Category: San Jose Earthquakes

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.

Wondolowski Joins Century Club, Quakes Draw Orlando City 1-1

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Chris Wondolowski joined MLS royalty in Sunday’s 1-1 draw between the San Jose Earthquakes and Orlando City SC at Levi’s Stadium, scoring the tying goal on a penalty kick to become just the ninth player in league history to score 100 career goals.

“I’m very grateful,” said Wondolowski. “I know the historic value of it. I do appreciate it, but I think it’s one of those things that will slowly sink in. It hasn’t sunken in yet.”

Wondolowski’s marker extended the undefeated run by San Jose (5-4-3) to five games after Kaka put Orlando City (3-5-4) up 1-0 with a penalty strike of his own.

The two teams battled to a standstill in the first half, but a pair of penalty kicks broke open the flood gates in the second half.

“40 yards and in we were a bit missing today,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “We had a couple of good opportunities in the first half, a couple chances off set pieces. They were well organized, we were well organized. Sometimes defense rules the day and that’s what happened.”

Despite being down a man after Brek Shea was shown the red card for a spikes-up slide tackle in the 51st minute, the Lions struck first. Goalkeeper Tally Hall lofted a long ball into the attacking penalty box. Forward Cyle Larin and Quakes keeper David Bingham collided going after the 50-50 ball. Referee Allen Chapman awarded Orlando City a penalty kick for apparent contact to the face of the Lion attacker.

“For us to allow that ball to bounce once close to our area is a definite no-no,” said Kinnear. “That five-second segment was the worst we defended all year and we got punished for it.”

After weeks of hype in the media leading up to the game, soccer superstar Kaka delivered on the pitch. The Brazilian went left as goalkeeper David Bingham went right on the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute.

The name opposite Kaka on the marquee leading up to Sunday played the perfect foil, with Chris Wondolowski one-upping the former FIFA World Player of the Year by scoring a significant MLS milestone.

After Orlando committed a penalty in the box, Wondolowski lined up the penalty kick looking to draw San Jose even and pull himself into a tie with Edson Buddle as the eighth-highest scoring player in league history.

He did just that in the 68th minute, getting Hall to guess wrong on a low dribbler to the left for his 7th strike of the season.

The two-time MLS Golden Boot winner raced into the goal to retrieve the ball before being mobbed by his teammates feting him for his accomplishment. The goal scorer wasn’t doing it to soak in the moment though, he wanted to get play started as soon as possible.

“I was ready to go,” said Wondolowski. “I really wanted to get a victory, especially being up a man.”

“I talked to Chris after the game, he wasn’t happy with the result” said Kinnear. “I told him ‘Take a step back. Recognize what you’ve done’. It’s an incredible achievement, couldn’t have happened to a better guy. It’s not the end of his story, but it’s a great accomplishment for a person who has overcome a lot.”

Not too shabby for a player who, coming out of Chico State in 2005, played sparsely for San Jose after being drafted by Kinnear.

“I’m very grateful,” said Wondolowski. “I know the historic value of it. I do appreciate it, but I think it’s one of those things that will slowly sink in. It hasn’t sunken in yet.”

When the team moved to Houston, Wondolowski ultimately was traded by Kinnear back to San Jose where he’s scored all but 4 of his goals. Just this season Kinnear resumed duties as bench boss in Santa Clara.

“I haven’t really sat down with him and said ‘Hey, remember when I traded you’,” said Kinnear jokingly. “’What a great accomplishment.’ Looking at his career at the time, he wasn’t going to have a chance to play in Houston. I thought for him to ply his trade at home, I only made one call on Chris, and that was to San Jose.”

“He has great vision,” Wondolowski said of Kinnear with a smile and tongue firmly planted in cheek. “He knew he was coming back here. He knew he couldn’t bring me there. It was all a master plan.”

If the Danville native keeps up his pace this season, he could end the season as high as 5th on the all-time MLS scoring list. He’d pass Taylor Twellman (101), Dwayne De Rosario (104) and Jason Kreis (108) in the process.

“He’s done it not playing for the glamour team,” said Kinnear. “He’s done it with some calls not going his way. To get 100 goals as the ninth guy in the MLS, he should be really proud of himself.”

That he’d be able to do it all close to home means all that much more to the Quakes mainstay.

“It’s an amazing thing,” said Wondolowski. “I love it. I grew up with this club. To be able to do it for the hometown team in front of friends and family is pretty cool. I got to give my dad a hug after. He had tears in his eyes. It’s one of those things that he definitely appreciated, and I appreciate everything that he’s done.”

For now the season marches on, with nearly a third of the season over for a Quakes team just three points back of FC Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference.

“We’ve had five home games out of 12,” said Kinnear on the schedule so far. “I’m happy with the guys. The competitive spirit is great. At times we look like a great team. That shows the potential that we have. To see where we’re at and the company that we’re keeping in the Western Conference, we’re doing something right.”

Bingham’s blocks not enough

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By Pearl Allison Lo

~ James Riley rescued the Colorado Rapids with just his third career goal, in a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes Friday, in an on and off rainy match.

Quakes ‘ goalie David Bingham was performing as one of the heroes, parrying and blocking shots, as he frustrated Colorado players.

Even as the Rapids increased their possession percentage in the second half though, the Quakes largely remained defensive as Colorado outshot San Jose 13-3. The five minutes of stoppage time may have pushed Bingham and San Jose to the edge.

Bingham punched the ball to Riley and his looping header went into goal in the 93rd minute. It prevented the Quakes’ first consecutive road wins in nearly two years.

It was another tight matchup for the Quakes’ road trip finale. The teams have now drawn in their last four games and Colorado did the same. San Jose hasn’t scored multiple goals since March 22 and the Rapids have scored only one goal in each of their last five games.

The Rapids still set a MLS record, 11 games without a home win. The Quakes still haven’t lost in 11 games to Colorado.

San Jose started off with two quick corners.

The rain started about 5 1/2 minutes into the game.

Chris Wondolowski gave the Quakes a first half lead for the second time in the last three games. Both came in the 19th minute. The play started with a corner kick by Shea Salinas. Eventually, Sanna Nyassi sent a header to a wide open Wondo on the right side of the pitch. Wondo touched the ball as goalie Clint Irwin jumped and then fell before Wondo touched the ball again, blowing on his hands after scoring.

San Jose’s Tommy Thompson started for the first time this season and almost had a goal in the 30th minute.

Wondo had another opportunity in the 37th minute. After a cross by Marvell Wynne, Wondolowski’s shot was saved directly in front. It led to opposing coach Pablo Mastroeni coming off the bench and yelling.

The Rapids was able to break through the Quakes’ defense a bit near the end of the first half. Nyassi’s pass went to Powers and in the 43rd minute Gabriel Torres, one-on-one, kicked the ball right to Bingham, who was in an offensive position. That was San Jose’s only shot on goal in the first half.

In the 45th minute, Dillon Powers missed the pass by Torres to him up front.

Torres was in scoring position in the 53rd minute, but got the ball offsides.

In the 86th minute, Colorado’s Charles Eloundu skied the ball over Bingham and the net. Eloundu reacted and so did his coach, Eloundu with both hands over his head

In the 94th minute, Powers nearly made it 2-1 and after a corner kick, teammate Lucas Pittinari’s shot hit the post.

Game notes:. Quakes’ Paulo Renato started for the first time since March 14. San Jose broke Gabriel Torres’ two game goal streak. The Quakes’ Matias Perez didn’t start for the first time this season. The Quakes finished the road trip 1-1-2. They return home to face Columbus May 16 at 7:30 PM.

Bernardez Own-Goal Sinks Quakes in Salt Lake

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The San Jose Earthquakes saw a sure-fire victory turn into an unsatisfying tie after two Quakes players managed to find the back of the net.  Chris Wondolowski scored early, but a misplaced ball by Victor Bernadez led to an own-goal, resulting in a 1-1 tie between San Jose and Real Salt Lake Friday night.

Wondolowski’s fourth goal of the season in the 19th minute came on a play that could have just as easily been called back as offsides. The U.S. Men’s National Team forward snuck behind a pair of Salt Lake defenders but without the ball. Shea Salinas fired the ball forward, pinballing off the rearguards to the foot of Wondolowski. Wondolowski fired the shot dead-on up top put the Quakes up 1-0.

The Earthquakes (3-4-1) appeared on track to bounce back from a 2-0 loss to New York two weeks ago, but the Bernardez blunder in the 71st minute spoiled any chances for a three-point night for San Jose. Bernandez, under pressure from an RSL forward, tried to chip a harmless volley back to his goalkeeper to reset the play. Or so he thought.

Instead of remaining in net, Goalkeeper David Bingham chose an aggressive approach to cut the ball off himself. Instead, he watched as Bernadez’s routine pass floated over his head and into the back of a wide-open net for the home team’s equalizing score while snapping a stretch of three-straight scoreless contests for Real Salt Lake (2-2-4).

Neither team mustered much offense over the remainder of the contest. Now San Jose rolls into a meeting with another 10-point team, the Houston Dynamo, seeking to separate itself from the other three Western Conference teams fighting for sixth place and a playoff spot.

Red Bulls’ Wings still Intact

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~ By Pearl Allison Lo
~ New York is now first in the East, as their pristine record also included their second clean sheet of the season, with a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes Friday.

The Red Bulls controlled the majority of play, sending 21 shots goalie David Bingham’s way.

The Quakes beat the top MLS team last week, but could not beat the second-best, as they found themselves on the other end of a shutout this time.

However, though San Jose lost, it could have been worse. Bradley Wright-Phillips and Lloyd Sam were held scoreless, though Wright-Phillips did have five shots.

It was the Quakes’ second goose egg in their last three games.

New York has scored at least two goals in all but their first game.

Their first goal started with San Jose possession. However, Cordell Cato’s pass went to Felipe instead of his intended target. Felipe and Wright-Phillips then passed the ball back and forth, until Wright-Phillips slid the ball in between Bingham and Victor Bernardez as he slid himself. Sacha Kljestan was found open at the far post, hitting the center of the net in the 29th minute.

Six minutes later, Sam crossed the ball perfectly to Mike Grella, who was in a similar position to Kljestan. Grella then punched the ball in quickly to score through the right side of the net to make it 2-0.

Though the Quakes’ Chris Wondolowski had to leave last game, he was able to play. He did not come on until the 56th minute though.

San Jose tried to make some last-minute magic.

In the 83rd minute, Emeghara had two shots in a row, as his first rebounded off Luis Robles.

Wondolowski’s attempt in the 84th minute was saved.
Talking about the Red Bulls, Wondolowski said, “”Especially in the first half, they do a great job of pressing and pressing high up the field and they took advantage of our two mistakes.”

Bingham added, “”We were making rookie mistakes all over the field. All of us were turning the ball over in the middle of the park…They got their chances and they finished them.”

Game notes: Emeghara returned from suspension for Adam Jahn, who went on suspension. Emeghara had three shots, two on goal. It was the first win for the Red Bulls in the last five games the two teams have played. Defenders Roy Miller (knee) and Ronald Zubar (hamstring) remained out of action. This past week, the Quakes kicked off Get Earthquakes Fit, which requires 20 minutes of daily physical activity for students in the program. Tommy Thompson was called to the U.S. U-20 National Team. San Jose next plays Real Salt Lake again on May 1 at 7pm.