Category: San Jose Earthquakes

Photo credit: Cary Edmondson / USA TODAY Sports

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Real Salt Lake continued their unbeaten streak, now having won two straight games as they shutout San Jose on Easter Sunday, 1-0.

35-year-old Javier Morales put in a free kick in the 44th minute. It was Morales’ fifth point in the last three games and his second goal.

Real Salt Lake’s goalie Nick Rimando had two saves as he faced 12 shots.

It was Real Salt Lake’s second straight shutout of San Jose, but just their second win in their last 13 road games.

The Earthquakes Shaun Francis had to be taken out in the 37th minute. JJ Koval came in for him.

San Jose had three yellow cards.

The most devastating was Innocent Emeghara’s, who got a yellow card when he and a Real Salt Lake player were going for the ball. Emeghara’s elbow ended up getting the other guy in the head. Morales then scored on the free kick after a rebound off Victor Bernardez, who was apart of the wall.

The Quakes had chances in stoppage time. In the 47th minute, Nyassi made a nifty pass to Adam Jahn, who backheeled the ball wide of net. Seconds before the whistle in the 49th minute, after a corner by Matias Perez Garcia, JJ Koval’s shot was blocked in front of goal.

Emeghara had three shots in the second half, followed by Jahn and Koval with two shots apiece.

After a teammate blocked the ball with the ball going forward to their own net, Bernardez cleared the ball off the goal line with a bicycle kick in the 71st minute. He got kneed in the head after with a defender running after him.

The second half had five minutes of stoppage time. San Jose’s Fatai Alashe had the last shot and narrowly missed.

Regarding second-half chances, Bernardez said, “I think what we need to take away from this is we can’t give away halves to the opponent, which is what we did in the first half and that was the difference in the game.”

Game notes: Sebastian Jaime did not play for Real Salt Lake and Marvell Wynne for the Quakes. Luke Mulholland and Jordan Allen, who both scored last game, started for Real Salt Lake. It was Mulholland’s second straight start and Allen’s first. San Jose next hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps April 11th at 7:30pm. The Whitecaps are currently first in the Western Conference so far and have only lost once, but have one more game before they face the Quakes.

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

By Pearl Allison Lo

~ Not only did New England end their scoreless streak Saturday, they won their first game, beating the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on a snowy Saturday.

Kelyn Rowe scored in the 21st and 37th minute to pace the team. He led all with seven shots, five on goal.

The Revolution built on last game, with two more shots on goal for a total of eight.

They are still undefeated at home, with a 9-0-3 record. The Revolution have strung together three wins against the Quakes now, San Jose with only two goals through then.

In net, New England’s Bobby Shuttleworth faced 10 shots, four on goal and made three saves.

San Jose avoided the shutout for the fourth time in their last six against the Revolution, with a penalty kick by Chris Wondolowski in the 62nd minute.

Rowe was aided by Lee Nguyen and Daigo Kobayashi the first time he scored. Rowe’s goal came at the 346th minute of the season.

The second time Rowe scored, he was helped by Darrius Barnes and Chris Tierney.

The Quakes’ Marvell Wynne got hurt in the 53rd minute and had to be taken out in the 55th minute with a left hamstring strain. It was head coach Dominic Kinnear’s last available substitution.

Clarence Goodson drew the penalty which Wondolowski won. Wondolowski led with four shots, three on goal. He now has three goals on the season.

About the match, Kinnear said, “ They came out ready, we came out a little bit sleepy and that’s why we were down 2-0 at halftime. We fought hard to get back into the game and then obviously the chance at the end would have been great for us.”

That chance he was referring to was Wondolowski’s head-on kick in the 93rd minute which Shuttleworth pushed away. It was followed by a missed attempt at the near post by Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi after Wondolowski kicked the ball forward.

New England head coach Jay Heaps said, “We were excited with our first half, and the way we went out in that first half, and even the start of the second, but unfortunately, it became a real game. It was a good job to hold on, but it probably shouldn’t have been as close, but it was.”

Game notes: Both San Jose’s Victor Bernardez and Revolution captain Jose Goncalves returned from red card suspension, each with a shot on goal and Goncalves with two crosses. New England was without Kevin Alston again. Tierney led all with seven crosses. The Quakes next play Real Salt Lake April 5 at 2pm.

By Pearl Allison Lo

SAN JOSE– 41 years since they were inaugurated, seven years since the stadium proposal, since playing in Spartan Stadium, leaving San Jose and playing at Buck Shaw Stadium, the San Jose Earthquakes now have their own home sweet home, Avaya Stadium.

In a more friendly environment than their first regular season game, the atmosphere was a sold-out 18,000 people strong.

Technically though, the Quakes were not strangers to playing in new stadiums, or Avaya itself. San Jose got to play in the first game ever at the new San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium and of course the first game in their own Avaya Stadium February 28, when they won in the preseason finale versus the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The games have worked out well, with the Quakes winning all, 1-0, 3-2 and 2-1 respectively.

Still, the inaugural event of course deserved the attention it got.

The pregame ceremony started with a video. Then,The Great Soccer Ball Relay announcing the stadium opening, reached its final destination after commencing January 8. People kicking the ceremonial bright orange game ball included a member of the original 1974 team and Brandi Chastain. Krazy George then burst out of the giant drum behind the ball and started leading the crowd in chants, and then of course there were fireworks.

The 1906 Ultras’ first tifo at Avaya came via the movie 300. The supporters unveiled a huge banner depicting six red and gold barechested Spartan soldiers surrounding the Quakes logo, above the words: “This is where we hold them. This is where we fight. This is where they die.”

In the spirit of greenness, bicycle parking is allowed in the VIP lot. With a forecast of possible showers on game day, the rain held off for a perfect pitch.

The first goal of the new stadium came just five minutes in by way of San Jose’s Fatai Alashe, which was his first goal as he put in a triple header after Ty Harden then Clarence Goodson each headed the ball.

“I think when those goals went in the roof was almost getting shouted off the hinges,” said Head Coach Dominic Kinnear.

A day before the opening, Shea Salinas in his first ever Q&A with FanTalk, replied to a fan, “The stadium is amazing! I think it is one of the best fan viewing experiences in the country.”

On the atmosphere, Kinnear said,  “When you walk out here, just the energy and enthusiasm from some friends and family before the game, you know it’s spreading throughout the whole city and soccer community, it’s wonderful. The atmosphere was just fantastic…My thanks always go to Mr. Fisher and Mr. Wolff and Dave Kaval for putting together a great project and fulfilling everything and making the players love this place and giving MLS another wonderful stadium. Glad we won the game.”

Melissa McKenzie of the Santa Clara Weekly commented, “The atmosphere was incredible. The stadium is absolutely gorgeous and I love the fact that in addition to standard stadium food they’ve brought in food trucks. It’s a really exciting place to see soccer.”

On the patient and long wait for the stadium, “Many people have waited 40 years for this. We’ve been homeless and nomadic for 40 years. Now we have a home. Just as one 40-year era has ended, another one is just beginning,” said Gary Singh, a columnist at Metro Silicon Valley and author of The San Jose Earthquakes: A Seismic Soccer Legacy, which recently launched.

There were familiar faces on the other side, including former goalie Jon Busch and Head Coach Frank Yallop, now on the Chicago Fire.  “It was kind of nice to be the first (visiting) team here,” said Yallop, who also expressed feeling “emotional,” the stadium was a “special place,” “magnificent job,” was “excited” when he saw the plans and mentioned the boxes down low.”

On partaking in his dad’s soccer dream come true, Chris Wondolowski laughed and said, “It’s my dream as well. …been a dream to always play for the Earthquakes and yet alone, be able to open a stadium. It’s something special.”

The Quakes capped season ticket holders at 12,000 on Monday and launched the stadium’s official app Avaya Stadium on Wednesday.

Fans still have the Devotion Wall for season ticket holders and the LED Field Boards to look forward to, as mentioned on President Dave Kaval’s kickoff writeup on sjearthquakes.com. The latter will be available at San Jose’s second home match Sunday, April 5 at 2pm.

This is what Wikipedia had before the game. What will it have after?

Return of Dominic Kinnear (2015–present)[edit]

By: Joe Lami

The San Jose Earthquakes opened up Avaya Stadium with a victory, defeating the Chicago Fire 2-1.  It was a long awaited day for the Earthquakes, as they finally got to play the first match in their massive new home, as 18,000 Quakes’ supporters showed up to rock the house. 

San Jose used the excitement to their advantage, scoring two early goals in the first half.  Rookie midfielder, Fatai Alashe, started just five minutes in heading home a corner kick for his first career goal.  Matias Perez Gomez took the corner from the left side to set up Avaya Stadium’s opening goal.  Alahe commented on his goal that will live in Quakes’ history, “I didn’t think about it at the time, but it’s cool to realize afterwards.  It will be a goal that lives in history for as long as we’re in San Jose.

The momentum would continue for San Jose, as they were feeling it early.  Middlefielder, JJ Koval had an outstanding chance just one minute later, as he fired a right-footed shot from just outside the box that just missed the top left corner.

Quakes’ new head coach, Dominic Kinnear, commented about the fast start San Jose had, “The new stadium got the guys charged up.  That early goal helped even more so.  It definitely put a bounce into our step”.

San Jose would continue their first half dominance, as they would take the 2-0 lead in the 21st minute.  Ty Harden would be credited with the goal, his first MLS goal in his 100th game.  Once again, Gomez would set up the goal off a set piece.  He centered it from 35-yards out, Clarence Goodson would get the first shot, which would be saved by Fire goalkeeper, Sean Johnson.  Unfortunately for Johnson he coughed it right up, where Harden took advantage and slid the ball past the Chicago keeper for the goal.

Kinnear, also added on Garcia’s great job with the set piece, “He brings a great ball, putting it in the right spot. That’s what we need”.

Chicago was able to get on the board in the 29th minute, as Harrison Shipp tapped one by Quakes’ keeper, David Bingham.  The goal was step up beautifully with a pass from Joevin Jones, that left it right on the foot of Shipp for the easy one.

The Fire were trying to equalize the entire second half, but the Quakes defense held to earn the three points.  “I’m glad we won, it makes opening the new stadium feel even better,” added Kinnear. 

Photo credit: Major League Soccer @MLS

By Pearl Allison Lo

It was San Jose’s turn to score three goals, as Chris Wondolowski accounted for the majority, with the Quakes breaking their winless streak 3-2, against the Sounders Saturday.

Seattle was coming off a 3-0 win and had recent success at home against San Jose.

The Quakes instead went with recent success overall, now 7-2-1 since 2012 and won for the first time since August 2, when they also beat the Sounders. Wondolowski also hit the equalizer in that game.

Seattle’s least favorite player, Wondolowski, who scored two goals, now has nine goals in 14 games against them.

Quakes’ Coach Dominic Kinnear and goalie David Bingham got their first wins.

San Jose’s Innocent Emeghara got his first MLS goal as well as his team increased their resiliency and defense with a man down amidst increasing second half pressure. Seattle more than doubled their passes from the first half and had eight corners, 22 crosses and nine shots (seven on target) in the second half.

Less than a minute into the game, 18 seconds to be exact, the Sounders’ Clint Dempsey picked up right where he left off, with two goals his last game. Dempsey had a header off the Tyrone Mears save by Bingham while Bingham was lying down. The defender next to Dempsey fell after kicking towards the ball. It was the fastest goal in Seattle franchise history.

Wondolowski had a header into the post in the 9th minute.

His next opportunity came from Marvell Wynne kicking the ball forward and then chasing it down before it reached the endline. Wynne then passed the ball to Wondolowski who directly in front of the net, received the ball off his chest and kicked it past diving goalie Stefan Frei in the 13th minute. It was Wynne’s fist assist.

The Quakes’ Matias Perez Garcia had a shot go wide left in stoppage time.

At the end of the first half, San Jose had 17 to the Sounders’ six clearances. Wondolowski was the only one with more than one shot.

In the 48th minute, Wondolowski gave the Quakes the lead with the help of Brad Evans losing the ball. Wondolowski did not hesitate as he kicked the ball over a bent backwards Frei who had his hands above his head.

Four minutes later, San Jose went down a man when Victor Bernardez received a red card in the 57th minute.

Bingham had a number of saves at points amidst corner kicks, including a header from Dempsey at one end. At the other end, Dempsey also narrowly missed sliding the ball into the net.

Emeghara’s goal came in the 70th minute. He passed the ball to Adam Jahn, who passed it right back to him with space. Emeghara faked out Brad Evans and kicked it past a diving Frei before another defender could get back in time.

Obafemi Martins cut the margin to one in the 84th minute. Possession started with Shea Salinas giving the ball away. Eventually, Gonzalo Pineda got the ball to Andy Rose who got the ball before it went out of bounds. Rose then found Martins who was behind the Quakes’ Shaun Francis who was behind Bingham, as Martins calmly put the ball in before Fatai Alashe could get back in time. Martins also scored in his last game.

Seattle is now 20-1-0 when Martins scores.

Game notes: Both Nigerian, Martins and Emeghara traded jerseys post-game. All three San Jose rookies were in the starting lineup tonight, Alashe and Emeghara getting their first shot. Teammate Ty Harden made his first season appearance in the second half. The Quakes finished with 46 to the Sounders’ eight clearances. San Jose will now have their official home opener at Avaya Stadium, hosting the Chicago Fire March 22 at 4pm.

Photo: Matthew Emmons, Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

By Pearl Allison Lo

Four minutes of stoppage were golden for FC Dallas as Blas Perez scored in the 92nd minute to take down San Jose Saturday 1-0 in the teams’ season opener.

It was Perez’s 32nd career goal in what was looking to be a draw. Goalie David Bingham came forward to block Victor Ulloa’s kick from just past midfield. However, Bingham deflected the ball directly to Moises Hernandez. Hernandez then kicked the ball toward the goal and Perez redirected Hernandez’s shot into the net with a header.

Perez led all with three shots on goal.

Regarding the goal, Bingham replied, “It’s a learning curve. It’s a little bit of communication, probably more on my part. He didn’t hear me coming. He didn’t know there was no one around. So, he went to clear it and I was coming out and we had a little mix up and then the guy duffs a shot wide and Perez was there to put it back in.”

San Jose now has a 16-game regular season winless streak, their successful preseason in the rearview mirror for now. The game would have been a rare draw for them as well.

In the 20th minute, FC Dallas had a free kick. Mauro Diaz set up Perez on the left but Bingham cut the shot off.

Two minutes later, Fabian Castillo found Perez, who was waving for the ball in front of the net. Perez got it past Victor Bernardez, but could not get it past new acquisition Paulo Renato, who had set himself up behind Bingham and alertly cleared the ball.

The first half leaders were the Quakes’ Chris Wondolowski with four shots, one shot on goal and Perez with three shots, two shots on goal.

Both ended up finishing with five shots apiece.

The second half saw five yellow cards, all by San Jose or former players.

The first one came in the 50th minute by former Quake Atiba Harris.

Shaun Francis saw yellow in the 67th minute when he fouled to stop a counterattack.

In the 77th minute, Shea Salinas received a yellow after losing possession to Michael Barrios when Salinas was coming out of the Quakes’ end. Barrios had just entered the game two minutes earlier.

The last two yellows came in stoppage time.

Sanna Nyassi went for the ball and ran into Castillo instead in the 92nd minute.

During the frantic pushing time for the equalizer, Adam Jahn was penalized in the 94th minute for contact.

Talking about the offense, Quakes’ head coach Dominic Kinnear commented, “…away from home, especially in the first half and some other moments, we had some good looks and we were just missing that last little pass, last little bit of aggression to get something on net.”

Game notes: San Jose’s Marvell Wynne played the whole 90 minutes in his team debut. Teammates and MLS newbies Fatai Alashe and Innocent Emeghara came into the game during the 81st and 89th minute respectively. The Quakes are now below .500 on the road versus FC Dallas at 10-11-6. San Jose was also shutout in the teams’ last game, though by a lesser margin, that final 5-0. The Quakes will next face the 2014 Western Conference Champions, the Seattle Sounders, Saturday at 7pm.