez Garcia and earned a red card, the Earthquakes failed to net more than the one goal and missed an opportunity to gain some much-needed ground in the Western Conference playoff race.

It was all good early when Chris Wondolowski struck 35 minutes into the match. Impact goalkeeper Eric Kronberg’s toss resulted in a turnover and wound up in the back of the net after a right-footed strike by Wondolowski.

The red card for the Impact’s Oyongo came in the 49th minute, but the Impact managed to equalize despite being down a man.

With his left foot, Kyle Bekker netted his first goal of the season in the 64th minute, sending a curling shot that evaded Earthquakes keeper David Bingham, who probably came too far out of the box. On a bounce, the ball skipped into the goal to even the score.

Despite late pressure from the Earthquakes, who outshot the Impact 16-8, had 11 shots on target, and out possessed the Impact 63.8 percent to 36.2 percent, the game ended in a disappointing draw.

San Jose has 40 points, one back of Portland in the West for the sixth and final playoff spot with five matches to play. Up next will be a matchup against NYCFC on Saturday in New York City.

Quakes denied badly-needed victory by Sounders

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

Riding a hot streak of five wins in six matches, the San Jose Earthquakes were denied of a victory on Saturday night that would have vaulted them back into the playoff picture.

Instead, with a 1-1 draw against the Seattle Sounders at Avaya Stadium, the Earthquakes settled for a point and remain two points back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Two second half goals provided the scoring for the match — Fatai Alashe in the 70th minute for San Jose and Obafemi Martins in the 82nd minute for Seattle.

Alashe scored on a header off a free kick from the right of the box by Matias Perez Garcia. Perez Garcia’s chip found Alashe, who headed it past Stefan Frei to give the Earthquakes a temporary lead.

But Martins answered, netting home a rebound after a terrific save by David Bingham off a header by Zach Scott. Martins spoiled Bingham’s effort and evened the score at 1-1.

It would remain that way through stoppage time in a disappointing outing for an Earthquakes team hoping for a pivotal victory.

The Earthquakes held a 10-7 lead in the shot totals and possession was fairly even. San Jose also was awarded more corner kicks (7-2), but weren’t able to capitalize.

Next up for San Jose will be the Montreal Impact on Sept. 16 at Avaya Stadium.

 

In Battle of the Streaks Quakes Beat LA

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. –  If the San Jose Earthquakes expected to continue their three-game win streak, let alone the run of 270-plus minutes without yielding a goal, to continue Friday night at Avaya Stadium they’d need their A-game. Facing in-state rivals the Los Angeles Galaxy in the third and deciding leg of the California Clasico between the first two California-based MLS Sides, the Quakes needed to find a way to slow one of the MLS’ most potent offenses and red-hot sides down.

“That’s life in MLS,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “It’s a league of streaks.”

San Jose did just that, extending its own streak to four-straight triumphs, topping the Western Conference leaders 1-0 to move ahead of Settle into the fifth spot in the table.

“I’m really happy with this group,” said Kinnear. “The last three weeks we’ve been good. We’ve followed those performances up with a good level of consistency. That’s the reason why we’re winning games.”

Shea Salinas scored and David Bingham made 4 saves to pick up a quartet of clean sheets in as many games. The Quakes earned the crown as Clasico victors, beating LA 3-1 at Stanford Stadium June 27th before being thrashed in Carson 5-2 on July 17th.

The Galaxy entered Friday’s match having scored a league-leading 49 goals over 27 games backed by imports like Steven Gerrard and MLS mainstay Robbie Keane. Despite coming into play with the 2nd most saves in the MLS (86) and ranking third in shutouts (9), Bingham and San Jose had their hands full keeping an LA squad off the board and out of the win column for a fifth-straight match.

“If anybody has been awake,” said Kinnear. “If anyone has been alive in the last five years in soccer, you know those players already. You want to show them you belong, that you’re a good player. If you step on the field and you’re just looking at the names, you’re going to be in for a long night. They’re not good players, they’re great players.”

The road-weary Quakes now find themselves with the upper hand in the closing weeks of the MLS season. They finish up the season with 6 of 8 matches at home as they look to lock up a playoff spot for the first time since 2012 when San Jose won the Supporters Shield with a league-best 19 wins.

A dogged effort by midfielder Shea Salinas put the Quakes on top 1-0 in the 19th minute. Forward Quincy Amarikwa headed a shot onto Galaxy keep Donovan Ricketts, but the MLS vet got his gloves on the bid. Amarikwa’s header proved too strong for a clean grab, instead popping the ball into the air. Salinas capitalized, hitting the goal box on a dead sprint, to head the loose ball into the top right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

“Marvell made a great cross and Quincy fought it,” said Salinas of his goal. “Ricketts made a great save. God just put me in the right place and I was able to put it in the back of the net.”

“He just looks confident,” said Kinnear of Salinas and his two-game goal streak. “I think he feels that, no matter who the defender is playing against him, he feels he can beat them.”

“The Quakes started the second half holding most of the momentum, but found themselves further in control after the officials sent Leonardo off with a red card. The Galaxy defender hauled Amarikwa down from behind in the 47th minute to put his team down a man for almost half the contest. LA handcuffed itself in the 74th minute Dave Romney was given a yellow card as well. While the Quakes didn’t score with the man-advantage, they ran the Galaxy ragged with the edge.

After building the streak by breaking Eastern Conference Leaders D.C. United and Sporting Kansas City, third best in the West, the Quakes can make it 5 against the scuffling Philadelphia Union next Saturday. The Union currently sits one win ahead of Chicago as the leg of the Eastern Conference table.

“Teams can come here and beat anyone on any given day,” said Bingham. “We have to continue to play well.”