The Earthquakes remain undefeated at home beating Houston 2-1

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes. The Earthquakes ready themselves before the start of the second half.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- In what was an interesting match to watch the Earthquakes scored two penalties against the Dynamo to win by a final of 2-1.

For San Jose JT Marcinkowski got the start while for Houston Steve Clark was in between the pipes.

The match got off to a quick start for San Jose as they played with strong pace and lead to Teenage Hadebe getting called for a handball in the penalty area.

Cristian Espinoza took the penalty shot and scored at the 7′ mark of the first half striking the bottom left part of the net.

A little later in the first Jonathan Mensa was issued a yellow card on a bad foul and at the 33′ mark Carlos Akapo was given one as well.

At the 40′ mark Michael Baldisimo was issued a foul in the penalty area though it was under questionable circumstances.

Despite that Amine Bassi took the penalty shot and scored hitting the centre of the net tying the game back up. Not

Not long after the penalty Artur for the Houston Dynamo was issued a yellow card.

The end of the half showed how few shots there were as collectively there was only two shots on target between the two teams which were the two penalties.

The Earthquakes did maintain the possession in the first half at 51.3% to Houston’s 48.7%

The second half started out quite opposite to the first as early on Corey Baird got a good shot on goal that Marcinkowski fought off.

In response Espinoza also got a great shot on target that leaked through Clark’s legs but stayed out as he scrambled back and covered it.

Just two minutes after the shot Jamiro Monteiro was issued a yellow card on a bad foul.

San Jose continued the pace and Cade Cowell lead a good charge into the box but lost possession of the ball.

A little after that play the refs looked back and saw that Cowell was fouled in the penalty area and thus San Jose was awarded another penalty.

Espinoza took the penalty and scored once again this time hitting the bottom right part of the net making it 2-1.

Houston later in the half made a couple substitutions including putting out on the field Sebastián Ferreira who last year scored multiple goals against San Jose.

In stoppage time Houston was given one last chance as they were awarded a free kick on a foul by Paul Marie.

The free kick was from a dangerous position but Marcinkowski came up with an easy save as the Earthquakes held on to win 2-1.

The Earthquakes next match will be on 4/8 against New York on the road at 4:30 p.m.

Earthquakes battle Toronto FC to 0-0 scoreless draw

San Jose Earthquakes Benji Kikanovic attempted a shot against Toronto FC in a 0-0 draw at Pay Pal Park on MAR 25, 2023. (Jose Rocha/Tectanoic Takes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Earthquakes earned a point against Toronto FC as both teams ended their match with a 0-0 draw on Saturday evening at Pal Pay Park.

San Jose has points in two of its past three matches. Toronto FC has earned points in four of its five first matches.

San Jose (2-2-1) head coach Luchi Gonzalez was forced to tweak his starting 11 as Jamiro Monteiro was out on international duty and Carlos Gruezo out with an injury. Benji Kinkanovic and Michael Baldisimo made their first starts of the season.

“I mean we’ve had our challenges with injuries and also missing guys. So definitely both Toronto and us had challenges in that regard. But I am happy with some of the things we created in terms of our expected goals. We definitely created enough chances to score at least a goal. We defended very well collectively and individually, shutting down a few of their key guys and that’s important. If we can have an effort like that, consistently, defensively, things will bounce our way offensively I believe in our process,” Gonzalez said.

The Quakes controlled the majority of the possession in the opening 45 minutes but were a tad off here and there on passes deep inside Toronto’s zone that prevented them from having a shot on target.

The closest Toronto FC (1-1-3) threatened to put a dent in the scoreboard in the first came in the seventh minute when Deandre Kerr’s right footed shot from the center of the box was knocked away by Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski.

“In the first half we couldn’t connect with each other, but I think that was because in the first half teams normally come with a lot of energy,” said Quakes forward Christian Espinoza regarding the teams chances. “We knew that in the second half they were going to drop that energy, so that we could create more chances to score. That is what happened on the field, but today we couldn’t connect on a couple of crosses and the chances that we had. But we are happy with this point and clean sheet, and we have to keep going.”

San Jose’s Rodrigues had two quality headers in a two-minute off set pieces in span from the 54th minute to the 56th that went just wide of the net of Toronto FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

Toronto FC played more of the same defensive style in the second half with as it only generated two shots on goal.

The Quakes had it chance for a game winning goal in the second minute of stoppage time in the second half when Jackson Yueill’s low line drive shot was saved by an outstretched Johnson. Tommy Thompson had a chance to clean up the rebound with Johnson down on the ground but his mistimed his attempt and fell to the ground without getting off a shot.

Both Marcinkowski and Johnson were credited with two saves in each earning a clean sheet.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with six corner kicks. Toronto FC had three.

San Jose has earned 7+ points from their first three home matches for the first time since 2017.

The Quakes have conceded one total goal across the three home matches and have an active 253-minute shutout streak at PayPal Park.

San Jose is now 6-5-8 all-time vs. Toronto FC, including a 3-2-4 record at home. With the draw, the Quakes extended their unbeaten streak against Toronto to five matches (1-0-4) dating back to 2018. San Jose’s last home loss vs. Toronto came in 2010.

The attendance at Pay Pal Park was 12,434.

UP NEXT: San Jose host the Houston Dynamo on Saturday 4/1 at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Rough first half leads to loss for Earthquakes 3-0

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes Twitter. The Earthquakes huddle up before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On the road the Earthquakes came out with a disappointing performance and dropped their first game of the regular season 3-0 against St. Louis.

For San Jose JT Marcinkowski got the start while for St. Louis Roman Bürki was in between the pipes.

Penalty trouble came early in this match for San Jose as at the 14th minute Rodrigues was given a yellow card on a foul.

At the 29th minute of the match the Earthquakes subbed in Michael Baldisimo for Carlos Gruezo.

The scoring got started at the 34th minute as forward Nicholas Gioacchini scored his first goal of the season.

The foul trouble continued in this game as Miguel Trauco was given a yellow card at the 40th minute on another foul.

Three minutes of extra time was added in the first half and João Klauss capitalized on the extra time scoring for St. Louis and making it 2-0.

At halftime the Earthquakes made a couple substitutions as Paul Marie came on for Miguel Trauco and Benjamin Kikanović was subbed on for Tommy Thompson.

Not long after being subbed in Kikanović was also given a yellow card on a foul as well.

At the 58th minute another substitution was made as Tanner Beason came on for Rodrigues.

The 64th minute saw more foul trouble for San Jose as Cade Cowell this time was hit with a yellow card.

While the beginning of the half saw the Earthquakes getting a few chances later in the half at the 68th minute of the match Tomás Ostrák scored for St. Louis putting the game away.

The win for St. Louis was historic though as they are the first expansion team in MLS history to win their first four games of their existence.

Looking at some quick number the possession percentage in the match favored San Jose at 55.1% to 44.9%. The shots in the match favored St. Louis 20-13 with shots on goal also favoring St. Louis at 8-2.

As noted throughout this recap in total San Jose took five yellow cards while St. Louis was only given one.

The Earthquakes next game will be against Toronto on March 25th at 7:30 p.m. at home.

Espinoza’s first tally of the season provide Earthquakes 1-0 shutout win over Rapids

San Jose Earthquakes forward Christian Espinoza celebrates his game winning goal over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday MAR 11, 2023. (Dario Cruz-Tectonic Takes)

by Marko Uklaovic

SAN JOSE — Christian Espinoza is proving he’s the guy you count on to seize the opportunity.

Espinoza’s first goal of the season in the 78th minute, proved to be the game winner as the San Jose Earthquakes shutout the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has won two of its first three matches to start the season. Colorado had its third consecutive game without scoring a goal. It is the first time since 2015 that they have gone scoreless in its first three matches to start the season.

Espinoza, who is only five assists away from becoming the all-time assist leader in Quakes history, gathered the rebound off of a Miguel Trauco shot. The Argentinean striker dribbled to the right before firing a right-footed shot top from just beyond the box top shelf past Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough for his first goal of the season that sent the Quakes faithful into a frenzy.

“He is lethal with his right foot in terms of a cross or a shot,” said Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez regarding Espinoza. “Can we get him opportunities to get more shots? That is something that we want to keep working on. Also with his left foot, he is good at cutting inside and scoring with his left as well. He showed that in preseason. We are really proud of him and a player that is relentless with his energy and his mentality, and then when he has a little bit of space and can get a shot or a cross in, we know he can create issues. We want to keep doing that.”

San Jose (2-1-0) had the pitch tilted in its favor for the majority of the first half as the generated numerous scoring chances. Their best chance came in the 35th minute when Espinoza’s attempt from 25 yards out was knocked off the cross bar when Yarbrough was able to get a hand on the ball keeping it out of the back of the net.

Carlos Akapo made his first career MLS start at right back for San Jose and made an impact with helping out on the offensive attack while providing stability on the backline.

Colorado (0-2-1) played on their heels throughout the opening 45 minutes as were not able to generate any quality scoring chances as the Quakes backline held down the fort.

Throughout the second half San Jose came close to breaking through on the scoreboard as they generated four quality scoring chances, that included two saves from Yarbrough, before Espinoza’s tally.

Gonzalez praised his team’s effort and was happy San Jose came away with three points and not just one.

“You saw me celebrate it (Espinoza’s goal). I’m very happy for him (Espinoza) and the team find a goal because it wasn’t easy. Colorado defended well. Look had we not scored, and it ended up tied, I would’ve still been proud of how the guys played. Of course, I would’ve been disappointed had we not scored but would’ve been proud with the identity of our team we’ve established since training in the preseason,” Gonzales said.

Espinoza was glad he was able to contribute to the team’s success this early into theseason.

“We always try to find the free spaces to take that kind of shot, especially in front of the goal. Sometimes we can do it, and sometimes we can’t. But for that it’s very important that the team is committed to move the ball side to side and today I think that we had a great game,” Espinoza said.

‘Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski, who made his first start of the season, had a perfect clean sheet as Colorado failed to generate any shots on target during the match. Yarbrough made three saves on four shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with five corner kicks. Colorado had three.

San Jose is now 32-25-18 all-time vs. the Colorado Rapids, including a 19-9-9 record at home. They went 1-4-2 against Colorado last season.

The Quakes have only lost once when hosting the Rapids at PayPal Park since its opening in 2015 (6-1-2).

Midfielder Jackson Yueill made his 150th MLS appearance. Yueill is now tied with Jon Busch for the ninth most appearances in club history.

Tonight’s attendance was 13,383.

UP NEXT: San Jose will play its inaugural game against St. Louis City next Saturday at 5:00pm at CityPark.

Akapo’s late goal propels Earthquakes to 2-1 win over Whitecaps in home opener

The San Jose Earthquakes celebrate their 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAR 4, 2022. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Carlos Akapo made a sizzling home debut for the Black and Blue.

Akapo scored the game winning goal in the 77th minute to give the San Jose Earthquakes a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday evening before a sold-out crowd for at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has lost two in a row to start the season/evened its record with its first win of the season in its home opener. Vancouver has lost two in a row to start the season/evened its record with its first win of the season.

Christian Espinoza found Akapo inside the box to the right. The 29-year-old Equatoguinean rifled a laser of a shot just inside the right post into the upper corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

Vancouver (0-1) drew first blood in the 17th minute as they took advantage of a lackadaisical pass from Jonathan Mensah which created a counterattack for the Whitecaps. Julian Gressel slid a pass over to Alessandro Schöpf, who got inside position on Paul Marie, and chipped the ball past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Brito for his first goal of the season.

The first 45 minutes for San Jose (0-1) was a half of missed opportunities. They had three shots on target but weren’t able to get the ball past Whitecap’s goalkeeper Yahel Takaoka, including a great individual effort by striker Cade Cowell where he went around three defenders before Takaoka made a save on his left footed attempt. Other opportunities hit the side of the net or sailed wide.

After a lackluster first half on defense as well, the Earthquakes responded with a sounder effort from their line in the second half that allowed the offense to control possession and gain momentum the rest of the match.

“I believe the sense of urgency changed,” said Mensah on the team’s rebound at home. “Of course, we could’ve started better, but being a goal down you need to do anything you can to come back and win the game. We sensed it right away that we needed to change gears and we did.”

The Quakes scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on a set piece. After a foul by Luis Martins on Espinoza, which resulted in a yellow card, Jamiro Monteiro centered a ball from 30 yards out where Jeremy Ebobisee soared high in the air and headed the ball into the upper left corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

“Set pieces are game changers and we know that. Unfortunately, in Atlanta, it didn’t bounce our way in terms of how we defended set pieces. We know the importance of set pieces. We think we have a team that can defend well and respond,” Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez said.

Ebobisse has scored in back-to-back games for San Jose.

Vancouver had a chance late in the match when Russell Teibert’s shot in the 86th minute was thwarted away by De Sousa Brito.

De Sousa Brito finished the match with one save on two shots on target for his first win in a Quakes uniform. Takaoka made four saves on six shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 12 corner kicks. Vancouver had six.

San Jose is now 10-10-12 all-time vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, including a 6-1-8 record at home.

San Jose has won or drawn in 15 of the past 16 home matches against Vancouver (7W-8D).

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Colorado Rapids on Saturday 3/11 at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Earthquakes drop opening game of regular season against Atlanta 2-1

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes Twitter. Cristian Espinoza dribbles the ball upfield.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose hoped to open their regular season on the right foot but unfortunately faltered right at the finish losing against Atlanta 2-1.

For the Earthquakes Daniel De Sousa Brito started in net while Brad Guzan started for Atlanta.

An important debut was made as well in tonights game as Carlos Akapo made his first appearance for San Jose.

The Earthquakes in this match got off to as good of a start as a team could ask for as at the 12′ mark of the first half the offense struck gold.

The goal started off with Rodrigues crossing it beautifully to Espinoza who found Jeremy Ebobisse crashing the net who headed it home making it 1-0.

Despite the good start just a minute after the goal Carlos Cruezo was handed a yellow card on a foul.

On the foul Atlanta was awarded a penalty shot which went wide.

At the end of the first half the score remained the same at 1-0.

The second half was closely played with Atlanta pushing to tie the match at one.

At the 85′ mark of the second half the Earthquakes made three substitutions putting in Tanner Beason, Jack Skahan, and Michael Baldisimo. While Miguel Trauco, Cristian Espinoza, and Jamiro Monteiro were taken off.

The 90′ mark had another yellow card given out to San Jose this time Benjamin Kikanovic was given the foul.

In the extra time was when Atlanta did their damage as at the 90′ +3′ mark Thiago Almada scored to tie the match up at one.

On the goal though Almada was also given a yellow card for excessive celebration.

That did not seem to deter Almada who instead scored another goal this time at the 90′ +9′ mark to give Atlanta the lead.

With that goal Almada put the game away as San Jose could not respond.

The Earthquakes next game will be on March 4th against Vancouver at home at 7:30 p.m.

Earthquakes get another preseason win over Minnesota United FC 4-1

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes. Earthquakes players celebrate after scoring against Minnesota United FC on February 15th.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

After a quick start the Earthquakes were able to hold on to a victory over Minnesota United FC by a final of 4-1.

In goal for San Jose was Daniel De Sousa Brito.

Cristian Espinoza got the game started off on the right foot as he scored early finishing on a nice cross.

Feeling the momentum Espinoza was given another great opportunity and scored again getting two goals in the first nine minutes of the game.

On a penalty though Minnesota United FC struck back cutting San Jose’s lead in half.

That ended up being the score going into halftime with the Earthquakes still holding on to their lead.

In the second half San Jose stuck first as Carlos Akapo fead Niko Tsakiris in the box who settled the ball turned around and scored making it 3-1.

On a corner kick this time Daniel Munie scored on a header extending the lead to 4-1 in favor of the Earthquakes.

That score would hold as San Jose got the win 4-1 over Minnesota United FC.

The Earthquakes final preseason game will be against the New York Red Bulls this Saturday at 10 a.m.

Earthquakes come away with victory in preseason over D.C. United 2-1

Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes. Midfielder Jamiro Monteiro running during practice on February 7th 2023.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In their second game of the preseason the Earthquakes rode a strong first half to victory over D.C. United winning by a final of 2-1.

For San Jose JT Marcinkowski started between the pipes looking to get the victory. While forward Jeremy Ebobisse started in the striker spot.

Things got off to a solid start for the Earthquakes as on a corner kick Jamiro Monteiro ended up with the ball in a perfect striking position and scored making it 1-0.

Following that up on a beautiful cross Cristian Espinoza struck the ball with precision and scored over the D.C. goalkeeper making it a 2-0 match.

San Jose held that lead until half.

In the second half the Earthquakes started off with some solid possession and passing keeping United on their heels.

On a penalty though D.C. did score making it a 2-1 game in the second half.

Despite the goal San Jose was able to hold on and got the victory by a final of 2-1.

The Earthquakes next game in their preseason schedule will be against Minnesota United FC at 12 p.m. on February 15th.

Earthquakes new head coach looks to change culture in 2023

Striker Cade Cowell looks to drive the ball during Quakes training camp on Thursday JAN 12, 2023. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE —To say 2022 was a tumultuous year for the San Jose Earthquakes was an understatement.

It was the first season post Chris Wondolowski, who had retired after the 2021 season, and then head coach Matias Almeyda tried everything he could to get himself relieved of his duties. Matias was gone after San Jose began the season winless in their first seven games.

Interim coach Alex Covelo did his best to calm the sinking ship, but the team still struggled as they finished with an 8-15-11 (35 points) and dead last in the Western Conference.

General Manager Chris Leitch hired former FC Dallas head coach and at the time assistant coach for the US Men’s National Team, Luchi Gonzalez on August 17, 2022. Gonzalez would take over the team once Team USA exited out of the 2022 World Cup that concluded last month.

This week training camp opened for the Quakes and it was the first chance the media was able to get a first look at his coaching style.

The roster, which returns Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse, Cade Cowell, and Nathan, were broken into groups and were participating in ball drills throughout the majority of practice and less conditioning drills. A complete 180 from last season and during Almeyda’s regime.

When asked what was the main thing that stood out about Gonzalez, Ebobisse said Luchi’s ability to communicate with the team.

“He’s really eager to communicate with his players. I think everyone has gotten time to speak to him directly, on the field or off the field. He (Gonzalez) wants to get to know us, wants to build a cohesive family environment, which he already has been, but want to take it to another level. I think if we continue to build trust in one another, integrate the new guys, that trust should show on the field in good moments and moments of adversity when we try to fight back,” Ebobisee said.

Up and coming forward Niko Tsakiris, who is looking to play more minutes in 2023 after a promising start last season, said he’s excited to have a clean slate and is looking forward to learning and benefitting from Gonzalez’s system.

“New change, new faces with the staff and the team. It’s been to kind of see a new way of play. We’re excited for the (upcoming) season for sure,” Tsakiris said.

One big challenge a new head coach faces is not just getting the players to believe in his system but to hold the players accountable from the start of the season to the end. Gonzalez, who run sprints with his coaching staff after practice concluded, said it’s up to him and his staff to set the example of accountability in order it to trickle down to his players.

“It starts with myself as the coach,” Gonzalez said. “We need to mirror our accountability. Like human beings, it’s the mirror effect. We want to show that every day we want to get better. We want to show that we respond to adversity. We want to show an intensity and a relentlessness in our training. If we model that as a staff, I think the players, I believe think they take that on and collectively move in the right direction.”

Espinoza, who was the catalyst for San Jose’s offense last season, expects the Quakes to figure out their identity during the preseason and likes what Gonzalez has brought to the table after only training under him for the past few days.

“He (Gonzalez) just has a different mindset,” said Espinoza through a translator. “He’s bringing in new ideas. For him to be a coach that has (recently) gone through a World Cup and has that under his belt now, just gives you these different qualities and mindsets. I think that’s going to be really special for us and something we can use to our advantage.

Gonzalez has six weeks to get his team ready for its first regular season match against Atlanta United on February 25th. Whatever the result, San Jose is in much better place than a year ago at this time with the stability that Gonzalez brings to a team that desperately needed a culture change.

Earthquakes comeback to draw 2-2 with Sounders in season finale

Jeremey Ebobissee celebrates his 17th goal of the season with his teammates at Lumen Field on Sunday OCT 9, 2022. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

It’s the end of an era, be it a short one.

The San Jose Earthquakes came back from a one goal deficit in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw with the Seattle Sounders in their season finale on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.

San Jose finished their turbulent 2022 season with an 8-15-11 record and 35 points to finish dead last in the Western Conference. Seattle had a subpar season finishing with a 12-17-5 record and 41 points to finish in 11th place and out of the playoffs.

This match marked the final one for interim head coach Alex Covelo, who took over for Matias Almeyda after he was dismissed following an 0-6 start. Covelo won his final home match last weekend, a 2-0 victory over Minnesota United.

The Quakes finished with an 8-11-8 record in MLS play under Covelo. Next season the ‘Quakes will be led by recently hired head coach Luchi Gonzalez, who is currently an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team that will be playing in the World Cup next month in Qatar.

“I talked about my emotions the other day. I didn’t talk about it in the past and I am not going to talk now. I think that these guys, this locker room, is very unique. They are very unified, and they are enjoying the way that we are playing. And at the same time, I cannot be more proud. We are working here everyday downstairs, every day with the players, from the medical part and also with Wondo [Chris Wondolowski], Lucho [Luciano Fusco], Steve [Ralston]. We have a lot of value, not only provisional but also as human beings, which is very important. But I am not going to talk more about emotions,” Covelo said.

Seattle drew first blood in the match’s opening minute. Alex Roldan crossed a ball into the middle over to Nicholas Lodeiro who one-timed a left footed shot past ‘Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski for his sixth goal of the season.

San Jose answered back three minutes later. A shot from Cristian Espinoza was punched out to the middle by Souders goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland. Jeremy Ebobisse cleaned up the rebound for his team leading 17th goal of the season.

It was also Ebobisse’s 44th of his MLS career. He set a new single-season career-high in goals and finished the season third in goals among all American players in MLS, only behind FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez (18) and FC Dallas’ Jesus Ferreira (18).

Lodeiro gave the Sounders back their lead in the 49th minute when he recorded his brace. A corner kick was headed back to the D and Lodeiro one-timed the ball out of the air with a power shot into the left corner of the net for his seventh goal of the season, which was second best on the Sounders.

San Jose scored the equalizer in the 75th minute. Defender Miguel Trauco found Cade Cowell along the left sideline. Cowell dribbled down the middle before pin placing a right footed shot past Cleveland into the lower right corner of the net for his third goal of the season.

“It shows a lot of what we have been doing this year. This is a resilient team. I think we battled until the end, and there is a lot of character and a lot of passion in the locker room. The guys have been fantastic the whole year. This is a hard place to play, and although they are not in the MLS Playoffs, they’re a really, really, really good team. To play how we did, we suffered at times, but it was a positive end to the season and I’m proud of the guy’s work today,” ‘Quakes captain Jackson Yueill said.

Marinkowski finished the match with four saves on six shots on target in his final match of the season. Cleveland made two saves on four shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with one corner kicks. Seattle had four.

San Jose is now 12-15-9 all-time vs. Seattle Sounders FC, including a 6-10-3 record on the road.

Trauco made his first MLS start, playing 78 minutes. He also tallied an assist on Cade Cowell’s goal, marking his second assist of the season and of his MLS career. He has now tallied two assists in his last three matches.