Tag: mls

Quakes can’t stop LAFC onslaught in 3-1 loss in last match of the season

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San Jose Earthquakes defender Rodrigues (26) and LAFC forward Kei Kamara (23) fight for the ball during the second half at BMO Stadium on Sat Oct 19, 2024. Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes closed out a 2024 season they’ll certainly like to forget on the road against LAFC at BMO Stadium. With no implications really on the line for either team, it was difficult to know what to expect. LAFC is postseason-bound, and they’re essentially locked into the second seed in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Earthquakes are guaranteed to finish last in the MLS. LAFC took it to the Quakes with a two goal 3-1 win in the last match of the regular season.

Earthquakes Starting XI: Daniel, Costa, Rodrigues, Wilson, Akapo, Gruezo, Yueill, Marie, Lopez, Espinoza, Ebobisse
LAFC Starting XI: Lloris, Segura, Chanot, Long, Palencia, O’Brien, Tillman, Campos, Bogusz, Giroud, Bouanga

Surprisingly, the Earthquakes got out to an early 1-0 lead off of a goal from Jackson Yueill in the ninth minute. Over the course of the first half, the Quakes were outplayed in terms of possession and total shots but LAFC wasn’t able to challenge the San Jose goalkeeper, Daniel. LAFC were getting shots off, but they weren’t able to get any on target in the first half which would undoubtedly change in the second 45 minutes. 

After a bit of hibernation in the first half, LAFC woke up hungry for the second half. They dominated the second half and Denis Bouanga scored an equalizer in the 68th minute from inside of the box. The Earthquakes were struggling, and those struggles only got worse after both sides made a few substitutions as they attempted to get the all-important second goal that would almost certainly decide the outcome of the game. 

In the 75th minute, LAFC took the lead off of a goal from midfielder Eduard Atuesta. The goal, which was assisted by Kei Kamara, gave the home side a 2-1 lead and put the Earthquakes in a situation which they were certainly familiar with this season, trailing late in a game. From there, LAFC continued attacking. They seemed determined not to let the visitors back into the match and there was clearly a massive difference in the talent levels of the two sides. 

The Quakes showed some signs of life late in the game but were unable to find an equalizer. Eventually, LAFC scored a third off of the head of Marlon Santos in extra time, putting the game out of reach for the Earthquakes. They fell to their California rivals 3-1 to end their 2024 MLS season. 

The San Jose Earthquakes’ final game of the season essentially summarized their entire season. They played well in the first half, but were unable to play with a lead and ultimately lost to a much better team. It’s a season that the organization and fans alike will certainly want to forget as quickly as possible. 

Luna’s late goal the difference in Real Salt Lake’s 1-0 shutout victory over the Earthquakes.

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The San Jose Earthquakes celebrated super fan Krazy George before their game against Real Salt Lake as George posed with the team’s starting 11 as part of the team’s 50th-year celebration at Pay Pal Park on Saturday OCT 5, 2024. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Sunnyvale’s Diego Luna had a happy homecoming as he returned to haunt his hometown team.

Luna scored in the 78th minute was the only goal Real Salt Lake needed to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in the Quakes home finale of the season on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose finished 4-13-1 at home including games at Levi’s Stadium and Stanford Stadium. The Earthquakes have lost three out of its last four matches with one match remaining in the season. With the win, Real Salt Lake has earned points in five straight matches and is tied with Seattle for third place in the Western Conference.

Real Salt Lake had the presence of their leading goal scorer Chico Arango who has been out with a hamstring injury he suffered during a 2-0 loss to the Earthquakes on August 24th when he was knocked to the ground by midfielder Carlos Gruezo. Arango came in as a substitute for Anderson Julio in the 55th minute.

The first half featured a scoreless deadlock. Neither team generated that many quality scoring chances. The best opportunity for San Jose came in the 20th minute when a shot from Hernan Lopez from the center of the box missed wide right of Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Zac MacMath. Quakes goalkeeper Daniel made a nice save on RSL’s best chance of the half, a shot off of the foot of Luna in the fourth minute.

Real Salt Lake (15-7-11-56 points) looked to have broken the deadlock in the 56th minute when Arango scored with a shot from point-blank range near the left post. However, he was ruled offsides and the goal was wiped off the board.

San Jose’s (6-24-5-21 points) interim head coach Ian Russell brought in a pair of fresh legs in the 63rd minute. Jack Skahan and Amahl Pellegrino came in for Jeremy Ebobisse and Paul Marie.

“Niko [Tsakiris] and Jackson [Yueill] broke the lines decently well, but I felt like after that, we didn’t have a lot of tempo change to get in behind them. I think Salt Lake does a pretty good job. They press pretty well, but I actually liked some of the combination plays with Niko, Hernán [López] and Jackson. But I think we were missing that next step to create a big chance,” Russell said.

The Earthquakes had a close call in the 70th minute when Nelson Palacio crossed a ball into the box where Dominik Marczuk’s header hit the crossbar and into the stands. Both players were subbed out a minute later by Matt Crooks and Emeka Eneli.

Real Salt Lake’s hard work finally paid off in the 78th minute. Braian Ojeda threaded a pass past two Quakes defenders over to Luna. The South Bay native dribbled out to the left before firing a perfectly placed shot off the right post and into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season.

“It was a really good strike by [Diego] Luna. Good player. They had some chances early on, and then most of their chances came from outside the box. Unfortunately, that one went in,” Russell said.

San Jose had a golden chance to score the equalizer in the 90th minute but MacMath stopped a point-blank shot from Preston Judd from 10 yards out in the middle of the box.

MacMath finished with one save on one attempt on target to earn a clean slate. Daniel made five saves on six shots on goal in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with two corner kicks. Real Salt Lake had nine.

San Jose is 16-15-12 against Real Salt Lake in the all-time series.

San Jose split the season series with Real Salt Lake after defeating them 2-0 in Utah on Aug. 24. The Quakes also saw their two-game unbeaten home streak against RSL snapped after drawing 2-2 with them in 2022 and beating them 2-1 last year.

The Quakes celebrated 50 years with Krazy George, who has been leading cheers since the club’s first match in 1974. The first 5,000 fans through the gates received a Krazy George wig courtesy of Habbas Law.

Cristian Espinoza extended his run of consecutive MLS regular-season games played to a current league-high of 108 (Oct. 2, 2021 – present). The streak is not only a Quakes record but tied for fifth longest in MLS history. He now stands equal with Darlington Nagbe (May 1, 2021 – Apr. 6, 2024) in the all-time annals and second among all field players. Espinoza can pass Nagbe in the season finale on Oct. 19 in a road contest vs. LAFC. Goalkeeper Luis Robles holds the league record with 183 straight appearances (Sept. 29, 2012 – May 12, 2018).

UP NEXT: San Jose close out the regular season on the road against LAFC on Sunday 10/19 at 6:00pm at BMO Stadium.

López’s brace help Earthquakes snap winless streak in 3-2 win over FC Dallas

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San Jose Earthquakes captain Jackson Yueill (#14) celebrates with Hernán López (#23) after the first of two goals scored by López against FC Dallas in the Quakes 3-2 win at Pay Pal Park on Wednesday OCT 2, 2024. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Hernán López picked a great time to record his first MLS multi-goal game.

López scored two goals as the San Jose Earthquakes held on late to defeat FC Dallas 3-2 on Wednesday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose won for the first time in their last six matches. FC Dallas has lost three of their past four matches and with the loss were eliminated from playoff contention in the Western Conference.

It was the Hernán show on a hot muggy night in the South Bay. With temperatures still in the 90’s at game time, the Man of the Match recorded his first brace in a Quakes uniform since the Argentine midfielder signed with the club back in April of this year.

Earthquakes interim head coach Ian Russell flipped his lineup around going with a 4-2-3-1 formation that saw Bruno Wilson and Oscar Verhoeven inserted into the back line and fullback Paul Marie upfront with López and Cristian Espinoza.

“It’s been a tough season, but these fans deserve a win,” said Russell on how good the win felt. “The team deserves a win. So, I said [to the team], ‘Just enjoy tonight.’ The game did feel pretty comfortable. We looked dangerous on the break. The last four or five games have been pretty dangerous on the break, but this one, we finished our chances.”

San Jose (6-23-3-21-points) drew first blood in the 14th minute. Wilson, who cracked the starting lineup since injuring his hamstring against NYCFC on May 31st, found López down the middle from the right wing. López spun around, made one touch with the ball before firing a left-footed shot past FC Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer to the lower left side of the net from 25 yards out for his fifth goal of the season.

FC Dallas (10-15-7-37 points) leveled the match in the 41st minute. Paul Arriola chipped a ball into the middle of the box where the ball bounced off the chest of Petar Musa over to unmarked Alan Velasco who beat ‘Quakes goalkeeper Daniel with a left-footed shot for his second goal of the season.

The match was headed toward a draw until the late match magic from López who scored his second goal in the 79th minute. A collision between two FC Dallas defenders created a turnover San Jose took advantage of. Amahl Pelegrino dribbled the ball down the left wing before centering the ball back into the middle. López controlled the ball before chipping it over Maurer just inside the right post for his sixth goal of the season.

“I was happy to score tonight. Obviously, the season hasn’t gone our way, but being able to finish the season strong, we’re happy to see that and I’m thrilled with the victory … Obviously, you’d like to score three goals, but I wasn’t able to do that. I’m just very happy to be able to score two goals at home. … I was able to dedicate those goals to my mother and my father and my family,” López said.

Jeremy Ebobisse, who came in as a sub in the 63rd minute for Jack Skahan, gave San Jose an insurance goal that ended up proving to be the game winner just four minutes later. Once again, a turnover by FC Dallas in the middle of the pitch led to a Quakes counterattack. Niko Tsakiris intercepted a pass that freed Ebobisse up the pitch. A give and go between Ebobisse and Tsakiris led to the veteran striker finishing a left-footed shot with authority into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season.

FC Dallas, with their season on the line, didn’t go down quietly. Bernard Kamungo earned a penalty kick after VAR reviewed Wilson’s foul for knocking down Kamungo inside the box in the 89th minute. However, Daniel made a diving save knocking the bound out of bounds on Jesús Ferreira’s penalty attempt right before stoppage time.

Sebastien Ibeagha made it a one-goal game in the 90th minute when he headed in a corner kick from Sebastian Lletget into the far corner of the net for his second goal of the season. FC Dallas had one last chance to score the equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage time but Kamungo’s bicycle kick from inside the box sailed just high over the net.

Daniel made three saves on four shots on goal to earn the victory. Maurer made one save on five shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with four corner kicks. FC Dallas had five.

Pellegrino’s 79th-minute assist was his second in MLS play and fourth in all competitions, running his goal contribution total to nine in MLS play (7g/2a) and 11 in all competitions (7g/4a).

Tsakiris recorded the first assist in his MLS career in the 83rd minute; it was his second assist and goal contribution in all competitions (0g/2a).

Espinoza’s assist of López’s 14th-minute goal was his 14th of the season in MLS play, lifting him to a tie for sixth on the overall league leaderboard. The assist also puts him now at 18 goal contributions in MLS play (4g/14a) and 21 in all competitions (5g/16a).

Espinoza also became the first player in Earthquakes history to have three straight seasons with 10 or more assists in MLS play (2022: 14; 2023: 13; 2024: 14 and counting).

San Jose is 30-22-22 in the overall series with FC Dallas.

UP NEXT: San Jose plays their regular season home finale on Saturday 10/5 against Real Salt Lake at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Quakes can’t stop CF Montreal’s Martinez scores twice in four minutes in 3-0 shutout win

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CF Montreal’s Josef Martinez left takes a shot against the San Jose Earthquakes goalie Daniel in the first half in MLS action at Stade Saputo in Montreal on Sat Sep 28, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP News)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes were on the road once again, this time they went north of the border to visit Stade Saputo in Montreal, Quebec to face CF Montreal. Montreal entered the night two points behind the Philadelphia Union for a playoff spot. Their 3-0 victory over San Jose on Saturday night wouldn’t be enough to put them into a playoff spot though, as the Union recorded a point of their own in a draw against Atlanta United on Saturday.

Montreal Starting XI: Sirois, Campbell, Alvarez, Waterman, Marshall-Rutty, Piette, Saliba, Edwards, Duke, Clark, Martinez

Earthquakes Starting XI: Daniel, Costa, Rodrigues, Munie, Akapo, Gruezo, Tsakiris, Pellegrino, Lopez, Espinoza, Ebobisse

The Earthquakes were able to keep Montreal off of the scoresheet in the first half, but it was pretty clear that Montreal was in control for most of the night. Right out of the gate, Caden Clark drew two fouls on Carlos Akapo.

The first ten minutes were all Montreal, as Daniel was forced to make two early saves before the Quakes got an opportunity of their own. Rodrigues nearly gave San Jose an early lead against the run of play, but his header went high to the left.

The next five minutes, the Quakes showed some life, getting quality chances of their own but they were unable to get them on target. From there, momentum swung back in the home team’s favor as they maintained a majority of the pressure for the remainder of the half.

Montreal’s Josef Martinez opened the scoring in the 51st minute off of a corner. The assist was given to Bryce Duke, who’s cross found Martinez’s head perfectly. Montreal picked up a couple of yellow cards early in the half, with Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Raheem Edwards each getting a booking within four minutes of one another.

Martinez made it a brace, scoring his second of the night four minutes later with a shot from inside of the box. At that point, the Quakes made a few changes to try to spark the team’s energy levels but ultimately Ii wouldn’t help. Clark would extend Montreal’s lead to 3-0 in the 72nd minute with another shot from inside of the box.

The Earthquakes applied some pressure as the minutes winded down, but they weren’t able to disrupt Jonathan Sirios’s clean sheet. Montreal would walk away with a 3-0 win in a pretty one-sided match up. Montreal lead in almost every category, including a dominant 57/43% possession percentage.

They took 16 shots, ten of which were on target, compared to San Jose’s 12 general shots but a majority were low quality as only two were on target. San Jose likely didn’t deserve to be on the other end of a shutout, they had some quality chances overall but it was clear right out of the gate that Montreal was likely taking home three points.

The Earthquakes are going to finish last in the MLS at this point, with just 18 points through 31 games but they’ll look to crawl out of the league’s basement as much as possible in their next game against FC Dallas at home.

St. Louis City’s early goals hold up against Earthquakes in 2-1 win

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St. Louis City forward Joao Klauss and San Jose Earthquakes defender Tanner Beason race for a loose ball during St. Louis City’s 2-1 win over San Jose at Pay Pal Park on Saturday SEP 21, 2024. (St. Louis City SC)

by Mark Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — St. Louis City scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the match and held on to edge the San Jose Earthquakes in 2-1 victory on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has lost three out of its last four matches and still has not earned a point against St. Louis in four matches. St. Louis City has have won two out of its last three matches.

St. Louis City (6-11-13) drew first blood in the fourth minute. Marcel Hartel sent a cross from along the right sideline into the middle of the box. Jannes Horn quickly touched it over to an unmarked Cedric Teuchert who buried a right footed shot into an open net for his fourth goal of the season.

Thanks to a controversial call, the visiting team doubled its lead in the 13th minute. Joao Klauss chipped a ball near the box where Rodrigues took down Hartel while trying to clear the ball. After VAR review the play was ruled a penalty. Hartel finished off the penalty when he hesitated before kicking the ball to the left side of the net past ‘Quakes goalkeeper William Yarbrough for his second goal of the season.

“If it’s that close and it wasn’t called (a penalty) in live play, and it was not super clear, I don’t know why you’re giving a penalty. I’m surprised they (VAR) even called (down to the referee) ‘hey there’s a potential penalty.’ Again it didn’t even look like (the foul) was in the box. Even on replays, so why are you giving one,” ‘Quakes interim head coach Ian Russell said.

San Jose (5-22-3) had its first quality scoring chance in the 27th minute. Niko Tsakiris started a counterattack inside the St. Louis zone with an interception. Tsakiris found Cristian Espinoza along the right wing. Espinoza crossed the ball into the middle where a trailing Hernan Lopez’s one-timer was stoned away by St. Louis City goalkeeper Roman Buerki.

Then in the 32nd minute, another turnover by St. Louis led Lopez to spring Jeremy Ebobisse on a partial breakaway. Ebobisse’s right-footed shot was knocked up and over the net by Buerki. The resulting corner kick bounced over to Rodrigues, but his turnaround attempt didn’t muster much power and was easily controlled by Buerki.

San Jose finally broke through to cut the lead in half in the 40th minute. Espinoza found Ebobisse along the right slot and Ebobisse sent a touch pass out to Carlos Akapo to the right side of the box. Akapo centered the ball back to Ebobisse who beat Buerki with a left footed shot to the lower right corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season.

“The point of the game is to get three points,” said Ebobisse regarding the frustration of the outcome. “To be dominant or have more opportunities and not convert, it’s ok if it happens once or twice a year. If it’s happening several times, and then the games that you are out played you’re not able to steal points, you end up in the situation that we’re in right now.”

The Earthquakes had a chance for the equalizer in the 69th minute when Tanner Beason sent a long ball from inside his own zone that took a favorable bounce out to a Jack Skahan. Josh Yaro bodied Skahan inside the box resulting in Skahan’s shot just wide of the net.

Espinioza gave the Quakes their best chance to even the match in the 76th minute when he received the ball from San Jose captain Jackson Yueill, but his shot between two St. Louis City defenders from eight yards out was gobbled up by Buerki.

Buerki stopped four of the five shots he faced to earn the victory. Yarbrough didn’t make a save during the match with both shots on target were goals in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: Each team finished the match with four corner kick each.

San Jose is 0-4 against St. Louis City in all the time series.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels north of the border to take on Montreal on Saturday 9/28 at 4:30pm at Stade Saputo.

Marie saves the night as Quakes draw with Sounders at Lumen Field 2-2

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San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders battled to a draw at Lumen Field in Seattle on Wed Sep 18, 2024 (SI photos/Getty Images)

The San Jose Earthquakes are back on the road, this time they visited their Pacific Northwest counterparts, the Seattle Sounders at Lumen Field.

San Jose Starting XI: Daniel, Verhoeven, Rodrigues, Munie, Akapo, Gruezo, Tsakiris, Pellegrino, Lopez, Espinoza, Bouda

Seattle Starting XI: Frei, Roldan, Yelmar, Ragen, Nouhou, Roldan, Vargas, Rothrock, Rusnak, de la Vega, Morris

The Quakes got out to an early lead in the 16th minute when a pass by Cristian Espinoza landed loose inside of the box for Amahl Pellegrino who was able to put it away and make it 1-0 in favor of the visitors. It didn’t take long for Seattle to tie it up though.

After Hernan Lopez was shown a yellow card, the Sounders got a dangerous free kick from roughly 35 yards out. The ball was crossed into the box, and after quite a bit of a scramble with the ball inside of the area it eventually found its way to Jordan Morris who was able to put it past Daniel. In the 39th minute, Morris got his second of the night on a volley inside of the box giving the Sounders a 2-1 lead that they’d carry into half time.

Heading into the second half, the Earthquakes found themselves in a very similar situation. They were trailing with 45 minutes to figure out a way to get a point or potentially all three. Although they controlled possession quite a bit in the second half, the Earthquakes were unable to find an equalizer for quite a while in the second half. The Quakes brought quite a bit of pressure, bringing their shot total closer to that of Seattle’s but the Sounders still led in that category.

It was ultimately a pretty uneventful second half, as although chances were being created many of them weren’t high-danger opportunities that truly seemed like they could change the complexion of the match. Seattle was the better team overall, even though San Jose was able to maintain possession on a more regular basis.

Considering Seattle currently find themselves fourth in the Western Conference while the Earthquakes are dead last in 14th, it would’ve been hard to be upset if San Jose left Seattle without a point. Overall though, San Jose did do a fantastic job keeping it close against a team that clearly has much more talent on it.

Picking up three points would’ve desperately helped the Sounders as they’re currently in the midst of a massive playoff battle. While a single point is definitely better than nothing, a tight race makes every point crucial. Everyone from second to eighth in the conference are only separated by a few games’ worth of points, so every game is crucial for teams hoping to get a higher seeding.

The Quakes on the other hand continue to struggle mightily in a season that has left their fans very little hope about the immediate future. Outside of Hernan Lopez and Espinoza, there’s no true offensive weapons on the team who can help them squeak out some wins in crucial games like this one.

The Quakes had a strong outing against Seattle earlier this season when they defeated the Sounders 3-2 at PayPal Park, so it seemed like they should be able to earn another point on the road and a late goal by Paul Marie made that a reality.

In the 89th minute, he was able to find the back of the net to even it up when it seemed like the Sounders were going to walk away with three points. Instead, both teams got a single point which will undoubtedly have drastic playoff implications later on down the road.

With only five games remaining in the season, the Earthquakes have already been eliminated from playoff contention. The results of coming games aren’t meaningless though, as now is the perfect time to turn things around and carry some momentum into the 2025 season while also potentially playing spoiler for other organizations. Considering it seemed at one point that San Jose would be leaving Seattle with a loss, their late goal truly changed everything.

Vancouver’s Picault and Armstrong each with a goal defeat Quakes 2-0 at BC Place

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San Jose Earthquakes Tanner Beason (15) blocks the penalty kick by the Vancouver Whitecaps Ali Ahmed (22) in first half action at BC Place in Vancouver on Sat Sep 14, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes are back on the road, this time heading to BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps. Since the Leagues Cup, Vancouver is 1-0-1, defeating Austin FC and drawing with FC Dallas. Meanwhile, the Quakes are 1-1-0, defeating Real Salt Lake and falling to Minnesota United FC.

Vancouver entered the night as a heavy favorite, and that’s for good reason. Not only did they have the all-important home-field advantage, but they also found themselves sixth in the Western Conference while the Earthquakes were last in the conference by a considerable margin. The Quakes were shutout on Saturday night at BC Place in Vancouver 2-0, as the Whitecaps got goals from Fafa Picault and Stuart Armstrong.

Earthquakes Starting XI: Daniel, Marie, Beason, Rodrigues, Akapo, Kikanovic, Yueill, Tsakiris, Lopez, Espinoza, Judd

Whitecaps Starting XI:Takaoka, Utvik, Veselinovic, Blackmon, Ahmed, Vite, Priso, Schopf, Adekugbe, Picault, Gauld

The Whitecaps were controlling the game in the first half. They more than doubled up the Earthquakes on shots, both total and on target. The Whitecaps had 8 total, five of which were on target. Meanwhile, the Quakes only had 3 and 2 respectively.

Possession was in Vancouver’s favor as well, with them having 56% possession after 45 minutes. Despite that, it took Vancouver until the 35th minute to get on the scoreboard when Fafa Picault scored off of an assist by Ryan Gauld on a set piece. Gauld took the corner kick, and it landed directly on Picault’s head giving Daniel no chance to make a save. It was a picture-perfect corner by Vancouver.

With the Whitecaps already the favorites heading into the match, and their early lead making it even more likely that they walk away with three points, the Earthquakes had a lot of work to do to overcome the odds.

San Jose had a couple of substitutions to start the second half with Ousseni Bouda and Vitor Costa coming on for Preston Judd and Benjamin Kikanovic. About ten minutes later, they make another change, taking off Niko Tsakiris for Alfredo Morales.

Despite the changes, Vancouver looked even more dominant to start the second half. They were controlling possession at an even more extreme rate, weren’t allowing the Quakes to get shots off, and overall were outplaying the visitors.

They fired a considerable number of shots at Daniel, and many of them forced the goalkeeper to make a save. All in all, they’d have 11 shots on target and 19 total.

In the 86th minute, Gauld got his second assist of the night on a very unselfish pass which found Stuart Armstrong wide open. He was able to put it away with no issues, giving the Whitecaps a 2-0 lead which they’d carry to the end of the match. The Earthquakes only managed two shots for the entirety of the second half, and none of them forced the goalkeeper to make a save as they were both off target.

It’s not very surprising that the Earthquakes dropped points against a top-half team in the Western Conference while on the road. The Whitecaps are a strong side in the midst of a playoff push, while there isn’t much optimism around the Earthquakes in general at the moment.

The lack of any type of offensive production, specifically in the second half certainly should be concerning though. In a season where there’s no hope in the standings, you have to at least hope for a moral victory, and in this case there weren’t even any of those to speak of. The Earthquakes will look to right the ship as their road trip continues in Seattle to take on the Sounders this Wednesday.

Hlongwane’s brace the difference in Minnesota United 2-1 win over Earthquakes

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Minnesota United’s Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Robin Lod and Kelvin Yeboah celebrate “Bongi’s” first of two goals against the San Jose Earthquakes during their 2-1 win at Pay Pal Park on Saturday AUG 31, 2024. (Minnesota United)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Bongokuhle Hlongwane put on a show in the South Bay as his two goals were all Minnesota United needed to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has lost three out of its last four league matches. Minnestoa United has won two of its past three league matches with both wins coming against the Earthquakes.

Hlongwane recorded his brace and eventual game winning goal in the 63rd minute. “Bogi” received the ball inside the box after a long throw in. His first two attempts were kept out of the net thanks to San Jose defenders blocking each attempt. However, third time was a charm for Hlongwane as his right footed shot made it into the back of the net for his team leading 9th goal of the season.

“We scored, and they come back and capitalize on a long throw, a set piece, basically. So it’s frustrating. But again, I felt like the players didn’t quit. We tried to get that second goal. We almost did with [Daniel] Munie, actually who was really injured at the time. As long as we’re fighting and trying to equalize late, that’s all we can do,” ‘Quakes interim head coach Ian Russell said.

It didn’t take Hlongwane long to score his first goal of the match as he tallied in the ninth minute for Minnesota. Robin Lod controlled a loose ball and found Hlongwane on a diagonal run for the one-timed finish that beat ‘Quakes goalkeeper Daniel to the left side.

On the flip side for San Jose Ousseni Bouda, who played in his second match since being called up from USL’s Monterey Bay FC, was the Earthquakes best player in the first half as Minnesota United had difficulty trying to contain the young forward.

Bouda scored the equalizer for San Jose in 33rd minute. Amahl Pellegrino headed an aerial ball in the box toward a charging Bouda, whose left-footed strike beat goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair for his first league goal of the season. Bouda also scored in the US Open Cup against the Oakland Roots back on May 7th that proved to be the game winner.

Bouda almost had a second goal of his own three minutes later in the 36th minute off a header but St. Clair made a spectacular diving save to keep the score level as both teams were even at intermission.

“For me, regardless of whether it’s one minute or 90 minutes, this is what I love to do. This is my dream. I love playing for the Quakes. I just want to just give it my all, all of the time, because that’s really all I can control. Whether I miss a chance, or whether I’m in for five minutes and maybe I don’t touch the ball, just always control whatever you control. And I hope that I continue to do that, and then just keep my head down whether I’m scoring hat tricks in games or not, that’s just the mentality I aspire to have,” Bouda said.

Fullback Daniel Munie injured his hamstring late in the second half but because ‘Quakes head coach had already used his five substitutions he put Munie up front with the forwards as he didn’t want to play a man down in the final stretch.

San Jose had one last ditch effort for the second equalizer when Paul Marie came around the right wing and crossed the ball into the middle of the box, but Munie’s right footed attempt sailed high over the net in the third minute of stoppage time.

St. Clair finished one save on two shots on goal to earn the victory. Daniel made four saves in six shots on goal in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with three corner kicks. Minnesota United had eight.

The Quakes move to 5-6-4 (21 GF, 26 GA) in the all-time series against Minnesota United FC and 3-3-2 at home (13 GF, 16 GA). Not counting the two clubs’ clash in the 2020 MLS Is Back Tournament where San Jose was technically the home team but the match was held at a neutral site in Florida, tonight’s loss snapped the Quakes’ home unbeaten streak over MNUFC in San Jose at three games (1-0-2).

Pellegrino stayed hot, notching his second assist of the MLS season on Bouda’s goal. The play also marked his 10th goal contribution across all competitions and fourth in as many total games.

Forward Cristian Espinoza extended his run of consecutive MLS regular-season games played to a current league-high of 102 with his start tonight (Oct. 2, 2021 – present). The streak is not only a Quakes record but the seventh-longest in MLS history. Luis Robles holds the league record with 183 straight appearances (Sept. 29, 2012 – May 12, 2018).

UP NEXT: San Joses heads into the international break before resuming MLS regular season play on Saturday, 9/14 when they travel north of the Canadian border to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Kickoff from BC Place is set for 7:30pm.

Quakes Espinoza and Pellegrino score in shutout against Real Salt Lake 2-0 at America First Field

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The San Jose Earthquakes got scoring help from Cristian Espinoza and Amahl Pellegrino against Real Salt Lake at America First Field in Sandy UT on Sat Aug 24, 2024 (San Jose Earthquakes image)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes visited Real Salt Lake in Utah on Saturday night. It was the second straight night that a team from the Bay Area played at America First Field in Sandy UT, as Bay FC was there the night before. After a surprisingly strong showing in the Leagues Cup, the Quakes were hoping to use that momentum to move up the table in the MLS. They did when they got a shutout against Real Salt Lake 2-0.

Earthquakes Starting XI: Daniel, Costa, Rodrigues, Munie, Kikanovic, Gruezo, Yueill, Pellegrino, Lopez, Espinoza, Bouda

Salt Lake Starting XI: MacMath, Hidalgo, Glad, Vera, Katranis, Eneli, Ojeda, Chang, Crooks, Goncalves, Arango

Right out of the gate, Salt Lake brought some heavy attacking power getting a few low-quality scoring chances in the opening minutes. Ultimately though, it wouldn’t matter as Cristian Espinoza would get the visitors on the board first with a goal despite it being a low percentage chance in the 20th minute off of an assist by Jackson Yueill. The Earthquakes had an early lead, but playing with a lead has been one of their biggest issues so far this season. They’re used to trailing, and as a result they seem to panic when they’re the team in front.

It wouldn’t take long for the Quakes to extend their lead, as Amahl Pellegrino would score from inside of the box in the 33rd minute to make it 2-0 in favor of San Jose. The Earthquakes would hold the lead into the break, as Real Salt Lake was unable to get on the board before half time.

Despite the fact that Salt Lake was dominating in terms of possession, they weren’t creating the same quality of chances that the Earthquakes were. The total number of shot attempts were similar, however much more of San Jose’s were getting on target and as a result they had a much higher expected goals. The Quakes were also doing a good job of blocking shots to prevent quality scoring chances.

Statistically, Salt Lake played a strong game. They were completing a lot of passes, maintaining possession and earning themselves quite a few corner kicks. They were generating chances as well, but since they weren’t on target it didn’t do much to help them out. It was essentially the reverse of the Bay FC vs Utah Royals game from the night before, as the home team couldn’t score but the visitors were taking advantage of their opportunities, even if they were low quality.

Considering the fact that Real Salt Lake was third in the Western Conference entering the match and the Earthquakes were dead last in the conference, most likely would have written off San Jose before the game even started. The Quakes showed that their improved performances in the Leagues Cup wasn’t a fluke though, as they aim to finish the season on a much more positive note. San Jose is quite a ways off of the team in front of them, as St Louis had a 9 point advantage, however it’s a step in the right direction for the Earthquakes and something they’ll need to build off of.

Salt Lake didn’t get much of an opportunity in stoppage time, as only two minutes were added. When the final whistle blew, it marked a clean sheet for the Earthquakes as they walked away with a 2-0 victory over one of the top teams in their conference. It’s a bit ambitious to think of this as a massive spark for the team moving forward, but it certainly doesn’t hurt and can get them on the right track for the remainder of the season.

Berry’s late goal lifts Galaxy to 2-1 win over Earthquakes in League’s Cup

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Los Angeles Galaxy forwards Ricky Puig and Diego Fagundez celebrate Fagundez’s first half goal against the San Jose Earthquakes during a League’s Cup match at Pay Pal Park on Wednesday JUL 31, 2024. (Los Angeles Galaxy)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Ownage is ownage in the battle of California.

Miguel Berry scored the game winning goal in the 89th minute to secure a place in the round 16 for the Los Angeles Galaxy in a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in a League’s Cup match on Wednesday evening at Pay Pal Park.

Los Angeles is 4-0 against San Jose this season, including the League’s Cup match.

San Jose finished group play with two points in group play as they beat Chivas de Guadalajara on penalty kicks last Saturday at Levi’s Stadium. Los Angeles opened its League Cup group play with three points and advanced out of the group stage no matter their result with Chivas on Sunday. The Earthquakes can still advance out of the group stage if the Galaxy defeat Chivas in regulation.

‘Quakes goalkeeper William Yarbrough, who made the start in place of Daniel, made two excellent saves in the ninth minute. First, he made a diving save on a header attempt by Gabriel Fortes and seconds later made a point-blank save with his neck off a rebound attempt by Ricky Puig.

“It’s going to be sore tomorrow but right now we’re ok,” Yarbrough said with a smile after the match.

Ahmal Pelegrino had San Jose’s first scoring chance in the 18th minute when his right footed shot from the center of the box was saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Novak Micovic.

Carlos Gruezo had a golden opportunity to give San Jose the lead in the 21st minute when the ball squirted out to him inside the middle of the box but his shot from 12 yards was grabbed by Micovic.

The Galaxy drew first blood in the 41st minute. Puig led a counterattack and fed the ball out to Diego Fagundez just to the right of the box. Fagundez broke away from Benji Kikanovic and curled in a shot from 20 yards out into the upper right corner of the net to give Los Angeles 1-0 lead going into halftime.

San Jose gained the momentum in the match after the 60th minute as they pressured Los Angeles inside its own zone and created scoring chances. Pellegrino’s header attempt in the 66th minute went wide left that had Micovic out of position.

The Earthquakes scored the equalizer in the 75th minute. Jackson Yueill intercepted a pass inside the Galaxy zone and found Gruezo along the left wing. Gruezo threaded a pass in between two Galaxy defenders over to Jeremy Ebobisse into the middle of the box. Ebobisse fired a left footed shot past a charging Micovic for his second League’s Cup goal in as many games.

“It was a little disappointing tonight, said Ebobisse regarding the result. “I thought we worked really hard. I thought we created some chances. They’re (Los Angeles) is a good team and they’re going to get their chances as well. But I thought we did enough to at least get the tie. But we’re still alive and we’ll see if we can get through and continue the run.”

‘Quakes head coach Ian Russell substituted Daniel Munie in for Hernan Lopez in the 83rd minute as San Jose went with five fullbacks in hopes of preserving a draw and sending the match to penalty kicks.

The move did not work out as Russell had hoped as just like in the previous four matches, Los Angeles found a way to get the late goal that has plagued San Jose against its SoCal rival this season. Puig sent a diagonal ball over to unmarked Miki Yamane inside the box. Yamane crossed the ball over to Berry who finished off the game winner just inside the left post.

“Unfortunately, the last goal we didn’t pressure on Puig, he hits that diagonal ball (into the box). Yeah, he’s a very good player, you can’t give him time and space, he can punish you for sure,” Russell said.

Kikanovic had a header miss left in the fourth minute of stoppage time as the Quakes weren’t able to score the second equalizer in the match and walked off the pitch with no points.

Micovic made three saves on four shots on goal to earn the victory. Yarbrough made seven saves on nine shots on goal in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with two corner kicks. Los Angeles had six.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to MLS action on Saturday 8/24 against Real Salt Lake at 6:30pm at America First Field.