Tag: mls

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.

St Louis City’s Kijima and Lowen scores goals in 2-0 shutout of Earthquakes

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The 12th and 14th place teams in the Western Conference faced off on Wednesday night, as the San Jose Earthquakes visited Saint Louis City SC. Neither team has lived up to expectations to start the season and both have already made a manager chance this season.

For the Quakes, Ian Russell took over for Luchi Gonzalez on June 24. Meanwhile on July 1, Saint Louis fired Bradley Carnell who was replaced by John Hackworth on an interim basis. The change of coaches for St Louis must have worked Hackworth coached St Louis City SC to a 2-0 shutout of the Earthquakes.

Earthquakes Starting XI: Yarbrough, Costa, Beason, Rodrigues, Munie, Tsakiris, Skahan, Yueill, Kikanovic, Judd, Espinoza

Saint Louis Starting XI: Burki, Totland, Durkin, Parker, Reid, Blom, Klein, Lowen, Kijima, Vassilev, Thorisson

Saint Louis came out with a lot of pressure early, getting a couple shots in the first few minutes and dominating possession right out of the gate. San Jose got their first quality chance in the 9th minute when a counterattacking opportunity by Preston Judd forced Roman Burki to make his first save of the night.

The ensuing corner led to Burki punching the ball away before the play was ultimately called offside, ending the attack. In the 15th a Saint Louis cross found Nokkvi Thorisson right in front of the net, but he kicked it over the goal.

A shot from John Klein in the 20th minute nearly gave the home team an early lead but William Yarbrough was able to get a hand on it and tip it wide. Off of the corner Tim Parker had an attempt off of a header which went wide right of the goal.

Saint Louis broke the deadlock in the 28th minute when Yabrough misjudged a bouncing ball which went into the back of the net following a soft shot from Eduard Lowen. In the 41st minute, Saint Louis added a second goal off of a free kick.

The cross landed right in front of the goal, and Hosei Kijima tapped it into the netting. Tanner Beason prevented Saint Louis from making it 3-0 in the 45th with a fantastic goal line clearance after the ball was tipped by Yarbrough.

Despite the fact that the home team had a two goal lead heading into halftime, that score line didn’t fully show just how dominant of a performance it had been for Saint Louis. They were undoubtedly the 12th and 14th place teams in the Western Conference faced off on Wednesday night, as the San Jose Earthquakes visited Saint Louis City SC.

Neither team has lived up to expectations to start the season and both have already made a manager chance this season. For the Quakes, Ian Russell took over for Luchi Gonzalez on June 24. Meanwhile on July 1, Saint Louis fired Bradley Carnell who was replaced by John Hackworth on an interim basis.

Earthquakes Starting XI: Yarbrough, Costa, Beason, Rodrigues, Munie, Tsakiris, Skahan, Yueill, Kikanovic, Judd, Espinoza

Saint Louis Starting XI: Burki, Totland, Durkin, Parker, Reid, Blom, Klein, Lowen, Kijima, Vassilev, Thorisson

Saint Louis came out with a lot of pressure early, getting a couple shots in the first few minutes and dominating possession right out of the gate. San Jose got their first quality chance in the ninth minute when a counterattacking opportunity by Preston Judd forced Roman Burki to make his first save of the night.

The ensuing corner led to Burki punching the ball away before the play was ultimately called offside, ending the attack. In the 15th a Saint Louis cross found Nokkvi Thorisson right in front of the net, but he kicked it over the goal.

A shot from John Klein in the 20th minute nearly gave the home team an early lead but William Yarbrough was able to get a hand on it and tip it wide. Off of the corner Tim Parker had an attempt off of a header which went wide right of the goal.

Saint Louis broke the deadlock in the 28th minute when Yabrough misjudged a bouncing ball which went into the back of the net following a soft shot from Eduard Lowen. In the 41st minute, Saint Louis added a second goal off of a free kick.

The cross landed right in front of the goal, and Hosei Kijima tapped it into the netting. Tanner Beason prevented Saint Louis from making it 3-0 in the 45th with a fantastic goal line clearance after the ball was tipped by Yarbrough.

Despite the fact that the home team had a two goal lead heading into halftime, that score line didn’t fully show just how dominant of a performance it had been for Saint Louis. They were undoubtedly the better team, and looked to be taking advantage of the boost that typically comes with a coaching change.

Heading into the second half neither team made any changes, which was surprising for the Earthquakes. The first booking of the match came in the 56th minute when Jayden Reid tripped up Benjamin Kikanovic.

After the ensuing free kick, two members of Saint Louis went down for a short period of time before getting back up to their feet. Paul Marie, Hernan Lopez, Jeremy Ebobisse and Alfredo Moralesentered the match for Cristian Espinoza, Judd, Rodrigues and Niko Tsakiris in the 62nd minute.

For Saint Louis’s first substitution of the night, Sam Adeniran came on for Thorisson in the 64th. Adeniran nearly made an instant impact when he found himself inside the box with the ball and some space, but the shot went directly to Yarbrough.

San Jose’s substitutions weren’t doing quite as well, in the 66th minute Lopez picked up an almost instant yellow card. Vitor Costa got called for a foul and shown a yellow card during the 72nd minute. As the game seemed to be a lock for the home side by this point, Saint Louis made a couple of more substitutions in the 80th.

Although San Jose played better in the second half, they were unable to break the shutout and Saint Louis walked away with a 2-0 win. better team, and looked to be taking advantage of the boost that typically comes with a coaching change.

Heading into the second half neither team made any changes, which was surprising for the Earthquakes. The first booking of the match came in the 56th minute when Jayden Reid tripped up Benjamin Kikanovic.

After the ensuing free kick, two members of Saint Louis went down for a short period of time before getting back up to their feet. Paul Marie, Hernan Lopez, Jeremy Ebobisse and Alfredo Moralesentered the match for Cristian Espinoza, Judd, Rodrigues and Niko Tsakiris in the 62nd minute.

For Saint Louis’s first substitution of the night, Sam Adeniran came on for Thorisson in the 64th. Adeniran nearly made an instant impact when he found himself inside the box with the ball and some space, but the shot went directly to Yarbrough.

San Jose’s substitutions weren’t doing quite as well, in the 66th minute Lopez picked up an almost instant yellow card. Vitor Costa got called for a foul and shown a yellow card during the 72nd minute.

As the game seemed to be a lock for the home side by this point, Saint Louis made a couple of more substitutions in the 80th. Although San Jose played better in the second half, they were unable to break the shutout and Saint Louis walked away with a 2-0 win.

Earthquakes drop Cali Clásico against Galaxy 3-0

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

STANFORD- The Earthquakes took on the Galaxy in their special Cali Clásico match hosted at the Stanford’s stadium.

Tonight’s match saw Ian Russel lead the squad for the first time since the team parted ways with former head coach Luchi Gonzalez. For the time being Russel is still considered an interim manager after being promoted from his assistant coaching position.

For the Earthquakes it was William Yarbrough in-between the pipes while for the Galaxy John McCarthy got the nod.

It was a solid start for the quakes who had a couple solid early looks from Jeremy Ebobisse and Hernán López. That pressure lead to Mark Delgado being issued a yellow for a foul at the 22 minute mark giving Amahl Pellegrino a free kick.

Only seven minutes later the Galaxy got their second yellow of the night as this time Edwin Cerrillo was awarded one for a foul.

Once again San Jose was pushing as they forced McCarthy to make two saves in the span of just a few minutes. Despite all that LA got the first goal of the game at the 37 minute mark from Joseph Paintsil as he hit the back of the net with a shot from the center of the box.

The yellow’s in the first half were not done though as Jalen Neal was issued one at the 39th minute and San Jose’s Antônio Josenildo Rodrigues de Oliveira was given one for a foul as well.

At the 55th minute star center back Riqui Puig was subbed into the match and made an immediate impact. Just a couple minutes after being subbed in he won a free kick and then got a shot on goal at the 65th minute that was saved by Yarborough. He was not finished though as at the 72nd minute he surged forward and fired a bullet that beat Yarborough but hit iron. Thankfully for LA Dejan Joveljic was standing right there for the rebound and he headed the ball into a gaping cage making it 2-0.

More yellow’s were handed out as this time McCarthy was given one for poor sportsmanship.

With the game now winding down heading into stoppage time LA completely put the game away scoring at the first minute of stoppage time. The goal came from Mauricio Cuevas and ended up being the last one of the match finishing this one at 3-0.

The victory for LA is now their fourth in a row and now puts them up to 11-3-7.

With the loss San Jose falls to 3-15-2 as this club continues to look for answers in what has been a nightmare season.

San Jose will look to end their losing streak on July 3rd when they take on St. Louis on the road at 5:30 p.m.

Galaxy spoil Earthquakes 50th anniversary party with 3-0 shutout win

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Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Ricky Puig entered the game as a substitute in the second half of the 101st California Classico against the San Jose Earthquakes at Stanford Stadium on Saturday JUN 29, 2024. (Los Angeles Galaxy)

by Marko Ukalovic

PALO ALTO, Calif. — On a night where the San Jose Earthquakes were celebrating the team’s 50th anniversary, the Los Angeles Galaxy played party poopers with a 3-0 shutout victory in the 101st California Classico on Saturday evening at Stanford Stadium.

San Jose has lost five matches in a row. Los Angeles has won four matches in a row and continued to hold on to second place in the Western Conference.

This was the first match with interim head coach Ian Russell at the helms as he took over for Luchi Gonzalez who was relieved of his duties this past Monday. Gonzalez had led a team that had lost a potential of 20 points in matches they had leads in.

“We have a lot of respect for him,” Earthquakes captain Jackson Yueill said on the team playing their first game under Russell as the head coach of the team. “He brings a calm energy, but he wants to press, he wants to play, he wants to be dynamic. So, guys are still eager to make their marks, still make something of this season. It’s the Cali Classico, so it’s an important one. We’re here to play for him.”

Los Angeles (11-3-8-41 points) had the first scoring chance of the match early on in the eighth minute. An odd man counterattack led to a shot attempt by Joseph Paintsil that was easily handled by ‘Quakes goalkeeper William Yabrough.

San Jose (3-15-3-12 points) had scoring chances a minute apart in the 20th and 21st minute by Jeremy Ebobisse and Hernan Lopez that went wide left. Then in the 23rd minute a ball centered in the box was headed on the net by fullback Daniel Munie but Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy made a point-blank save.

The match opened up in the final 15 minutes of the first half. Each team had quality chances to break the seal. Ebobisse received the ball inside the center of box from 10 yards out. After moving past a Galaxy defender, Ebobisse’s left footed shot sailed high over the net. A minute later a shot from the left wing inside the box by Amahl Pellegrino was thwarted away by McCarthy.

The Galaxy finally drew first blood on a counterattack in the 37th minute after the Earthquakes failed to get a shot on target off of a corner kick. Gabriel Pec possessed the ball from midfield down the right wing and crossed the ball into the middle and Paintsil beat Yarbrough with a left-footed shot from 15 yards for his sixth goal of the season.

“I think that’s what frustrating,” said Russell regarding his team outplaying Los Angeles in the first half yet were down heading into the intermission. “You see the score line. If you didn’t watch the game, and you see the score 3-0 you think oh man they didn’t play well. I was very happy with a lot of the game. But then there’s again a big mistake that keep on hurting us and we got to fix those.”

Los Angeles threw a dagger through the hearts of San Jose in 72nd minute. A shot from Riqui Puig from outside the box went past the outstretched reach of Yarbrough off the right post. The rebound went to an unmarked Dejan Joveljic who headed the ball into an empty net for his team leading 12th goal of the season.

Mauricio Cuevas put the cheery on top for the Galaxy in the first minute of stoppage when he finished off a great cross into the middle of the box from Miki Yamane for his first goal of the season. Cuevas came into the match in the 86th minute when he subbed for Diego Fagundez.

McCarthy stopped all five shots on target to earn the clean sheet. Yarbrough made four saves on seven shots on target in the losing effort.

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

The Earthquakes honored the 50th anniversary of the team with a special celebration at halftime that included past players, coaches and staff from over the team’s 50-year history, including Quakes legend Paul Child.

The announced attendance was 40,844.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels out to the Midwest to take on St. Louis CITY SC at 5:30pm at CITYPARK.

Earthquakes annihilated by LAFC 6-2

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Photo courtesy of LAFC Twitter.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Earthquakes looked to pick up their first regular season win since May 11th against their California rivals LAFC.

The starting formation was the same on both sides of the pitch as both teams lined up in a 4-3-3. In goal for San Jose was Jacob Daniel Jackson while for LAFC it was Hugo Lloris.

LAFC’s domination started early in this one as just five minutes into the match Kei Kamara hit the post from the right side of the box.

After ten minutes passed LAFC would strike as Mateusz Bogusz scored a magnificent diving header from the center of the box assisted by Sergi Palencia.

Tacking onto the lead only a little later was Denis Bouanga who easily found himself wide open for a left footed finish from the center of the box.

With the score now 2-0 LAFC only pressed harder and scored yet again this time on a great header from Kamara assisted by Bogusz.

Despite the score the Earthquakes did respond with a flurry of chances but were unable to cash in on four attempts with two of them being on goal.

Right before the half Ryan Hollingshead was fortunate enough to score a lucky one as his shot deflected off an Earthquakes defender and past a helpless Jackson.

The scoring in the first half wasn’t finished as San Jose snuck one in at the third minute mark of stoppage time. The goal came from Antônio Josenildo Rodrigues de Oliveira with the goal being assisted by Cristian Espinoza.

The goal didn’t seem to kill LAFC’s momentum as they would score just three minutes into the second half as once again Bogusz found the score sheet making it 5-1.

San Jose managed to sneak another one past Lloris as the 57 mark as Benjamin Kikanovic headed one in off an assist from Hernán López.

In garbage time LAFC got another one to pad the stat sheet as Tomás Ángel scored assisted from Nathan Ordaz.

With an embarrassing loss tonight the Earthquakes now drop to an abysmal 3-14-2 putting them dead last in the western conference. On the flip side LAFC secures another win moving up to 11-4-4 making them first in the west due to their PPG of 1.95.

San Jose’s next regular season game will be the California Clasico at Stanford Stadium against the LA Galaxy on June 29th at 7:30 p.m.