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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.

Guadalajara-San Jose battle to a 1-1 draw at Levis Stadium

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The San Jose Earthquakes celebrate after San Jose Earthquakes’ Vitor Costa (94) kicks in the winning penalty kick against Chivas de Guadalajara at the end of a Leagues Cup game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

By William Espy

SANTA CLARA–The San Jose Earthquakes started the Leagues Cup group stage against Chivas de Guadalajara on Saturday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Despite the game being played in the Bay Area, the Quakes were officially the away team and Guadalajara were hosting.

There were some family ties between both teams as Cade Cowell, a native of Ceres, California was in the lineup for Chivas. His younger brother Chance Cowell is a member of the Earthquakes organization but is currently part of their MLS Next team. For the Earthquakes, they got some good news for once with Daniel returning to the lineup following an injury earlier in the season.

The attendance of 50,675 set a new record for the Leagues Cup as well, making the matchup a monumental occasion for the competition. Fittingly, since it was technically a Chivas home game it seemed like the majority of the crowd was donning their iconic red-and-white striped jersey as well.

Guadalajara and San Jose dueled to a 1-1 tie at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara on Saturday night.

Earthquakes Starting XI: Daniel, Costa, Rodrigues, Beason, Kikanovic, Lopez, Gruezo, Yueill, Pellegrino, Ebobisse, Espinoza

Chivas Starting XI: Rangel, Mozo, G. Sepulveda, L. Sepulveda, Chavez, Gonzalez, Marin, Guzman, Gutierrez, Cowell, Perez

Cowell tried to get some offense going in the opening minute, but his shot was blocked. Cristian Espinoza and Hernan Lopez tried to work their magic for the Quakes in the fourth minute, but Lopez’s shot was blocked and floated down to the goalkeeper Jose Rangel.

The Earthquakes got themselves on the board first though, a header from Jeremy Ebobisse found the net after a great pass by Espinoza, making it 1-0 less than ten minutes into the match. Rangel almost made a major mistake moments later, a bad pass to the centerback caused the ball to pop up into the air, and Espinoza nearly got possession with the goalkeeper well out of position.

Chivas were able to recover and prevent the MLS’s representative from taking a 2-0 lead. Chivas had a chance to score an equalizer in the 18th minute when the Earthquakes got discombobulated in their own box, but through the chaos they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.

During the first 20 minutes, it felt like the Earthquakes were firmly in control of the match. Cowell continued trying to be a difference-maker for his side though, forcing Daniel to make a save in the 21st minute.

Cowell was undoubtedly the Chivas’ best player early in the match but his efforts alone wouldn’t be enough for them to walk away with a win. 25 minutes into his return, Daniel went down in some discomfort and required medical attention.

He would remain in the match and it would get back underway shortly. Ebobisse nearly made it a brace in the 27th minute, but Rangel was able to make the save and the ball went out for a corner. After a scramble in front of the goal in the 28th minute, Chivas attempted to appeal for a penalty when an attacker went down inside the box but play went on with no call on the play.

The remainder of the first half was end-to-end action, with neither team really getting a major advantage. Chivas got their best opportunity of the half as stoppage time expired, but the defender in front of the goal was able to get in front of it and the Quakes cleared it out. The score would remain 1-0 in favor of the Quakes heading into the break.

Chivas had 45 more minutes to find an equalizer, while the Earthquakes looked to pull off a major upset to open the Leagues Cup. The Chivas had a promising attacking opportunity in the 51st minute, but the two attackers ran into one another inside of their own box allowing the Earthquakes to recover defensively and clear the ball.

Ebobisse tried to recreate his opening goal in the 56th minute with another header attempt, but the shot went just wide of the goal. Chivas were desperate to get the tying goal, but they were struggling to do so. They were creating chances in the second half, but San Jose’s defense and goalkeeper were holding strong.

Roberto Alvarado fired a long shot in the 70th minute which forced Daniel to jump in an attempt to tip it over the goal. The ball stayed out of the netting, but Daniel once again needed to get medical attention. As the final 20 minutes got underway, the Earthquakes were maintaining their lead but Chivas were bringing pressure.

Chivas nearly scored in the 73rd minute but fouled Daniel on the play and as a result, possession was given to San Jose. Mateo Chavez was on the wrong side of a brutal, but seemingly clean slide tackle in the 78th minute which saw him out of the play as the Earthquakes launched a counter-attack.

He eventually got back up and remained in the game, but was very slow to get up. In the 80th, Chivas got a very dangerous free-kick chance after a foul by Espinoza but were unable to capitalize on it, as the ball went out for a corner, giving them another attacking opportunity.

Armando Gonzalez’s shot would go wide of the goal on the following play though, and the Quakes would get a goal kick. Physicality was the main story in the second half, and it came to a head when Fidel Barajas ran into Daniel resulting in a scuffle in midfield.

Moments later, a midfield collision led to the official handing out multiple yellow cards after another scuffle with quite a few players from both teams involved. Frustration had clearly set in for Chivas, who were likely embarrassed by trailing the opposition they viewed as inferior.

Daniel went down in the 90th minute following another collision. He attempted to remain on his feet as Chivas attacked but kept dropping to a knee until play stopped and he got medical attention. Eight minutes of stoppage time were awarded after there were quite a few delays during the half.

A win was in sight for the Earthquakes though, they just needed to hold on a little longer. Daniel made a save in the 94th minute, when he hit the ground though the ball nearly bobbled loose into the goal but he was able to recover it.

Chivas had an almost certain equalizer in the 95th minute off of a header, but it rang off the goalpost. For the first time this season, it seemed like luck was in the Quakes’ favor. The crowd erupted in the 98th minute when the Chivas finally got their equalizer off of a shot by Roberto Alvarado.

Fans instantly began throwing things on the field in celebration. The game would end in a 1-1 tie, but went to a penalty shootout for an extra point in the group stage. Daniel saved the Chivas’ first shot. Jack Skahan stepped up first for the Quakes and scored, giving them a 1-0 lead in the shootout.

Alan Mozo was next for Chivas,and he scored. Paul Marie stepped up to the spot for San Jose, and he missed the shot. It was tied up heading into the third round. San Jose’s decision to substitute off all of their dangerous offensive players backfired.

Erick Gutierrez scored for Chivas, and Rodrigues came up for San Jose and kept it tied. Cowell was next for Chivas and he shot it well over the goal and Alfredo Morales gave the Quakes a lead. Fernando Beltran missed his opportunity, and Costa put it away for the Earthquakes who walked away with the extra point.

San Diego hands Bay FC second straight loss 3-1 at Snapdragon

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Hard as they tried Bay FC couldn’t overcome the San Diego Wave at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Sat Jul 20, 2024 (Bay FC image)

By William Espy

Bay FC visited the San Diego Wave on Saturday night to start the Summer Cup. With a few of their players off to play in the Olympics, and a few others out of the lineup for other reasons, Bay was running with a much different starting eleven than we’ve seen previously.

San Diego had a highly motivated Alex Morgan in the lineup, as she was left off the United States Olympic Team. Emmie Allen was making the first start of her professional career between the pipes for Bay. Bay FC couldn’t hold on losing in a two goal match 3-1 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.

Bay FC Starting XI: Allen, Brewster, Beattie, Moreau, Dydasco, Bailey, Shepherd, Castellanos, Doms, Conti, Hill

Wave Starting XI: Beall, McNabb, Westphal, Dahlkemper, Wesley, McCaskill, Colaprico, Doniak, Bennett, Sanchez, Morgan

Allen got forced into action early, making a great save in the 6th minute while she was assisted by defender Jordan Brewster who was also making her first start with Bay FC. Bay spent a majority of the opening minutes with the ball around their box, but they were defending very well despite a few young defenders and midfielders.

15 minutes into the game, Allen went down with an apparent injury but she got back on her feet and remained in the game. Katelyn Rowland was on the bench if necessary, but the 21-year-old Allen certainly needed to make the most of her opportunity.

She certainly was doing so, making another save, this time on Alex Morgan in the 26th minute. A nice passing play nearly gave Bay the lead in the 28th minute, and Deyna Castellanos put it away with a nice finish but the play was called offside. Albertin Montoya was trying something new, playing with Castellanos as a false nine which was seemingly working early in the match.

Around the halfway point in the first half, things seemed to switch a bit. The Wave were carrying momentum and bringing heavy pressure early on, but Bay was starting to swing things in their favor. Dydasco made a phenomenal block in the 31st minute, preventing a quality scoring chance by San Diego.

Kristen McNabb picked up a yellow card in the 36th minute for San Diego when she tripped up Dydasco in midfield. A jumping Jordan Brewster and Makenzy Doniak collided in midfield moments later, leaving Doniak down in some pain and Brewster no worse for wear.

Doniak got back to her feet and remained in the match for the time being. San Diego got a dangerous chance in the 40th minute when Jen Beattie went down leaving it a 2-on-1 with Brewster as the long defender back. Brewster handled it very well though and prevented San Diego from getting on the board.

Rachel Hill created a great chance with hard work in the 42nd, as the Wave tried to hold out for a goal kick as the ball drifted out of play but Hill hustled, got a foot on the ball, and centered it to Castellanos who was unable to finish it off.

Moments later, Bay got their strongest opportunity of the night as Maddie Moreau and Hill got past the defense, but Moreau’s pass was just out of Hill’s reach and went out of play. San Diego took the lead in stoppage time off of a corner, Maria Sanchez whipped it into the head of Kennedy Wesley and Allen had no chance to make a save. It marked the Wave’s first goal since June 19th and Wesley’s first professional goal.

Joelle Anderson entered the game early in the second half for Bay FC, taking over for Maya Doms. Bay got a chance around the 50th minute when a cross from Moreau found Castellanos in front of the goal but it went wide of the goal following a weak shot.

Sanchez scored her first goal with the Wave in the 53rd minute on a long shot that went well over Allen’s head, giving her no chance to make the save once again. Allen was playing at a high level in her first career start, but unfortunately, there was nothing she could do on either of the goals Bay had conceded.

Anderson continued trying to make an impact after entering the game, getting a solid shot just a few minutes later. Moreau got Bay FC on the board in the 63rd minute following a bad clearing attempt by the Wave’s goalkeeper Beall.

It was a great moment for Moreau, who was undrafted in the 2024 NWSL Draft but still scored in her rookie season. Chaos inside Bay FC’s box in the 80th minute gave San Diego a 3-1 lead. Allen originally made the save, but with nobody in between the ball and Amirah Ali, Ali was able to retrieve the ball and put it away.

All things considered, Bay played well with a young lineup against an experienced Wave team. Bay was awarded a penalty at the start of stoppage time when Dydasco went down hard inside of the box.

Castellanos stepped up to take it, and Beall read the shot perfectly, denying the attempt. San Diego walked away with their first win in 10 games, as they defeated Bay FC 3-1 and now leads their group in the Summer Cup.

Minnesota shuts out Earthquakes 2-0 in St Paul; Loss is third in a row for SJ

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Scoreboard says it all as the San Jose Earthquakes are shutout by the Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field in St Paul MN on Sat Jul 20, 2024 (San Jose Earthquakes X image)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes were on the road visiting Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, MN on Saturday night. Minnesota entered the night battling for a playoff spot in the Western Conference despite a 3-game losing streak at home while San Jose was trying to claw their way out of the league’s basement. The Quakes picked up their third straight loss of their own making getting shutout 2-0 by the United.

Earthquakes Starting XI: Yarbrough, Verhoeven, Rodrigues, Beason, Kikanovic, Gruezo, Yueill, Pellegrino, Lopez, Espinoza, Ebobisse

Minnesota Starting XI: St. Clair, Jeong Sang, Harvey, Tapias, Padelford, Rosales, Lod, Dotson, Bran, Hlongwane, Oluwaseyi

It took until the ninth minute for either team to get an opportunity when Jeremy Ebobisse fired a shot that sailed wide to the left, giving the Earthquakes the first shot of the night. Minnesota was playing a physical game early on, leading to quite a few fouls by the home side in the opening 15 minutes. The Quakes were getting some dangerous free kicks as a result but weren’t capitalizing on them.

The first card of the night came in the 25th minute when Alejandro Bran blatantly fouled Hernan Lopez. Pellegrino had the best opportunity of the night so far in the 31st minute when he received a pass from the corner and shot it first-time but a defender was able to get a foot on the shot and deflect it over the goal.

Ebobisse got another opportunity moments later, but his header went wide of the goal. Bran got substituted out in the 33rd minute for Franco Fragapane. Minnesota got their first corner of the night in the 35th minute but were unable to do anything with it.

Despite San Jose leading in possession, shots and almost every important statistic in the first half, Minnesota got a 1-0 lead in the 38th minute when Tanner Beason deflected the ball past William Yarbrough and into his own net.

Carlos Gruezo picked up a yellow moments before the end of the half. Minnesota would maintain that lead into the break, it was 1-0 in favor of the home team at the half.

The Earthquakes started the second half with a hill to climb. Despite being the better team in the first 45 minutes, they trailed 1-0 due to a single mistake. Given their typical performance this season, it was very unlikely that they completed the comeback and walked away with three points, but every game has the potential to be a different story.

Lopez tried to tie it up early in the second, but a low percentage shot went over to the left. Joseph Rosales picked up Minnesota’s second booking of the night in the 59th. Just a couple of minutes later Yarbrough made his biggest save of the night on a shot from the center of the box by Bongokuhle Hlongwane.

Hlongwane was determined to extend his team’s lead, following up with two more quality shots but wasn’t able to score. The Quakes made a couple of substitutions in the 62nd minute with Lopez and Verhoeven coming out for Thompson and Jack Skahan.

Late in the 68th minute Minnesota got another yellow card, this time for Lod. Hlongwane’s effort was finally rewarded in the 75th minute when he extended Minnesota’s lead to two.

Despite a strong start to the game, the Earthquakes did themselves a hole they were unable to come out of. It seemed clear that Minnesota wanted it more once the second half started, and they’ll be glad their winless streak at home has come to an end. Meanwhile, the Earthquakes still need quite a bit of work if they’re going to climb up the standings at any point in the season.

Dynamo get late goal from Steres to up end Earthquakes in 1-0 shutout win

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San Jose Earthquakes striker Jeremy Ebobisse battles for the ball against Houston Dynamo midfielder Artur during the Dynamo’s 1-0 win over the Earthquakes at Pay Pal Park on Wednesday JUL 17, 2024. (Houston Dynamo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE— Daniel Steres picked a great time to get his first goal of the season.

The Houston Dynamo fullback scored in the 86th minute as his heroics propelled the Dynamo to a 1-0 shutout victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has lost seven of its last eight matches as it anchors the bottom of the Western Conference. Houston has won three of its past five matches and maintained the eight spot in the conference as it has a four-point lead over 9th place Minnesota United.

Houston (9-7-7-34 points) had the first scoring opportunity in the first 45 minutes. Sebastian Ferreira’s header attempt missed wide left after a corner kick in the 20th minute. Then six minutes later, the Dynamo had its closest chance at breaking the seal when Griffin Dorsey’s shot from the right wing was knocked away by Quakes goalkeeper Jacob Jackson, who made his second start of the season, in the 26th minute.

San Jose (4-18-2-14 points) had two quality scoring chances from Jeremy Ebobisse. First, in the 25th Ebobisse’s header attempt sailed wide left off of a cross from Hernan Lopez. Then in the 39th minute, another header attempt went wide right off of a Cristian Espinoza free kick from the left end line.

It was one of the Earthquakes best defensive games of the season, but they weren’t able to finish the few scoring chances they had.

“I told the guys you know; I thought it was a game where we brought a lot of energy,” said ‘Quakes interim head coach Ian Russell. “We brought a lot of fight and when you do that, you usually win those games, especially at home. I have no complaints when a team will work that hard. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I told the guys (to) continue to do that and we’ll be fine.”

The Quakes best scoring attempt in the first half came from Benji Kikanovic in the 31st minute when his running header attempt from the left wing sailed high over the net off of a free kick from Espinoza from 25 yards out.

Houston fired 13 shots in the first half with five of them on target that were saved by Jackson. Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark didn’t have a face a shot on net in the first half as San Jose only attempted four total shots.

The Earthquakes were awarded a penalty in the 50th minute by referee Natalie Simon when fullback Micael dos Santos tripped Espinoza inside the box. However, after a VAR review it was determined that dos Santos touched the ball first before hitting Espinoza’s foot.

The Dynamo had a good scoring in the 67th minute when Coco Carrasquilla sent a back pass over to Dorsey who kicked it very high over the net despite having a good look on net.

Houston finally broke through with time winding down in the match. McKinze Gaines sent a pass down low near the goal-line to Amine Bassi. The French midfielder then crossed the ball back into the middle of the box where an unmarked Steres one-timed the ball out of the air with his left foot into the left corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

Steres came into the match in the 73rd minute as he replaced Dorsey by Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen who wanted fresh legs deep into the match.

“It just comes down to the small details. There’s been a lot of games where we’ve given up goal late (in the match) and it kind of bites us in the ass. We gotta tighten that up. If we don’t, we’re going to keep losing,” Kikanovic said.

Things got chippy when Hector Herrera and Rodrigues had a moment of pushing and shoving after a foul near the left sideline in the fourth minute of stoppage time. No cards were issued by Simon despite the scuffle.

San Jose finished with no shots on target during the match and nine total, while Houston had 22 total shots. Clark earned his six clean sheet of the season despite not having to make a save throughout the evening. Jackson made six saves on seven shots on net in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with five corner kicks. Houston had seven.

San Jose is 10-19-4 in the all-time series with Houston.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels up north to take on Minnesota United on Saturday 7/20 at 5:30pm at Allianz Field.

Earthquakes fall just short of comeback against Kansas City 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

After picking up only their fourth win of the season the Earthquakes looked to keep the good times rolling against Kansas City on Saturday evening.

The Earthquakes came out in a 3-4-3 with William Yarbrough in between the pipes. On the other side of the field Kansas City started in a 4-2-3-1 with Tim Melia getting the start in goal.

Kansas City was quick to get the upper hand in the match as they had a couple solid looks before the 20-minute mark.

At the 37-minute mark the Earthquakes were given the first yellow of the match as Benjamin Kikanovic was given one for a bad foul.

Only a minute later Sporting KC was handed a yellow with Tim Leibold being given the card for a bad foul as well.

Right before the first half came to a close, Kanas City got the first shot on goal in the match as Alan Pulido was denied by Yarbrough.

The second half of the match gave fans some action early on as at the 48th minute Erik Thommy put Kansas City on the board. It was a breakdown defensively from the Earthquakes but also just a nice move from Thommy who faked the shot made a nice cut and deposited the ball in the net.

With the momentum clearly in their favor Sporting KC struck again at the 57-minute mark as Alan Pulido scored off a beautiful feed from Nemanja Radoja.

The Earthquakes would make some late subs bringing on Jack Skahan and Paul Judd in exchange for Jeremy Ebobisse and Cristian Espinoza.

One of those subs ended up paying off as Skahan got the ball on the rush and passed it into the net off of one of the Kansas City defenders cutting the deficit in half. Khiry Shelton was the defender who the ball went in off of.

Not long after the goal the Earthquakes were given their second yellow of the game as Skahan was given one for a bad foul.

Still down by a goal San Jose was desperately looking to tie the game and they had a great look as Preston Judd got the ball right in the center of the box. Judd unfortunately though spiked the ball wide of the goal and the Earthquakes ended up failing to tie the game.

With the loss San Jose falls to 4-17-2 and Sporting KC moves up to 6-13-5.

The Earthquakes won’t have much time to rest as they take on Houston on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at home.

Lopez plays hero as Earthquakes snap losing skid with 1-0 shutout win over Fire

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Hernán López was the Man of the Match as he celebrates his fourth goal of the season with his teammates as the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Chicago Fire 1-0 at Pay Pal Park on Sunday JUL 7, 2024. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Hernán López is starting to live up to the hype.

The Argentinian striker scored the match’s lone goal in the 49th minute and it proved to be the game winner as the San Jose Earthquakes walked off the pitch at Pay Pal Park happily after a 1-0 shutout victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday afternoon.

San Jose won for the first time in its last nine matches since defeating the Colorado Rapids 3-2 back on May 11th as it snapped a six-match losing streak. Chicago has lost three out of its last four matches.

López’s heroics were set up by fellow country man Cristian Espinoza. After receiving the ball inside his own defensive zone, Espinoza sent a perfect long ball out to López that split two defenders. López raced ahead along the left wing and fired a shot to far corner of the net beating Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady for his fourth goal of the season.

“We needed to win tonight. The [California] Clásico was disappointing. Then our game against St. Louis. I thought we were pretty flat coming out. So I thought we were on the front foot all night. Deserved the win. Just really happy with how our players responded,” Interim head coach Ian Russell said.

It was the first goal they scored in two over 5 halves of play and the first lead since the Rapids game back on May 11th as well.

Russell implemented a 5-3-2 type of formation where he had Benji Kikanovic play a defensive right wing back position while at the same time having Kikanovic press up high on the attack when the Earthquakes had possession.

“Just physically very fast,” said Russell regarding Kikanovic. “He can do it over and over. He’s not a guy that needs five minutes to recover. Very good in the air, works extremely hard. His defending has gotten a lot better over the last few years. I think he’s got a really high ceiling. He’s still young, so just really excited. He’s a guy that never complained, just does his business. He’ll do anything for the team.”

Chicago (5-11-6-21 points) began the match with a quick shot on net by forward Hugo Cuypers in the fourth minute, but ‘Quakes goalkeeper William Yarbrough was in the right position to grab both hands on the ball for his first save of the match.

Yarbrough had a bit of a mishap with the ball in the 23rd minute with it getting behind him after attempting to clear the ball out of danger, Rodrigues, who had one of his best defensive games of the season, bailed him out by backtracking and clearing the ball out of the box.

“Rodri (Rodrigues) is a classic defender. I love having him on my team in that backline. I love the confidence that he has. He loves taking risks, and I admire that. Today he had an excellent performance. We were frustrated, especially in the back. … And so to see tonight that all the hard work being put in paid off on a night like today, especially speaking specifically about Rodri, I’m basically so happy for the guy. I know he’s going to go home tonight and have a relaxed night, and he’s going to enjoy the day off tomorrow. Then he’s going to come back Tuesday ready to go again. We all have to, but Rodri is a dude who I love having in the back line and I love that no matter how things are going. I love the confidence that he shows to try to play this style regardless of what’s going on,” Yarbrough said.

San Jose (4-16-2-14 points) also had chances early on in the opening 45 minutes. López’s first shot attempt sailed wide right in the ninth minute and then two minutes later Jackson Yueill’s left footed shot was saved by Brady.

The Earthquakes came close in the 25th minute to breaking the seal when Kikanovic’s headed went over the right side of the net. Their best chance to get the first goal of the game in the first half came in the last minute of stoppage time when Rodrigues’ shot hit off the crossbar.

Chicago thought they had scored the equalizer in the 71st minute after Hugo Cuypers cleaned up the rebound off of a Thomas Barlow shot that caromed off the crossbar over to Cuypers who headed the ball into an empty net. However, after a VAR review, it was determined that Barlow was offsides on the play.

“We’ve had a lot of those close ones kind of go the other way. So in that moment, it was a relief that that happened. … I think it gave the players a little relief, and then we’re able to make some changes after that to kind of slow them down with it,” Russell said.

The Fire kept the pressure on in the final fifteen minutes with chances from Maren Haile-Selassie and Barlow went wide left and wide right respectively a minute apart in the 74th and 75th minutes.

Despite having seven minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half, Yarbrough and the backline held down the fort and kept the Fire from scoring the equalizer.

Yarbrough finished the match with one save to earn his first and the team’s first clean sheet of the season. Brady made three saves on four shots on net in the losing effort.

“We need to try to do something to change what we know we’re capable of. It definitely helps. You know when like today there’s a clean sheet but you’re going into [the] Kansas City [game] next weekend. I want three or four or five in a row. I’ll enjoy the night today, but tomorrow we have an off-day. I’m looking at film right away, seeing what I can improve on and certain things that I can discuss with teammates and do everything I can to make it two in a row. I like that pressure. I like that weight on my shoulders. It’s been a part of my entire career. And you know, hopefully we can make a turnaround,” Yarbrough said.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with seven corner kicks. Chicago had five.

The club’s last shutout in regular-season play occurred on Sept. 9, 2023, in a scoreless road draw against D.C. United.

San Jose is now 15-16-11 against Chicago in the all-time series and 11-6-5 at home.

Quakes forwards Cristian Espinoza and Jeremy Ebobisse started Saturday’s match, extending their MLS-leading active consecutive games played streaks to 96 and 95, respectively.

Ebobisse made his 100th and 101st appearances with San Jose against St. Louis CITY SC last Wednesday and tonight against Chicago Fire FC, respectively.

With his start tonight, Earthquakes midfielder and captain Jackson Yueill passed Shea Salinas in games started for San Jose (184) for third on the all-time club list. The midfielder now only trails Ramiro Corrales (228) and Chris Wondolowski (313).

Midfielder Hernán López scored his fourth goal of the season in 10 MLS starts (12 appearances).

Espinoza notched his 11th assist of the season, tied for 4th in MLS. He is now is the Quakes’ all-time leader in game-winning assists with 15, passing Richard Mulrooney and Shea Salinas (tied, 14). With his assist tonight, Espinoza is only one goal contribution away from 100 for the Earthquakes. Only Chris Wondolowski’s 207 (167g/40a) and Ronald Cerritos’ 108 (61g/47a) are higher totals among San Jose players, past or present.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its three-match home stand when they host Sporting KC on Saturday 7/13 at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.