Tag: mls

Navarro’s brace paces Rapids in 3-0 shutout win over Earthquakes

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Colorado Rapids forwards Calvin Harris (#14) and Kevin Cabral (#91) celebrate Miguel Navarro’s (#9) first goal of the game during the Rapids 3-0 sin over the San Jose Earthquakes at Pay Pal Park on Saturday ARP 13, 2024. (Colorado Rapids)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Miguel Navarro scored two goals as the Colorado Rapids cruised past the San Jose Earthquakes in a 3-0 shutout victory on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has lost three matches in a row and seven of its first eight matches. Colorado has points in its last three matches with the win.

Colorado (3-2-3) drew first blood in the first 10 minute of the first half. Navarro drew a penalty kick in the eighth minute when he had possession inside the box. Navarro attempted to go around ‘Quakes goalkeeper William Yarbrough but Yarbrough tripped Navarro to the ground resulting in the penalty foul.

Navarro made a hesitation move before firing the ball past Yarbrough for his first goal of the match and third goal of the season in the 10th minute.

The Earthquakes (1-7) responded with two quick scoring chances in the 13th and 15th minute by Cristian Espinoza. Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffan stopped both of Espinoza’s attempts with diving saves to keep San Jose from answering with the equalizer.

The rest of the opening 45 minutes featured missed opportunities by San Jose. Shots from Jackson Yueill in the 29th minute and Ahmal Pellegrino in the 39th minute sailed high and over the net resulting in a goal kick.

“We didn’t find a way to put our shots to create more danger with our shots and score them,” said ‘Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez on his team’s lack of goals on the night. “They did. (The score) 3-0 doesn’t reflect the stats, 3-0 reflects what they did effectively.”

The Rapids doubled its lead in the 60th minute when Navarro scored his second goal of the match. Keegan Rosenberry sent a cross into the middle of the box. The ball pinballed off of Rodriguez and then Calvin Harris before Navarro poked home the loose ball into the back of the net to complete his brace and team leading fourth goal of the season.

Gonzalez made a sweep of changes in the 62nd minute as he tried to infuse some energy into his offensive attack as he brought in Preston Judd, Jack Skahan and Benji Kikanovic for Pellegrino, Jeremy Ebobisse and Alfredo Morales.

Cole Bassett put the game away with his second goal of the season in the 80th minute. Navarro found Bassett along the right wing and the Rapid midfielder dribbled in from outside the box into the middle before depositing the ball into the lower left corner past Yarbrough with a left footed shot.

“It’s frustrating when you’re creating opportunities and they’re just not falling your way,” ‘Quakes midfielder Niko Tsakiris echoed his coach’s sentiment. He continued, “I think there were moments tonight that I think we were had good form and in good rhythm. We’re looking to build off of those moments.”

Steffan (3-2-3) stopped all six shots on target to earn his first clean sheet and third win of the season. Yarbrough (1-6) let in three shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with 10 corner kicks. Colorado had seven.

San Jose is 32-27-19 in the all-time series against Colorado.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels down south to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy on Sunday 4/21 at 5:15pm at Dignity Health Park.

Austin FC takes control of game late, edge Quakes 4-3 in Austin

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San Jose Earthquakes defender Chris Akapo (29) battles the Austin FC at Q2 Stadium in Austin on Sat Apr 6, 2024 (San Jose Earthquakes photo)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes finished their Texas road trip in Austin at the Q2 Stadium as they took on Austin FC. The season has been rough for the Earthquakes so far, with their only win of the season coming against the Seattle Sounders in March. They hoped to get a second against a team they’ve historically done well against, as the Quakes were 2-0-5 all-time against Austin entering the night. 

Earthquakes Starting XI: Yarbrough, Maries, Rodrigues, Wilson, Akapo, Morales, Gruezo, Tsakiris, Espinoza, Kikanovic, Ebobisse

Austin Starting XI: Stuver, Gallagher, Cascante, Hines-Ike, Jimenez, Ring, Pereira, Wolff, Driussi, Obrian, Rubio

Austin got off to a hot start, earning a couple of corners in the opening minutes of the match and putting pressure on William Yarbrough. The best early chance was a header from Sebastian Driussi which Yarbrough was able to save.

Early on, the momentum was strongly in Austin FC’s favor. In the eleventh minute, Tanner Beason was shown a yellow card for a hard foul on Jader Obrian, the game’s first booking. The first 15 minutes were pretty physical with fouls from both teams.

Eventually, San Jose would open the scoring when Cristian Espinoza crossed the ball from the right side of the box to Paul Marie who headed it home to give the Earthquakes a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute. 

After the goal, the Quakes kept bringing a heavy attack for a couple of minutes before things evened out once again. Austin’s Jon Gallagher fouled Carlos Akapo in the 29th minute and was shown a yellow card for the foul.

Austin seemingly scored an equalizer in the 36th minute after a short review, it was called off as the goal was directly scored as the result of a foul. Marie was awarded a free kick due to the foul by Hector Jimenez, and the Earthquakes regained possession.

Austin ended the first half with a strong attack for the majority of the last five minutes, however in the 40th minute both Marie and Obrian were given yellow cards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The first half would end with a 1-0 lead for the Earthquakes, but they were certainly going to have a difficult second half ahead of them. 

The second half was more of the same. The first ten minutes were all Austin FC, they were getting chance after chance but were still unable to get on the scoreboard. Yarbrough picked up a foul in the 56th minute, which ultimately led to a goal in the 58th minute.

Niko Tsakiris carried the ball into the offensive third of the pitch, before passing it off to Jeremy Ebobisse who was side by side with a defender but he was able to get a shot off, which was saved by Brad Stuver but Ebobisse was able to put the rebound in the back of the net and the Quakes had a 2-0 lead.

Just a minute later, Austin’s Diego Rubio was fouled inside the penalty area and Austin was awarded a penalty that could bring them back into the game. Driussi would take the shot and scored to make it 2-1 in favor of the Earthquakes.

In the 63rd minute, Austin had a throw-in which went into the abundance of players in front of San Jose’s net. It bounced off the head of a couple of Earthquakes before falling to Obrian who tied the game at 2 for Austin. Roughly four minutes later, Austin scored once again to make it 3-2.

Guilherme Biro, who came in as a substitute earlier in the half, shot it from the edge of the penalty area and it beat Yarbrough who was unable to stretch far enough to make the save. In roughly ten minutes, it went from a 2-0 Earthquakes lead to them being down 3-2 and having to dig themselves out of a hole.

A fantastic pass from Espinoza found Amahl Pellegrino all alone in front of the net, and he was able to tie the game back up for the Earthquakes in the 74th minute. Stuver kept getting tested over the next couple of minutes.

It seemed headed to a 3-3 draw, but in the final minute of stoppage time, Austin was able to score a go-ahead goal and take a 4-3 lead. The Earthquakes once again suffered a heartbreaking loss, which has become the theme of their season so far. 

Ferreira and Escobar get late scores for Dynamo to edge Earthquakes 2-1

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San Jose Earthquakes goaltender William Yarbrough (25) makes a save against the Houston Dynamo at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on Sat Mar 30, 2024 (photo by the San Jose Earthquakes X account)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes visited the Houston Dynamo as they looked to build momentum following their first win of the season against the Seattle Sounders. Luchi Gonzalez’s squad rolled out in a 4-3-3 formation, while Dynamo manager Ben Olsen was using a 4-2-3-1. The Dynamo got two key goals that allowed them to get by the Quakes 2-1 at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.

The Earthquakes got off to a hot start with a first-minute goal, off of a corner Cristian Espinoza crossed it to Bruno Wilson who headed it into the back of the net. It marked Espinoza’s third straight game with a goal contribution, after struggling for offense in the first three games of the new season.

The Quakes have needed him to find his game, and based on the past few weeks it seems he’s been able to do so. For Wilson, it was his first goal in the MLS. The 27-year-old defender had spent the past few seasons with FC Vizela in his native Portugal before moving across the pond this season.

Shortly after the goal, Preston Judd got some attention from the referees following a foul, which would be much more important later in the night, but we’ll get to that. The game had some intensity immediately following the opening goal, Houston desperately tried to find an equalizer while San Jose attempted to extend their lead to two.

Veteran goalkeeper William Yarbrough got tested a few times early, specifically in the 15th minute. Yarbrough is filling in for the injured Daniel who is expected to be out for a significant period of time due to a recent surgery.

The 35-year-old Mexican-born American national was acquired during the winter from the Colorado Rapids, where he had spent the last four seasons. With Daniel out for the foreseeable future, the Earthquakes need consistent strong performances from Yarbrough, which they certainly got tonight.

It was a fairly even game for the first 30 minutes, but the momentum was definitely trending in the Dynamo’s favor. Judd’s name continued to come up, as he was fouling players pretty regularly and eventually it culminated in a red card in the 34th minute.

On a throw in, Judd appeared to elbow Erik Sviatchenko and after the referee took a look at the replay, Judd was thrown out of the game for violent conduct. As a result, the Earthquakes not only had to play with ten men for the rest of the night, but Judd will also be suspended for at least one game automatically, possibly more given the nature of the incident.

His poor discipline ended up being a major turning point in the game, as from that point forward Houston was in control of the game. In the 40th minute, Gonzalez made some adjustments to make up for the fact that they were down a man and he substituted Tanner Beason in for Niko Tsakiris as he looked for a more defensive approach moving forward.

In the 44th minute, the goalscorer Wilson went down in some difficulty in front of San Jose’s goal following an awkward collision but remained in the game. Coco Carrasquilla got called for Houston’s first yellow card of the night, as he collided with Beason in stoppage time.

The Earthquakes would be able to survive with their lead into halftime, but possession and scoring chances were heavily in Dynamo’s favor. On the scoreboard though, it was still 1-0 with the Earthquakes ahead.

Gonzalez made a couple more substitutions to start the second half, Carlos Gruezo came in for Alfredo Morales and Carlos Akapo took Paul Marie’s spot. The next 45 minutes were clearly going to be dominated by the Dynamo, but it was all about survival for the Earthquakes.

If they could handle the pressure and keep the ball out of the net, they’d walk away with three points. If not, things could quickly fall apart. In the 55th minute, Vitor Costa went down with an apparent ankle injury and was replaced by Jamar Ricketts who was making his MLS debut. Ricketts was the 13th overall pick in the 2024 MLS Superdraft out of California State University, Northridge.

Desperation was clearly setting in for Houston around the 65th minute, and they started going with an even more attacking mindset. Benjamin Kikanovic went down with an apparent head injury around the 70th minute, and he left the game for a while, leaving the Earthquakes with only nine players temporarily.

He returned to the game for a few minutes before eventually being substituted out in favor of Jeremy Ebobisse in the 78th minute. Around the same time Akapo received a yellow card for poor sportsmanship. After a lengthy attack, the Dynamo scored an equalizer when Sebastian Ferreira was able to beat Yarbrough with a shot that deflected off of a defender in front.

It wouldn’t take long for Houston to take the lead after that, as in the 85th minute Franco Escobar made it 2-1 off of a rebound. The Earthquakes played well despite the result, they made the best of a bad situation and if they weren’t down a man for a majority of the game, they likely could’ve walked away with three points.

Instead, their terrible start to the season continues. In stoppage time, San Jose would get a second red card, as Jackson Yueill picked up a second yellow card, his first coming in the 87th minute, leaving them with nine players for the remainder of the match. When all was said and done, the Dynamo walked away with a 2-1 win.

Ebobisse’s late goal heroics give Earthquakes first win of the season 3-2 over Sounders

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San Jose Earthquakes players celebrate a goal scored by Cristian Espinoza during their 3-2 victory over the Seattle Sounders at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAR 23, 2024. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Something had to give on a cloudy night in Silicon Valley.

On a night when both teams were looking to put a one in the win column, Jeremy Ebobisse scored the game winning goal in the 82nd minute as the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Seattle Sounders 3-2 on a rainy Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park in the 16th edition of the Heritage Cup.

San Jose earned its first win of the season after beginning the season losing its first four matches. Seattle has lost two of their first four matches.

“It felt great, especially for the players,” said Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez. “The players have been fantastic in terms of trying to get better. We obviously have been disappointed with the results. We know that it hasn’t bounced our way, but we saw early in the week in competing and with their energy and in their belief. Together they showed that determination.”

Gonzalez made major lineup changes for the first time this season as he replaced his starting midfield with Alfred Morales, Jackson Yueill and Niko Tsakiris. Preston Judd replaced Ebobisse in the starting lineup at striker and William Yarbrough got his first start of the season in goal replacing Daniel in his Earthquakes debut.

San Jose (1-4-0) drew first blood in the 42nd minute. Yueill centered a ball into the box that hit off the head of defender Bruno Wilson over to a crashing Vitor Costa who slid kicking the ball into the net past Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei for his team-leading second goal of the season.

“It’s something we’ve been working, more so crashing the box. We want to be visible in the box. We want to be optimistic that the ball is going to bounce there. It wasn’t exactly the ball I was trying to put there but it was a good moment for him (Costa) to score and be in that position,” Yueill said.

The Earthquakes needed just a minute later to double its lead. Judd dribbled in from the left wing, hesitated, then shot the ball on Frei. The Sounders’ captain initial save bounced out to the middle where Cristian Espinoza cleaned up the rebound into an empty net for his first goal of the season.

The ‘Quakes had all the momentum in their favor as they controlled the possession for the majority of the first half and were rewarded late with the two goals as they headed into the intermission riding high.

Seattle (0-1-2) cut the lead in half when they were awarded a penalty in the 70th minute by referee Gabriele Ciampi when he called Paul Marie for a foul inside the box when he pushed down Yéimar Gómez from behind. Two minutes later Raúl Ruidíaz finished off the penalty by getting Yarbrough to go down before chipping the ball into the middle of the net for his team-leading second goal of the season.

The Sounders scored the equalizer in the 81st minute. Cody Baker centered a ball from the right sideline deep into the box where an unmarked Danny Musovski headed the ball into the back post for his first goal of the season.

Ebobisse, who came into the game as a substitution five minutes earlier, set up his own heroics as he sent out a pass over to Jack Skahan along the right flank. Skahan went around a Sounders defender before centering the ball into the box where a sliding Ebobisse buried into the net for his first goal of the season.

“We all want to be on the field, and we are going to make the most of it when we are on it. It does not mean you don’t have each other’s backs. The situation on the field is for one striker. Even if you want to be the best for yourself, you have to acknowledge when things are going right,” Ebobisse said.

Yarbrough finished the match with five saves on seven shots to earn his first victory in a Quakes kit. Frei made four saves on seven shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with two corner kicks. Seattle had eight.

The Quakes and Sounders FC, both founded in 1974 and originally members of the North American Soccer League (NASL), are celebrating their 50th anniversaries this season.

San Jose is now 15-15-9 all time against Seattle and is undefeated in their last four matches.

The Quakes’ first two goals happened 1:36 apart, which is the quickest span in MLS this season, eclipsing the previous mark of 2:02 by Austin FC against Philadelphia Union on March 16.

Attendance for the match was 16,109.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to the road when they take on the Houston Dynamo on Saturday 3/30 at 5:30pm at Shell Energy Stadium.

Quakes stay winless at 0-4; Drop match to Sporting KC 2-1

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The San Jose Earthquakes dueled it out with Sporting KC at Children’s Mercy Park in Kanas City on Sat Mar 16, 2024 (photo from the San Jose Earthquakes)

By William Espy

The winless San Jose Earthquakes visited Sporting KC at Children’s Mercy Park in a rematch of last season’s knockout round when Sporting KC ended the Quakes’ season in penalty kicks. Kansas City was also looking for their first win of the season, drawing their first three matches. The Quakes got edged out by Sporting KC 2-1 on Saturday night at Child’s Mercy Park in Kansas City.

Meanwhile, the Earthquakes still didn’t have a single point, losing all three of their opening games. The mission for each team was clear, KC needed to walk away with their first victory of the season, and the Earthquakes needed to get at least a point to get momentum on their side.

Manager Luchi Gonzalez made some changes for the game, swapping his formation from a 4-3-3 to a basic 4-2-2 and starting Preston Judd for the first time this season. He made a substitute appearance in each of the first three games and scored a goal against his former club the LA Galaxy.

The Earthquakes started off strong with some quality scoring chances, but last-minute desperation defending from Sporting KC kept it a tie early on. In the eleventh minute that changed though, the Earthquakes were finally able to get on the scoreboard with a goal from Vitor Costa de Brito off of a corner.

They crowded the box with six men, and once the ball found Costa there was no chance for Sporting’s goalkeeper Tim Melia. For the first time this season, Sporting KC found themselves trailing in a match. It took until the 16th minute for Sporting to get their first attack of the night, and despite a strong long shot, Daniel was able to keep the ball out of the netting.

The Earthquakes wouldn’t be as lucky on the set piece though, as defender Dany Rosero was able to tie it up on the corner.

During the 28th minute, a great passing play around the Earthquakes defense would eventually find Kansas City’s striker Alan Pulido who would put his team up 2-1 with his first goal of the season. Sporting’s captain Johnny Russell got the assist on the play and the Quakes found themselves in a familiar position this season, trailing.

The first card of the game came when Rosero took down Judd on a hard tackle, he was given a yellow card but it did prevent what would’ve likely been a very highly quality scoring opportunity for San Jose. On the ensuing play, the Earthquakes nearly got a goal but a fantastic save by Melia kept Sporting in the lead.

Paul Marie went down with an injury following accidental contact to the head with Kansas City’s left-back Tim Beibold’s leg. After spending some time down and going through the concussion protocol, Marie returned to the game fairly quickly. At halftime, the Earthquakes trailed 2-1 despite a strong start. KC led in possession at that point, with 57.5%.

Sporting KC lost a key player, Russell less than ten minutes into the second half. After attempting an attack, he took an awkward fall which resulted in an apparent leg injury. Despite him clearly telling the coaching staff that he was okay, they obviously disagreed and substituted him off for Stephen Afrifa.

This came shortly after they took off Memo Rodriguez for Remi Walter. After 15 scoreless minutes in the second half, the Earthquakes made a few substitutions of their own. Jeremy Ebobisse, Amahl Pellegrino, and Judd came off with Benjamin Kikanovic, Jack Skahan, and Ousseni Bouda taking their respective spots.

As we entered the last 15 minutes, San Jose started being more aggressive and running with a more attacking mindset as they looked for an equalizer. Centerback Rodrigues would seemingly tie things up for the Earthquakes off of another set piece but it had bounced off of his teammate’s arm and after consulting the Video Assistant Referee, the goal was overturned and it remaKikanovic nearly got a lucky deflection in the 94th minute, but it went just wide.

On the following corner, Sporting KC broke up the attack and tried to counter with an attack of their own but were unable to get it out of their own half. Some back and forth took place for the final two minutes of stoppage time, but it was too little too late for the Earthquakes as they lost 2-1 and fell to 0-4-0 on the season. It’s only the second time in club history that they’ve started pointless through four games, the first time being in 2019.

Whitecaps bench too much for Earthquakes in 2-0 shutout win

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Vancouver Whitecaps forwards Ali Ahmed (#22) and Alessandro Schopf (#8) celebrate their second goal of the game against the San Jose Earthquakes at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAR 9, 2023. (Vancouver Whitecaps)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Vancouver Whitecaps reserves scored two goals in the second half en route to a 2-0 shutout victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose have started the season losing its first three matches. Vancouver earned its first win of the season after a 1-1 draw against Charlotte in its season opener last week.

It was a mild first half to say the least. Neither team generated many scoring chances in the opening 45 minutes. San Jose (0-3-0) controlled the possession by a 62%-38 % margin. They had three shots on goal as opposed to the Whitecaps only generating one shot on net.

“I thought we had control of the game,” said ‘Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez about the team’s disappointment. “I had no doubt that at the very least we were going to tie (the game) if not score and push for the winner. But it doesn’t matter how much possession we have, if we don’t put away chances. Tonight they (Vancouver) were efficient, and we were not.”

Vancouver (1-0-1) had the best scoring chance in the first half when Javain Brown’s header from the center of the box was saved by ‘Quakes goalkeeper Daniel in the 34th minute.

The Earthquakes kept the momentum they established in the first half to start the final 45 minutes. In the 53rd minute, Amahl Pellegrino’s header attempt went wide right on Whitecaps goalkeeper Yahei Takaoka.

Whitecaps striker Brian White made a move around a ‘Quakes defender in the 60th minute, but his left footed shot just sailed wide left of the net.

The Whitecaps broke the seal in the 74th minute off a corner kick. Ryan Gauld centered the ball into the middle where Rodriguez headed the ball out of the box. Alessandro Schopf, who came in as a substitute in the 71st minute, came charging in from behind and fired in a right footed shot from just behind the D off the hand of Daniel for his team-leading second goal of the season.

Things became chippy in the 79th minute when Vancouver’s Fafa Picault and San Jose’s Alfredo Morales exchanged words and shoves after a foul on Morales by Picault. Each were issued yellow cards in the 80th minute.

“It was a small foul, I tried to sell it a little bit. I got the call from the ref. I just wanted to go to up to him and say I know it was almost nothing but they called it, and he (Picault) went crazy. But that’s how it is, it’s just emotions,” Morales said.

Vancouver put the game away in the 86th minute with an insurance goal from Ali Ahmed. Tristan Blackmon sent a long ball down the left sideline. Ahmed hit the ball off his chest then touched it to himself with his right foot racing into the box before depositing a right footed shot into the upper right corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

Takaoka finished the match with two saves on the five shots on target from San Jose to earn his first clean sheet of the season. Daniel made two saves on the six shots on target in the losing effort.

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

‘Quakes defenseman Bruno Wilson received a yellow card for a hard foul in the 62nd minute. Then in the 73rd minute, Preston Judd was issued a yellow card for a hard foul.

Tonight’s attendance was 16,045.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels out to the Midwest to take on Sporting Kansas City on Saturday 3/16 at 5:30pm at Children’s Mercy Park.

Galaxy counter attack takes down Earthquakes 3-1 in home opener

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Los Angeles Galaxy forwards Riqui Puig (#10) and Dejan Joveljic (#9) celebrate a goal scored by Puig as San Jose Earthquakes fullback Tanner Beason (#15) watches on during a 3-1 win at Pay Pal Park on Saturday MAR 2, 2024. (Los Angeles Galaxy)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Los Angeles Galaxy scored three unanswered goals in a dominate 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in the 99th installment of the California Classico on Saturday evening in front of a sold-out crowd at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has started the season losing their first two matches and have lost their home opener in two of the last three seasons. Los Angeles earned their first win of the season after a 1-1 draw against Leo Messi and Inter Miami last week in its season opener.

Los Angeles (1-0-1) drew first blood in the 18th minute. Mark Delgado centered the ball from the right wing over to Joseph Paintsil who beat ‘Quakes goalie Daniel with a left footed shot for his first goal of the season.

“It’s a derby, and we didn’t play with enough pride, physicality, or energy,” said ‘Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez regarding his team’s disappointing performance. “We are just really disappointed. If you don’t focus on the future, you can’t control the past, which is about how people respond. I do believe in our group.”

The Galaxy doubled its lead just before halftime. This time it was Paintsil leading the counterattack. Paintsil centered the ball over to Dejan Joveljic who chipped in the ball into an empty net for his team leading second goal of the season in the 43rd minute.

The Galaxy carried the momentum the established in the first half immediately to start the second half. Diego Fagundez led a counterattack down the right sideline. Fagundez found Joveljic inside the box and the Bosnian attacker crossed the ball back into the middle where Riqui Puig blasted the ball into an empty net for his first goal of the season and LA’s third unanswered in the 48th minute.

“It wasn’t our night. We had the opportunity to get the next goal. Giving up that (third) goal was a killer. Sometimes you can regroup; we didn’t execute,” Gonzalez said.

Defenseman Bruno Wilson made his ‘Quakes debut as substitute in the 55th minute. Preston Judd also came off the bench in the 55th minute marking his second appearance in a ‘Quakes kit.

San Jose (0-2) finally broke through on the scoreboard in the 70th minute. Cristian Espinoza centered the ball into the middle of the box. The ball bounced off Martin Caceres up into the air where Judd beat Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy with a right footed shot for his first goal in a Quakes uniform against his former team.

“It was right place, right time. I was there to finish it in. As a forward my job is to try to score goals and at that point, I just needed to bring energy out there on the field. Any bit of energy helps team morale. … I’m looking forward to playing this system and moving forward. I’m looking forward to the next Clásico. There’s a lot of history in these and hopefully next time I get the game-winning goal instead of the consolation goal,” Judd said.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with 10 corner kicks. Los Angeles had two.

San Jose now holds a 28-38-17 all-time record against LA, including an 18-15-11 record at home.

The match was the first time San Jose had hosted Los Angeles in its home opener.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday 3/9 at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Sportstalk podcast at Sushi Confidential downtown San Jose Feb26, 2024

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Sushi Confidential at 26 San Pedro Square, downtown San Jose (photo by Sushi Confidential)

Marko Ukalovic (host and San Jose Barracuda beat writer), Titus Wilkinson (San Jose Sharks and San Jose Barracuda beat writer), Troy Ewers (San Jose State Spartans and SJ Sharks beat writer) and Chiranbir Mahal (INDTV USA) with our host owner of Sushi Confidential Restaurant Randy Musterer.

Were podcasting from the Sushi Confidential San Pedro Square location at 26 San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose. There are three Sushi Confidential locations here in the South Bay to serve you 247 East Campbell Avenue in downtown Campbell, 17340 Monterey Road Morgan Hill and right here at San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose.

Sushi Confidential serves sustainable wild caught California Halibut caught off the coast of Santa Cruz. This is as fresh as it gets. Sushi Confidential offers a full menu made to order of Nigiri Sushi, special rolls, and try a favorite the sticky pork bao buns from the starter menu.

There is so much to choose from hot entrees, salads, ramen, a kids menu, to the eight piece Sushi Confidential rolls. Sushi Confidential with three South Bay locations in Campbell, Morgan Hill and downtown San Jose.

Seal the deal: FC Dallas’ Sealy boots late goal to edge Quakes 2-1 in Frisco TX

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San Jose Earthquakes defender Carlos Akapo (29) and FC Dallas Dante Sealy (11) battle for the futbol at Toyota Stadium in Frisco TX on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes started their new season in Frisco, Texas as they visited FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium. Last season, the two teams were only separated by two points in the standings, with Dallas finishing 7th in the Western Conference while the Earthquakes came 9th.

The Quakes had one notable change this season, which was easy to see even before kickoff. As part of their 50th-anniversary celebration, they’re wearing red on their kits to honor the original Earthquakes franchise instead of the usual blue.

The Earthquakes started with a 4-3-3 formation a slight change in the lineup from last season due to the departure of Jamiro Monteiro who moved to Gaziantep of the Turkish Super Lig on a free transfer earlier this month, while Dallas was running a 3-5-2.

The Earthquakes got out to an early 1-0 lead when Cristian Espinoza brought the ball into the offensive third of the pitch down the right side and passed it into the box to Jack Skahan who shot the ball but Maarten Paes made a sensational save for Dallas.

Unfortunately for Dallas, Benjamin Kikanovic would get a secondary scoring chance on the rebound, and put it in the back of the net in the sixth minute.

The first card of the game was given to Carlos Gruezo when he pushed a Dallas player in a fairly dangerous position. The shot was deflected wide, and Dallas got another set piece with a corner which they played short and nothing came of it.

Dallas would tie it up in the 25th minute off of another corner opportunity, when Asier Illarramendi had a great touch around the defender in front, and followed it up with a shot that Daniel had no chance to save for the Earthquakes.

Illarramendi had another great scoring chance in the 34th minute, but his header went just wide. San Jose would get a second booking just before halftime when Rodrigues made an unnecessary tackle from behind.

At halftime, it seemed clear that Dallas had outplayed the Earthquakes in nearly every aspect besides the scoreboard. Dallas led in possession, shots, and shots on target, many of which came as the result of set pieces, The expected goals though, much like the scoreboard, were even after 45 minutes.

The second half remained scoreless early, and substitutions started in the 61st minute when Dallas brought Ema Twamusi on and he immediately created a scoring chance for his team. Luchi Gonzalez countered with some substitutions of his own in the 65th minute, bringing on two debuting players Vitor Costa and Preston Judd.

Daniel was forced to make some big saves in the second half to keep his team in the fight, and he could be seen getting frustrated with his defenders in the 72nd minute. Gonzalez made some more substitutions in the 73rd minute, bringing in Amahl Pellegrino and Alfredo Morales onto the pitch.

Despite some quality scoring chances from both teams, we entered the last ten minutes before stoppage time with a 1-1 tie. In the 83rd minute, Nico Estevez made another substitution for Dallas bringing Eugene Ansah into the game. In the 84th, Gonzalez made one more of his own, Michael Baldissimo.

Nkosi Tafari took a hit to the face during play in the 87th minute, and despite protest was forced to leave the pitch with the trainers due to potential concussion concerns. He quickly rejoined play after he was deemed healthy enough to continue.

Four minutes of stoppage time were added as either team looked to score a late go-ahead goal and walk away with three points rather than one. Dante Sealy did just that for Dallas, scoring in the 93rd minute. In the 95th minute, San Jose had one opportunity to equalize but they were unable to convert and Dallas walked away with a 2-1 win, and three points. Although it was a heartbreaking loss for Earthquakes supporters, Dallas deserved the win.

City of San Jose and Earthquakes partner up for state of the art public soccer fields at County Fair Grounds location

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One of the images from the latest renderings of the soon to be built soccer fields and training facilities for the San Jose Earthquakes at the Santa Clara Count Farigrounds. (San Jose Earthquakes).

by Marko Ukalovic

San Jose is looking to become a soccer town with its latest land deal with the local MLS soccer team.

During a press conference earlier this morning that featured local dignitaries and members of the San Jose Earthquakes, the City of San Jose announced in a partnership with the Quakes to develop four public, lighted state-of-the-art soccer fields on Santa Clara County’s Fairground property near Umbarger & Monterey Roads.

In total, Santa Clara County plans to lease 30 acres of its undeveloped Fairgrounds land to the Earthquakes. In addition to the public fields, the San Jose Earthquakes plan to lease approximately 14 of the 30 acres for the team’s new practice and training facility as well as four professional quality soccer fields.  

Santa Clara County supervisor Cindy Chavez helped orchestrate the deal between the city and the Quakes. She was one of the many speakers that included San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, San Jose Earthquakes president Jared Shawlee, Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez and homegrown 17-year-old player Edwyn Mendoza.

“The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds belongs to the public. This is a great way for our youth to have access to outstanding soccer fields year-round for generations to come,” said Chavez, who has worked on developing the SCC Fairgrounds property for many years and represents the area. “This is an historic achievement for our community and signifies the start of many more projects that will benefit our residents.”

In total, Santa Clara County plans to lease 30 acres of its undeveloped Fairgrounds property near Umbarger and Monterey Roads to the Earthquakes. In addition to the public soccer fields on 16 acres, the Quakes plan to lease approximately 14 acres for the club’s new practice and training facility, which includes four more professional quality soccer fields. In all, the project entails the construction of eight total fields.

“Thank you to Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose for partnering with the San Jose Earthquakes to build world-class fields for our community and a premier training facility for our club,” said Shawlee. “We believe that this public-private partnership can serve as a model for connecting pro athletes to their communities while also creating greater access to safe playing spaces for children.”

Mayor Mahan believes the community will benefit from having the new soccer fields available for youth soccer.

“We’re excited to begin working with the County and the San Jose Earthquakes to develop a state-of-the-art soccer facility on a portion of the underutilized land at the fairgrounds,” said Mahan. “Once completed, this site will not only serve the pros, but act as a regional destination for youth soccer teams and residents alike.”


The approximately 35,000-square-foot professional training and practice center will house the Earthquakes’ pro teams and all youth teams within the Earthquakes Academy. The club’s training building will consist of locker rooms, a weight room, dining hall, theatre, medical treatment facility, hydrotherapy equipment, laundry rooms, staff office space and more.  

Gonzelez, who has only been in San Jose for only a year with his family, said this project is very personal to him because he grew up playing on community fields and is a great way to produce local talent.

“I have worked all across the country, and as soccer continues to grow in America, I’ve witnessed firsthand how important it is that community fields are connected to their local professional clubs.” said Gonzalez. “This past season, we led the league with 13 homegrown academy graduates, which shows our commitment to local players, but also how much further impact a first-class facility will have on their development to reach their full potential.”

Mendoza, who signed a professional contract with the Earthquakes in May, believes this facility will give more kids the ability to play the game they love.

“I grew up in San Jose, so this facility will be a game-changer, not just for the Earthquakes players, but for kids from my community who get so much joy from playing the sport they love,” said Mendoza. “For them to have the opportunity to play on fields right next to the professionals they look up to will serve as a visual reminder that they can follow their dreams and make them a reality one day.”

In June 2021, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors authorized the County Administration to enter into negotiations with the San José Earthquakes regarding its Letter of Interest to lease acreage at the Fairgrounds, on which it would construct soccer fields and a two- or three-story field building.

Santa Clara County and the San Jose Earthquakes entered into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) on April 5, 2022, and amended on April 4, 2023, which provided the parties with a period of 18 months to discuss potential plans for a soccer facility at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.

The County of Santa Clara, the San Jose Earthquakes and the City of San Jose are coming together in a joint agreement to build a practice facility for the Earthquakes, shared public fields and all the necessary infrastructure needed for the facility.

The hope is to have the facility ready to open in 2026 just before the FIFA World Cup hits the United States and locally here at Levi’s Stadium.