SAN JOSE — Chris Wondolowski broke the scoreless deadlock late in the match, but the Chicago Fire finished with a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium.
The Fire opened the scoring early in the first half as Djordje Mihailovic kicked the ball in for his first career MLS goal at the 14th minute.
Luis Solignac used the power of his head to put the ball into the net and the Fire took a 2-0 lead at the 39th minute.
The Fire built up two goals and carried a 2-0 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The Fire continued to burn in the second half. Nemanja Nikolic scored at the 48th minute to give his team a 3-0 lead.
The Quakes put themselves in the same dark hole like they did in Washington D.C. last Saturday. Nikolic notched his 20th goal of the season at the 65th minute.
The Quakes were on the verge of being handed a second consecutive shutout loss until Wondolowski hit his 12th goal of the season at the 87th minute. Despite the incredible goal, the Fire continued to hold onto a 4-1 lead until the very end of the match.
Notes Only one Western Conference side has fewer home losses than the Earthquakes’ one (SKC – 0). The Quakes are also in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten run at home.
Wednesday night marked the first showdown between the Quakes and Fire at Avaya Stadium since the venue’s first-ever regular season match in 2015.
The Quakes have gone 3-0-1 in their last four games following a loss.
The Quakes close out the season with three of their last four games at Avaya Stadium. They’re 8-0-2 in their last 10 home matches, including MLS and U.S. Open Cup contests.
Up Next
The Earthquakes host the Portland Timbers on Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. PST.
sjearthquakes.com photo: San Jose goaltender David Bingham (right) congratulates Hall of Famer Joe Cannon (left) on Saturday night at Avaya Stadium
by-Ana Kieu
SAN JOSE — The San Jose Earthquakes settled for a 1-1 draw with the Seattle Sounders FC at Avaya Stadium Saturday.
Following a 2-1 loss to NYCFC at Yankee Stadium, the Earthquakes returned to San Jose to host the Sounders in a Saturday night game. Thus, home-field advantage was a positive thing. Also, in honor of Hall of Fame night, 5,000 fans received a free Joe Cannon t-shirt.
The Earthquakes had a couple of chances in the first half. Their first chance came at the 14th minute when Nick Lima set up Anibal Godoy, whose scoring attempt was cleared by Stefan Frei. Two minutes later, Simon Dawkins got a shot off at the edge of six-yard box, but his attempt trickled just past the far post.
“As far as the performance,” Lima recalled. “It was hard. The second half, we weren’t on top of our game, but it was a game where you’d expect toughness from both teams…There were a few moments, like when we went down and gave up a goal. It hurts and it’s hard to deal with, but we fought back and got a goal in return…I almost thought we had a chance to win it, but you know, it’s gotta be a full 90 minutes. It was their game, but we gotta move on and focus on Friday’s game.”
Godoy received a yellow card at the 33rd minute. He also made a promising kick from the left field, but was called offside at the 38th minute.
Krazy George rallied up the crowd at the 41st minute. The Earthquakes had another chance when Marco Urena kicked the ball into the net, but it was denied by Frei.
The match was scoreless after the first half. San Jose held a halftime ceremony to induct Cannon to the Hall of Fame. Cannon’s former teammates also took the time out to congratulate him on his induction.
Once again, the Earthquakes had some chances in the second half. Urena’s kick at the 51st minute had potential, but it was just a bit too high.
The Earthquakes made their first substitution of the match at the 66th minute. Cordell Cato made his first appearance of the season, replacing Dawkins.
Godoy executed a kick from outside of the box at the 71st minute, but it went just wide of the net.
The Earthquakes made another substitution at the 80th minute. Shea Salinas replaced Jahmir Hyka. Then, Fatai Alashe received a yellow card at the 83rd minute.
“There’s a lot of emotion that goes through your head,” Alashe said.
Sounders FC broke the scoreless deadlock in the 84th minute as Nicolas Lodeiro finished a play for a 1-0 lead.
However, the Seattle lead was short-lived. The Earthquakes tied the match 1-1 at the 90th minute after Chris Wondolowski scored his second goal of the season.
“It’s still a bit frustrating that we slipped and gave up two points,” Wondolowski said when asked about the final result. “But it’s nice to have that character and fight and come back and you don’t want to take that for granted.”
Three minutes of stoppage time were added to the clock after two, 45-minute halves. The Earthquakes (2-1-2) wanted to score the go-ahead goal to earn a 2-1 win, but they settled for one point after coming back for a late 1-1 draw with Sounders FC (1-3-1).
“We had a great game regardless,” Shaun Francis said. “We’ll do our best to learn from it and prepare for next Friday’s game.”
“There’s a lot of guys who had good performances tonight,” Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “I felt like both teams had it in them.”
Notes Injured: OUT: F Quincy Amarikwa (knee surgery), D Marvell Wynne (heart abnormality), M Marc Pelosi (left knee injury), D Harold Cummings (leg surgery) Suspended: Victor Bernardez (red card)
Int’l Duty: None
Up Next
The Earthquakes host Dallas FC (3-1-0) next Friday at 7:45 p.m. PST on UniMas. London Marq will have exclusive game coverage from Ayaya Stadium next Friday for http://www.sportsradioservice.com
sjearthquakes.com photo: San Jose Earthquakes Chris Wondolowski scores his tenth goal becomes the first player to score ten or more goals in seven seasons as he faces off here against the Seattle Sound on Saturday night at Avaya Stadium
SAN JOSE, Calif.-The Earthquakes struck early, but failed to fend off a late surge from an aggressive Seattle Sounders team on Saturday night, settling for a 1-1 draw in a crucial game in the Western Conference race.
The draw between the Western Conference rivals caps off a frustrating four-game skid for San Jose in which the team has been held without a win while sitting in the 7th spot in the standings.
While the Earthquakes will certainly take the one point allotted to them in Saturday night’ tie, the frustration is mounting within an organization that’s on the fringe of being eliminated from the playoff race.
“It hurts,” said head coach Dominic Kinnear. “If you look at New York, Houston and even tonight, you walk off the field with two points out of those three games. It hurts you in the standings and it hurts because I think we should have had more.”
Entering the day just three points behind the red line in a tight race for the final playoff position, San Jose looked to snap their untimely winless streak with a relentless attack that kept Seattle on their heals through most of the early going.
San Jose tested Seattle’s net minder Stefan Frei early and often while scrapping their way to multiple set pieces early on in the match, sending multiple dangerous attempts towards the net that were just barely turned away.
But it would be none other than Chris Wandolowski who would snap the Earthquakes’ streak of 235 straight minutes without a goal, as the captain would flick a shot passed the outstretched hands of Frei in the 20′ minute after a nice touch by Jordan Stewart sent the ball towards the front of the net.
Wandolowski’s score would mark his 10th career goal against Seattle, the most by a single player in MLS history against the team.
The Sounders would respond with a tempered attack of their own, as Seattle’s Tyrone Mears threatened an equalizer after skipping a ball across the front of the San Jose goal just minutes later, but San Jose would escape the half holding their 1-0 advantage.
Entering the final half of play in a desperate bid to keep their own playoff hopes alive, the Sounders pushed forward against the San Jose defense with relentless pressure of their own, dominating the control of the game.
San Jose’s defense would eventually break on a costly mistake, allowing a free kick from Nicolas Lodeiro to squeak past goaltender David Bingham to notch things up at 1-1.
San Jose fought desperately for a last-minute score to reclaim the lead, sending multiple threatening free kicks and a botched strike by Chad Barrett towards Seattle’s net, but had their efforts turned away to end the night with just one point.
After the game, both coaches expressed dismay at the outcome that barely helped either of the two playoff hopefuls.
“You can’t creep up, you have to take big steps,” said Kinnear. “But right now we’re creeping instead of taking big steps.”
San Jose will look for the elusive three-point win next Saturday in the tough confines of the Colorado Rapids
SAN JOSE- The San Jose Earthquakes invited C.F. Pachuca, a club from Mexico and last year’s Liga MX champions, to play in an international friendly in San Jose. The Quakes attempted a big comeback but ultimately fell short, losing 4-3 as time expired.
The first half was all Pachuca as the international club netted two first half goals to hold a two goals to none lead. It appeared that if the first half continued into the second, San Jose was headed for some major trouble.
And when the second half begun, it looked troubling as the visiting team struck first with another goal early in the half from a penalty kick. Fortunately, San Jose was poised to fight back down by three goals and they did just that.
In minute 64, the Earthquakes were on the scoreboard, when midfielder Tommy Thompson found the back of the net for the first time this season. Thompson has been on loan from SJ’s affiliate, the Sacramento Republic FC, since July. Four other players from the Sac Republic squad came on loan to compete in the friendly as well.
The Quakes showed a ton of fight, even though their opponent scored on a penalty kick again just two minutes later. San Jose battled back down by three goals and actually scored a minute after Pachuca. Midfielder Shea Salinas was the shooter as he nailed the far side netting.
In between minutes 60 and 70, the two teams scored three goals altogether as both offenses hit their stride with a little bit of help from chippy play. Pachuca’s midfielder, Ruben Botta, received two yellow cards and was sent off the field around the same time as all the goals.
With their opponents down a man, the Earthquakes hoped to take advantage and cut the two goals lead. However, it took the team too long as they were finally able to cut the lead to one in the second minute of extra play.
Once again it was Salinas who got it past the goalkeeper, but ultimately the Earthquakes fell short, 4-3.
Salinas had a tremendous game and some incredible goals to go with it. The Quakes have struggled to score recently so Saturday night’s friednly was a positive for them going forward.
San Jose’s next matchup is against the Seattle Sounders, next Saturday in San Jose at Avaya Stadium.
Chris Wondolowski missed a potential game-winning goal in the MLS All-Star game on Thursday (Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
By: Eric He
SAN JOSE — In the spirit of All-Star games in the United States, the MLS version is perhaps treated the least like an All-Star game.
Indeed, the 2-1 score at Avaya Stadium on Thursday night was filled with the spirit of competition as Arsenal FC took down the MLS All-Stars. Though billed as a “friendly” with both teams subbing at will, there was no slacking on defense , attempts at trickeration or lackadaisical efforts — just the best of MLS trying to beat a premier European club.
They came up three minutes and one goal short. In the 87th minute, Arsenal’s Chuba Akpom tapped home the game-winner off a centering feed by Nacho Monreal.
“We train with each other day so I knew what Nacho (Monreal) was going to do,” Akpom said. “I knew what he was looking at. I just tried my best to anticipate where he was going to go and thankfully I found a bit of space and it was there.”
The goal came at the expense of San Jose Earthquakes’ goaltender Ryan Bingham, who played the second half.
Another Quake, Chris Wondolowski, checked in in the 73rd minute along with Clint Dempsey with the game tied 1-1, and had a glorious opportunity to give the MLS All-Stars a late lead, but his right-footed shot from in close sailed just high.
“I got too steep on (the ball) and tried to come across my body and get the goalkeeper, but I wasn’t able to get on top of it,” Wondolowski said. “That’s part of the game.”
Both teams traded chances late, and it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before someone broke the tie — and it was.
While his team didn’t get the win, MLS All-Stars head coach Dominic Kinnear — also the Earthquakes’ head coach — was thrilled to soak in the atmosphere along with two of his players.
“Really happy, being local as I am. Really fun to represent the MLS in this fashion in an area that I know ever so well,” Kinnear said. “And for (Wondolowski) and (Bingham) to get a chance – for Chris, his story just seems to be getting better and better and I think David’s inclusion to the team was well deserved.”
Arsenal took an early lead on a penalty kick goal by Joel Campbell, who drew the call after a run into the box and he was interfered with by Laurent Ciman. Campbell buried the shot just past the dive of goaltender Andre Blake.
MLS had a great chance early on as Andrea Pirlo delivered a great ball on a long pass right onto the foot of Giovani dos Santos, but dos Santos was denied by Arsenal goaltender Peter Cech.
The MLS All-Stars evened the game right before halftime in stoppage time of the first half as Didier Drogba took advantage of three point blank opportunities off a turnover to beat his former teammate in Cech. Though his first two chances were denied by Cech and then an Arsenal defender, Drogba slid his third try into the back of the net.
While playing for Chelsea with Cech, Drogba scored 13 goals in 15 appearances against Arsenal.
“I will have fun with (Cech) because I scored, but he already killed me, he said, ‘This time I gave you the goal.’” Drogba joked.
Out of the half, MLS had a prime opportunity to jump ahead, as Sebastian Giovnico’s bid from the box came hard at Cech, who dove to fight it off.
And Arsenal was able to fend off a talented and focused MLS group, once that impressed their manager, Arsene Wegner.
“The MLS team was exceptional,” he said. “Exceptionally strong. Look at the results for the MLS All-Star Games made in the recent years. In the last four years, they won three times. When I looked at the players on the team sheet I thought that could be a very difficult game for us, and it was.”
To wit: shots in the game were even, 15 apiece. Possession went to Arsenal, but just by a slim 52-48 margin. Kinnear lauded the talent of the MLS roster, joking to his players that “if you ever run into trouble, just pass it to a guy who’s won a Champions League or a World Cup or a World Footballer of the Year, and you’ll be in good shape.”
“The sky’s the limit really,” Kinnear said on the state of MLS. “I think you’re seeing not only the emergence of young players, but the names and the talent that are coming over here.”
For Wondolowski, the experience of suiting up in his home stadium for a primetime match such as an All-Star game was memorable.
“It still gives me goose bumps,” he said. “It’s amazing to be a part of that. I love these fans and I think it’s a mutual love and respect. I enjoyed it.”
SAN JOSE, California-The San Jose Earthquakes nearly avoided dropping their second consecutive game after returning home to Avaya Stadium on Saturday night, as some late game heroics saw the retro-clad home team escape with a 1-1 draw against D.C. United.
After 87 frustrating minutes that saw San Jose squander multiple looks at the net, the Quakes finally broke through their string of misfortunes when Adam Jahn made a sprinting strike off of a beautiful cross from Shea Shalinas to notch the Quakes one and only goal.
The goal would be all San Jose needed to avoid consecutive losses after a 3-1 downing in Los Angeles two weeks ago.And while the outcome isn’t ultimately what head coach Dominic Kinnear would have hoped for, it was a welcomed sight at the end of a trying effort.
“I though the effort tonight was great. Ties aren’t the same, they’re a little bit different where if we got scored on late, the feeling would have been sickening. But it does give you a lift when you score late and you can get something.”
The score came from an unlikely hero in Jahn, who played a game-low eight minutes. But Kinnear said that the substitution was intended to take advantage of his height to break the opposing defense.
“I thought with Adam we could get a little more territory…I think at that time it helped to have Adam’s height and his eagerness to get on the other side of crosses. Good for him.”
Despite being the aggressors early and often, the San Jose Earthquakes couldn’t find the back of the net in what turned out to be a frustrating first-half for the home team.
San Jose had multiple looks at the net, including tries from Tommy Thompson, Chris Wondolowski and Quincy Amarikwa, but couldn’t cash in on the stumbling D.C. defense. But despite the aggressive pushes from the Quakes, it was United who struck first, as Patrick Nyarko took advantage of a momentary lapse in the San Jose’s defense to put the first goal on the board with a sprinter header past the outstretched hands of David Bingham at the 34′ minute mark.
San Jose would nearly add an equalizer just moments later off a beautiful feed from a Wondolowski header near the net, but Amarikwa would be caught jumping offsides to negate the goal. Nyarko’s goal energized the previous lackluster D.C squad, leading to another dangerous attempt from Fabian Espindola at the 38′ minute mark before the Earthquakes would retreat to the locker room at the half with a one score deficit.
The frustrations continued to spill over from the first half for San Jose, as the home team frantically sought to appease the loud Avaya crowd with a flurry of shots to open the second frame.
Alberto Quintero played spoiler to his team’s own cause on a three-man rush towards the net for San Jose. Quintero found himself alone on the left wing with two attacking Quakes on the far side of the pitch, but couldn’t chip the ball over Travis Worra for the score. Moments later, Amarikwa would put his second and third shots on the goal, only to be denied in back-to-back attempts. Both Tommy Thompson and Wondolowski would later find themselves in front of the goal, only to send lazy attempts into the chest of Worra in what seemed like a contest where the Quakes couldn’t buy a goal.
But with the time winding down on San Jose’s efforts, a pair of substitutes would breathe new life into San Jose’s lackluster offense. With San Jose seeming desperate for a solution, Shea Salinas would shake his man on the wing to send a cross towards the sprinting Adam Jahn, whose split-legged slide would add the equalizer for the Earthquakes in the 88′ minute.
The Earthquakes would add one last furious attempt to find the back of the net before the whistle would sound on stoppage time, sending D.C home still in search of their first win of the season, while sneaking away with a point of their own.
photo credit: San Jose Mercury News– San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham (1) dives to make a save grabbing the ball away from Shkelzen Gashi (11) of the Colorado Rapids on Sunday
SAN JOSE–Chris Wondolowski’s header was all the San Jose Earthquakes would need to secure a win on opening day of the 2016 MLS season, as a strong defensive effort from David Bingham would keep the Colorado Rapids off the scorecard for a 1-nil victory at Avaya Stadium.
Bingham had an outstanding day guarding the net for San Jose, making five saves on 18 shots from the Rapids, while showing off his hands and athleticism repelling a second-half flurry from the visiting team.
San Jose would secure their lone goal with the help of a new face-and their old reliable captain-as Alberto Quintero would feed a beautiful ball into the cutting Wondolowski for the go-ahead score at the start of the second-half. Despite a second-half outburst from the Rapids which saw them line-up 13 of their 18 total shots on the day, San Jose walked away victors for their 13th consecutive match without a loss against Colorado.
The Quakes got off to a sluggish start on the slippery turf at Avaya on Sunday, doing most of their work on the defensive side as the Rapids looked to be the aggressors early on.
Bingham received no grace period to start the season, being thrust into action to stop multiple Rapids’ attempts throughout the half. Kevin Doyle and Dillon Powers-who accounted for three of the Rapids five first-half shots- sent a trio of dangerous balls towards San Jose’s net. San Jose’s offensive attack couldn’t offer Bingham an extended spell either, as Colorado dominated the time of possession at 57.1 percent throughout the first 45-minutes of play as well, keeping the 26-year old Bay Area native on his toes.
While Bingham was busy showcasing his good hands, Colorado goaltender Zac MacMath had a relatively easy going early on. Quincy Amarikwa broke free on a dangerous run towards the goal near the 33′ minute mark, but was thwarted by a well-timed tackle by Rapids defender Jarred Watts near the goal. San Jose would loft up a few lazy shots throughout the frame, but failed to seriously threaten in a lackluster opening half.
But the revamped Earthquakes would shake off the season-opening cobwebs to start the second half, earning their inaugural 2016 goal off the head of the man who put through 16 for the team last year.
Just seconds after the sound of the whistle, newcomer Quintero- who was loaned to the team from Lobos BUAP in February-would feed the cutting Wondolowski a well-placed ball that would find the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage.
San Jose would continue to keep their newfound intensity up, with both Wondolowski and Tommy Thompson nearly missing a second goal for their club. But with time running out, Colorado launched a furious attempt to find an equalizer against Bingham.
Marco Pappa nearly connected with the back of the net on two attempts, including a free-kick attempt and a dangerous header attempt at the 88′ mark that just scraped the left-side of the goal post before heading out of bounds. Dominique Badji would also threaten the Earthquakes lead with a dangerous sprint up the middle of the pitch for an uncontested try that sailed into the second deck. Badji would represent the Rapids last attempt before game’s end as well, with Victor Bernardez showing some defensive prowess to stop the midfielder’s attempt before Bingham would make his fifth and final save.
The win represents the second-straight opening day victory for the Earthquakes at Avaya, and sets them off on the right foot for the 2016 MLS season. San Jose has a week off before facing the Portland Timbers on March 13 at 4:00 p.m.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – On a night when the City of San Jose’s Department of Environmental Services sponsored the match with blurbs regarding littering and pollution, it was the San Jose Earthquakes who properly disposed of the unwanted Friday. In blanking the visiting Colorado Rapids 1-0 at Avaya Stadium, the Quakes (8-10-5) tossed away a six-game unbeaten stretch to pick up their first win since June 20th.
Clarence Goodson, returning from injury, netted the game-winner in the 53rd minute and goalkeeper David Bingham collected the clean sheet to keep San Jose out of the bottom leg of the Western Conference table and pull within three points of Seattle for the final playoff spot. Colorado (5-9-9) meanwhile, falls five points back of San Jose in last place in the conference.
“I’m really happy with the effort,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “The guys were good. A real good goal, a lot of second efforts on that part of it. It would have been nice to have gotten a second to kind of ease the pressure on us a little bit, but any time you shut out a team it gives you a chance to win and one goal was enough for us tonight.”
The contest wasn’t without its drawbacks. Defender Jordan Stewart played an integral part in withstanding an early Rapids onslaught, but exited the contest in the 27th minute with an Achilles injury. While the severity of the injury is unknown, it appears he’ll be absent from the San Jose roster for a sizeable period of time.
“He’s a great soccer player and an even greater person,” said Wondolowski. “True professional in every sense of the word. I’m definitely going to miss him, he’s a good friend. He’s been playing great this whole season. Shaun Francis did a great job stepping in there.”
Another Quake was hampered by injury, but isn’t expected to miss any time. Matias Perez Garcia was limited to 50 minutes with a hamstring ailment before being replaced by recent acquisition Marc Pelosi.
“You could tell it was kind of hindering him a little bit,” said Kinnear. “We tried to hopefully get him going a little bit at halftime, and it just wasn’t happening.”
Goodson looked like he put behind his left leg injury in a fantastic effort that included stalwart defense and the winning score. Chris Wondolowski, playing closer to midfield in a new alignment for Kinnear, managed to place the ball at Quincy Amarikwa’s left foot. Amarikwa lofted it to the right post where Goodson could cash it in for the 1-0 lead.
“I’m not going to miss too many of those,” said Goodson on Amarikwa’s perfect feed. “He said get back there so I got back there. That’s such a good ball. It was a slam dunk.”
While Goodson was making his first MLS appearance since July 26, another player for San Jose was making his MLS debut. Midfielder Anibal Godoy made his debut after touching down in the United States just 24 hours earlier.
“He was brilliant tonight,” said Wondolowski. “He covered some serious ground tonight.”
Godoy landed in Los Angeles Thursday night from his native Panama, spent the night in SoCal before flying up to the Bay Area on the morning of the match. There was no hesitation for Kinnear to insert the International into the line-up and allow him to play a full 90 minutes.
“At this time in the season when you bring in a player like him,” said Kinnear. “Or you bring in somebody new that you think can help the team, he’s not here to blend in and to work his way into the game.
Godoy, contrary to the expected, said he felt very comfortable in his maiden match with the Quakes, in large part due to the cohesion of the group.
“I felt like I had played with this team for 15 games,” said Godoy after the match through a translator. Godoy was familiar with some Quakes players previously and noted that their team communication made it easy to jump in.
On paper it still is only one match for Godoy, but he’ll get another chance to work on team chemistry on Wednesday when the Quakes head to Kansas City followed by a Saturday match in D.C. From there, Godoy and his Quakes mates will return home for a four-game homestand amidst their playoff push.
“This group of guys knows if we can stay hungry and stay united, we can win some matches,” said Godoy. “Today we demonstrated that we are a solid squad and if we continue to play like this we will reach our goal.”
The San Jose Earthquakes needed 120 minutes of play, and six penalty kicks in a shootout to defeat the Sacramento Republic FC on Tuesday night, but the team earned a second consecutive trip to the Round of 16 on Tuesday night in a spectacular come from behind win in San Jose.
The Quakes drifted lazily throughout much of Tuesday night’s U.S Open Cup matchup, but rode the momentum of a scoring outburst from captain Chris Wondolowski to eventually eliminate Sacramento for the second straight year.
Sacramento wasted no time in putting the pressure on San Jose during their first trip to Avaya Stadium, earning a goal within the opening minutes of Tuesday night’s contest. After sitting out the last three games following a red card suspension, Republic FC midfielder Rodrigo Lopez earned a penalty kick after being tripped up by Shaun Francis inside the box.
Bryan Meredith, who was playing his first minutes of the season in place of normal starter David Bingham, received a tough welcome to the pitch as Lopez was able to shoot the ball past the reserve goal keeper, and into the top left of the net for a goal at the six minute mark.
Sacramento would not let off the gas throughout the rest of the half, continuing to put pressure on Bingham and the San Jose defense. Although they would bend, the defense would not break a second time, disallowing a second goal by Sacramento at the 43′ minute mark following a pair of impressive saves by both defenders and goalie alike.
The Earthquakes failed to return the same amount of offensive pressure that Republic was delivering, only threatening once on a Mark Sherrod header near the halfway mark of the first that bounced wide of the net.
Sacramento started the second half of the game much like the first, earning an early goal while providing all the offensive pressure of the opening minutes. Republic’s second goal of the game came off the foot of Emrah Klimenta, who was able to beat San Jose up the right side of the pitch to sneak a ball under the outstretched leg of Meredith for a 2-0 advantage at the 53′ minute mark.
But San Jose’s fire was ignited at the 73′ minute mark, as a scoring outburst salvaged what looked to be a lackluster game from the Earthquakes up to that point. Mike Fucito started things off by putting goalkeeper Patrick McLain to the test on back to back scoring chances. After sending two tough strikes toward McLain, teammate Chris Wondolowski was able to slip undefended into the front of the net to play the rebound and sink his first goal of the night to cut Sacramento’s lead in half.
Wondolowski would show off his knack for scoring just five minutes later after heading in a perfect cross from Marvell Wynne to tie the match at 2-2. Wondolowski would barely miss a hat trick in the 86th minute but missed just high on the cross bar. The two teams would attack to no avail during the remainder of regulation before being forced to overtime.
Although both teams found a way to threaten, neither could scratch during the first overtime session, leaving a 2-2 tie heading into the second, and final, fifteen minutes. Drained from the extended play, the two sides couldn’t muster up any real scoring threats in the second overtime either, sending the game to a shootout.
San Jose looked to be in trouble after consecutive blocks to Khari Stephenson and Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi put them in a deficit. But Meredith was able to hold off Sacramento’s Emrah Klimenta to keep his team alive. After an equalizer for San Jose notched things back up, Sacramento faltered on their sixth try of the night as James Kiffe launched a ball over the top of the net to secure a victory for San Jose.
Game Notes:
Tonight’s game was the first time San Jose Goalkeeper David Bingham did not play any minutes throughout the entire season.
Tuesday’s win advances their U.S Cup record to 14-11 all-time since the team began participating 12 years ago.
Tuesday night’s game was the first time a non-MLS team has played at Avaya Stadium.
Wondolowski’s two goal night gives him 99 goals as a member of the Quakes, and his franchise leading 176 multiple-goal game.
The San Jose Earthquakes had to swallow a disappointing nil-nil draw at home on Sunday evening, after a host of missed opportunities and a card-slinging ref was the only action the match saw.
The contest started with a streaky first half that saw both teams squander prime scoring opportunities under the hot San Jose sun. After a rather uneventful first 15 minutes of the game, the Earthquakes offense came to life after putting some early pressure on the Dallas defense and goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.
It was then Dallas’ turn to return the favor, as Michael Barrios dribbled his way into the San Jose box, but was denied following an athletic save by Quakes keeper David Bingham, who punched the ball over the post to make the leaping save.
The Quakes responded by squandering perhaps the most opportune scoring chance of the first half. Cordell Cato sent a low,bouncing cross from the right side of the pitch that pulled Kennedy out of the goal. Both Mark Sherrod and Clarence Goodson had an attempt at a wide open net, but failed to put a foot on the manageable ball.
The Quakes would threaten one more time, this time on a bouncing header by Victor Bernardez that went high over the goal, before settling for a nil-nil draw heading into the half.
Although his team couldn’t capitalize on the scoring chances, head coach Dominic Kinnear liked the pressure his players were putting on Dallas’ defense.
“I’d rather be generating chances than taking chances the other way,” said Kinnear. “Sometimes scoring eludes ya, and it can be difficult, but I thought our effort was really good tonight.”
The second half saw more red cards than scoring opportunities for both teams, as referee Baldomero Toledo lived up to his trigger-happy reputation. The first came against the Quakes, as Sherrod attempted to stop over Kennedy, who had left the goal to smother a ball. Although seemingly incidental, Toledo sent Sherrod off to the displeasure of both the crowd and head coach Dominic Kinnear.
It was then Dallas’ turn to lose a player, as midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson would run into Cato, who was mid slide on a challenge, earning him an early exit from the game. The third, and final, card of the game was again against San Jose, as JJ Koval was sent off after a lunging challenge towards the foot of a striding Dallas player.
The string of red cards brought the game to a halt, disallowing both teams to gain rhythm or amass any real threat amidst the stoppages.
“I thought we were in for a good second half here,” said Kinnear. “They came out a little bit better in the second half, and then we started playing well. I thought Matias was playing really well for us as well, and then unfortunately the red card really changes things up in a negative fashion, probably for everybody except for Dallas.”
The Quakes had one scoring opportunity, stemming from a Chris Wondolowski header that bounced over Kennedy, but missed just a foot right of the post. The two teams traded possession, and players, before time ran out for a nil-nil tie to end what was a disappointing game for the Quakes.
Although the Quakes had numerous opportunities to earn a win, Kinnear wasn’t ungrateful for the single point his team earned in the tightly contested Western Conference.
“I think we are right in the middle with that one,” said Kinnear. “If you would have asked me at halftime I wouldn’t have taken a point. With the way the game was going I thought we were leaning on them a bit. Soon as you go down a man you obviously think the odds are stacked against you.”
The Earthquakes will stay in the South Bay for a match against Sacramento Republic FC on Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.
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