Tag: San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose Earthquakes match wrap up: Austin-San Jose play to a 2-2 draw

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The San Jose Earthquakes time and time again during their match against Charlotte FC take the ball up the field in the Coachella Valley Invitational in Indio CA on Sat Feb 7, 2026 (San Jose Earthquakes X photo)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes kicked off their public preseason at the Coachella Valley Invitational as they faced off against Charlotte FC at Empire Polo Club, Indio, CA which concluded in a 2-2 draw.

San Jose Starting XI: Daniel, DeJuan Jones, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benji Kikanovic, Beau Leroux, Ronaldo Vieira, Niko Tsakiris, Jamar Ricketts, Ousseni Bouda, Preston Judd.

After a scoreless first half hour, the Earthquakes made a couple of changes bringing on Vitor Costa and Jack Skahan for DeJuan Jones and Preston Judd. 

Despite Charlotte controlling play toward the end of the first half, San Jose native Beau Leroux opened the scoring for the Earthquakes off of a pass by Ousseni Bouda, making it 1-0 in the 41st minute. A couple of minutes later, Ronaldo Vieira was shown the game’s first yellow card for a challenge on Luca De La Torre. 

The Earthquakes carried their lead into the halftime break. 

The Quakes came out of the gate with a lot of attacking pressure in the second half. There was a big collision between Jamar Ricketts and Jack Neeley when they were both looking up at the ball in the 53rd minute. Both returned to their feet, avoiding the worst possible outcome. Ricketts was shown a yellow card on the play. 

Wilfried Zaha and Vieira collided in the 60th minute causing another slight delay. Zaha was taken down again, this time by Leroux, right outside of the box  about a minute later. 

Just after the hour mark, the Earthquakes made quite a few changes. Daniel, Vieira, and Reid Roberts came out of the game, while Earl Edwards Jr, Dave Romney and Ian Harris came into the game.

Benji Kikanovic was shown a yellow card for a challenge on Zaha in the 65th minute. In the 67th minute, Charlotte got their best scoring chance to this point as they hit the goalpost. 

When all was said and done, the Quakes held on to their clean sheet and walked away with a 1-0 victory to kick off their preseason in Indio.

California Classico-Earthquakes battle to 1-1 draw with Galaxy

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The Galaxy’s Marco Reus, right, punches in a goal during the second half against the San José Earthquakes at Stanford Stadium on Sat Jun 28, 2025 (Getty photo)

PALO ALTO, Calif. — In what felt like a game they should’ve earned three points, the San Jose Earthquakes settled for a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 104th California Clasico on Saturday evening at Stanford Stadium

San Jose has earned points in nine of their last 10 matches with only one loss in the past six weeks. Los Angeles remained with just one win on the season but have earned a point in two of its past three matches.

“A tale of two halves, yeah,” said Quakes head coach Bruce Arena. “It was a real rivalry match and very physical on a tight field. Surface wasn’t perfect because they just laid down the field, but I give Galaxy credit. We didn’t play well in the second half, and you can attribute a lot to the Galaxy. … I think Daniel made some really big saves, as did their keeper at the end of the game. But that was a rivalry game. Regardless of record, there’s a history, and it’s always good to see.

The San Jose Earthquakes drew with the LA Galaxy 1-1 on Saturday night in the 104th California Clasico at Stanford Stadium presented by El Camino Health in front of a crowd of 42,881 fans, the fifth-highest attended game in Major League Soccer this season.

The Earthquakes drew first blood with a nine-pass display in the 16th minute that resulted in Mark-Anthony Kaye finding Beau Leroux, who turned and rifled a shot from the top of the box into the upper right corner of the net past the outstretched Galaxy goalkeeper Novak Micovic for his fourth goal of the season sending the crowd of 42,881 into a frenzy.

“Mark-Anthony Kaye opens up and finds me in the pocket. I already had it in my mind that I was going to touch it and hit it. And when I hit it, I thought it was actually hitting the crossbar and going out, because that happens a lot for me. But I then I saw it hit the back of the net, and that was a surreal moment.”

The Galaxy came out with an aggressive approach after halftime, and their hard work paid off in the 70th minute, when Marco Reus scored the equalizer. Reus fired a shot on Quakes goalkeeper Daniel who made the initial save, but Reus collected his own rebound and buried the ball past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel to into an open net for his tied for the team lead in goals with his fourth of the season

Los Angeles kept the pressure on as Daniel made two outstanding saves to keep the Galaxy from taking a late lead in the match. First in the 75th minute he stoned away Mauricio Cuevas’s right-footed attempt from the right side of the box. Then in the 88th, Daniel made his best save of the match when he made a one-handed save on Gabriel Pec’s point-blank side from the left of the box that went over the net.

Micovic kept the game even in the 72nd minute when he was in perfect position to knock away a right-footed blast from Cristian Arango from 12 yards out in the middle of the box.

San Jose had one final chance for the game winning goal in the 94th minute, Leroux’s cross from the right wing was headed just wide of the net and the rivals split the points at Stanford.

Daniel finished with six saves on seven shots while Micovic made two on three shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with three corner kicks. Los Angeles had seven.

San Jose moved to 29-40-18 (126 GF, 142 GA) against the LA Galaxy in MLS play overall, and 18-16-12 (69 GF, 68 GA) at home.

On the heels of their May 28 1-0 win in Carson, the Quakes went unbeaten in the regular-season series against LA for the first time since 2019. That year, San Jose won 3-0 on June 29 at Stanford Stadium and 3-1 on July 12 in Carson.

Tonight’s match was the fifth-most attended in MLS this season:
65,520 Atlanta United vs. CF Montréal (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Feb. 22)
62,358 Chicago Fire FC vs. Inter Miami CF (Soldier Field, April 13)
60,614 Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami CF (Cleveland Browns Stadium, April 19)
51,002 Charlotte FC vs. Atlanta United (Bank of America Stadium, March 1)
42,881 San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy (Stanford Stadium, June 28)

The Quakes are now second in the league in team goals with 40 after scoring one tonight. They continue to lead MLS with 42.29 expected goals.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the New York Red Bulls on Saturday July 5th at 7:30pm at PayPal Park.

Sacramento A’s Relocation podcast Augie Messenburg: Will Quakes sale be enough to cover A’s Las Vegas stadium costs?

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Construction starts on the new Athletics ballpark as crews drill caissons for the foundation and grinding rock piles on the former Tropicana site on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Las Vegas. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review Journal)  

Sacramento A’s Relocation podcast Augie Messenburg:

#1 Sacramento A’s and San Jose Earthquakes owner John Fisher who announced last week that the MLS Soccer Earthquakes would be up for sale for $540 to $600 million to cover the overages on the construction costs for the Las Vegas stadium.

#2 It was reported that Fisher could fall short of his asking price. If so he badly needs to cover anything outside of the first billion dollars to get his share of the construction costs covered at about 750 million dollars.

#3 According to Sprotico who does sale price evaluations the team is valued at $600 million. Fisher has hired the Galatioto Sports firm to help find investors to help toward the $500 that will make up the shortfall to pay for the construction costs. The State of Nevada through public funding bill SB1 will contribute $350 million.

#4 Fisher bought the Quakes from the Anschutz Entertainment Group. Anschutz was planning to move the Quakes in 2005 and become the Houston Dynamo. Fisher bout the team in 2007 as a expansion franchise and later built Avaya Stadium in 2015 adding to the value of the franchise.

#5 The sale of the Quakes is a race against the clock of sorts. Fisher is groundbreaking the Las Vegas location for the A’s on Monday morning at the old Tropicana location and yet questions are still being asked if he got the money to cover the construction costs.

Augie Mesenburg filled in for Daniel Dullum on the Sacramento A’s Relocation podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: The Checkbook is Overdrawn; Fisher sells Quakes for A’s stadium money

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Earthquakes owner John Fisher during a game between San Jose Earthquakes and Nashville SC at PayPal Park on Sept. 23, 2023, in San Jose, Calif. Lyndsay Radnedge/ISI Photos/Getty Images

That’s Amaury News and Commentary:

While the Oakland A’s departed Oakland in 2024, and now settled in Sacramento for three years (according to the plan) and then by 2028 (according to the plan) land in Las Vegas where they expect to have a new $1.75 billion new permanent home, their owner Mr.John Fisher announced his other professional team, the San José Earthquakes of the Major League Soccer is now for sale. So Fisher is selling after all, but not the A’s, at least not yet.

Mr. Fisher requires more than $500 million for the construction in Las Vegas, where Clark County is contributing $350 million of the total cost, according to the 2023 Sportico list of MLS franchises. The average Major League Soccer (MLS) team is worth $721 million. Los Angeles FC ranks #1 at $1.28 billion, CF Montreal ranks last at $450 million.

The San José Earthquakes are reportedly worth around $600 million, according to Sportico, in terms of valuation.

According to Forbes, Mr.Fisher is worth $3 billion.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

While in the Bay Area, great food and great prices. 998cuba.com

Sallói’s brace powers Sporting KC to 5-3 win over Earthquakes

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Sporting Kansas City striker Dániel Sallói dribbles the ball as San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Niko Tsakiris looks on during Sporting KC’s 5-3 win at Pay Pal Park on Saturday APR 19, 2025. (Sporting Kansas City)

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Dániel Sallói scored twice as Sporting Kansas City cruised to a 5-3 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has two matches in a row and four out of its last seven. Sporting KC has won two of its past three matches.

Sporting KC (2-6-1) scored three unanswered goals in a six-minute span early in the first half. In the 18th minute, Dejan Joveljic found Logan Ndenbe along the left side of the box and the left wing back rifled a shot to the far corner past Quakes goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. for his first goal of the season.

Two minutes later Sallói scored the first of his two goals of the match. Sporting KC goalkeeper John Pulskamp sent a long ball off of a free kick inside the box. Sallói got behind San Jose center back Rodrigues and deposited the ball top-shelf for his third goal of the season.

Then in the 24th minute, Shapi Suleymanov received a long ball from Nemanja Radoja along the right wing. Suleymanov crossed the ball into the box where Manu Garcia chipped the ball over a sliding Edwards Jr. for his first goal of the season.

“You concede three goals in the first 30 minutes; you don’t deserve to win. I give our team a lot of credit. We got it to 3-2 at halftime. I felt we were in position to win the game, but we continued to make some errors that were costly in the second half. Overall, it’s a poor performance on our part. There’s no two ways about it. … We were poor today. Give our opponent credit. They played hard. They converted the opportunities that were there. They deserve a lot of credit,” Quakes head coach Bruce Arena said.

San Jose (3-5-1) answered back in the 30th minute. Niko Tsakiris led a counterattack from midfield. Rodrigues dribbled in from the right slot and threaded a pass over to Josef Martinez who one-timed a right footed shot past Pulskamp for his fifth goal of the season.

The Earthquakes cut the deficit to one goal just before halftime in the 42nd minute. Cristian Espinoza’s free kick deflected off of Suleymanov to an unmarked Cristian Arango who headed the ball past Pulskamp for his fifth goal of the season.

Sallói completed his brace in the 73rd minute with an insurance goal for Sporting KC. Erik Thommy centered the ball into the middle of the box where Sallói snuck in from the left wing all alone and beat Edwards Jr. with a right footed one-timer for his fourth goal of the season.

“I think we need to look at ourselves in terms of responsibility, the team and the mentality going into it. Because, like you said, seeing the way we were playing, the way we came back in the in the first half, it was just a classic way-too-late situation of where the game gets going and the players start to pick themselves up, but it’s already too late,” Quakes midfielder Ian Harkes said.

Thommy put the game away for the visitors in the 85th minute. Sallói sent a pass over to the right side of the box where Thommy made a move around Ousseni Bouda before firing a shot to the far corner for his second goal of the season.

Arango completed the scoring with his brace in the fourth minute of stoppage time with a penalty kick. Martinez drew a penalty inside the box after being fouled by Pulskamp two minutes earlier. Arango made a hesitation move to get Pulskamp leaning left before chipping the ball into the middle of the net for his team leading sixth goal of the season.

Pulskamp finished the match with three saves on six shots on goal to earn his second win of the season. Edwards Jr., who made his first start of the season in place of the injured Daniel, didn’t record a save on the five shots on goal in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with six corner kicks. Sporting Kansas City had none.

The Earthquakes move to 27-33-10 all-time vs. Sporting KC, with an 18-9-8 record at home. Tonight’s result evens the season series. In their last meeting back on March 1 in Kansas City, Kansas, the Quakes won 2-1 for their first road win over SKC since Aug. 19, 2015.

San Jose regained their spot atop the MLS team goals leaderboard after scoring three more to run their total to 19, two more than Vancouver.

Fullback Max Floriani made his MLS and Quakes debut in the 88th minute, coming on for Rodrigues. Floriani was selected second overall by the San Jose Earthquakes in last December’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft out of Saint Louis University.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels out east to take on the Columbus Crew on Saturday April 26th at 4:30pm at Lower.com Field.

Martinez’s hat trick highlights the Earthquakes 6-1 route of DC United

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San Jose Earthquakes striker Josef Martinez blows a kiss to the crowd at Pay Pal Park as he celebrates one of his three goals with teammate and fullback Ian Harkes against DC United on Sunday APR 6, 2025. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Josef Martinez proved why he is still one of the league’s most dangerous strikers.

Martinez recorded a hat trick during the San Jose Earthquakes 6-1 thrashing victory over DC United on Sunday afternoon at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose has won for the first time since Week 2 against Sporting KC. DC United has lost three matches in a row.

It was a celebration of the first ever MLS game between the two clubs 29 years ago when they played at Spartan Stadium in San Jose. A game that featured the game winning goal by former Clash and U.S. Men’s National Team player Eric Wynalda in the 88th minute. Wynalda and former DC United fullback Jeff Agoos reacted the goal during a ceremony before the game.

Quakes head coach Bruce Arena made one change to his starting XI as Niko Tsakiris made his first start of the season at attacking midfield.

San Jose drew first blood in the eighth minute off of a set piece. Cristian Espinoza’s corner kick to the center of the box was headed by Chicho Arrango. The ball deflected off of Christian Benteke and into the back of the net for Arango’s team leading fourth goal of the season.

The Earthquakes struck again in the 16th minute. A pretty give and go between Niko Tsakiris and Josef Martinez helped double San Jose’s lead. Martinez headed the ball over to Tsakiris and the third-year midfielder headed it back down the line along the left wing. Martinez raced in with the ball and beat DC United goalkeeper Joonhong Kim with a laser of a shot to the near post for his second goal of the season.

Four minutes later the Quakes scored its third unanswered goal of the opening 45 minutes. Beau Leroux was fouled inside the box by Matti Petola that resulted in a penalty kick for San Jose. Cristian Espinoza cashed in the penalty for his first goal of the season with a shot to upper middle of the net.

“A good afternoon. But let’s be fair, I don’t think that’s a fair scoreline today. That’s not a 6-1 game, but I’m going to take it. If we can schedule this game every 30 years, we would be in good shape,” Arena said.

DC United broke through late in the first half to get on the scoreboard. In the second minute of stoppage time, Derek Dodson serviced a ball into the middle the box and Benteke’s header hit off the right post and into the back of the net for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.

The second half opened with DC United controlling the pace of play and created quick scoring chances. Quakes goalkeeper Daniel stopped back-to-back point-blank chances by Benteke in the 51st minute to keep the visiting team from making it a one-goal game.

Martinez’s second goal of the match iced the game for San Jose in the 81st minute. Amahl Pellegrino slid a past through one of the DC United defender’s legs just outside the box over to Martinez who kept himself onsides on the play. Martinez chipped the ball past Kim for his third goal of the season.

“Today is special,” Martinez reflected after the match. ” It’s not because of the three goals (I scored), it’s because my son was here. That’s what’s most important for me. We worked hard this weekend, we pushed a lot. We deserved (to win) this game.”

Pellegrino joined the scoring party when he finished off a beautiful looking tic-tac-toe type of goal. Mark-Anthony-Kaye sent a long ball over to Jamal Ricketts. The center back, who came into the match as a sub in the 76th minute, headed the ball into the middle of the box where Pellegrino one-touched a right footed shot past Kim for his first goal of the season.

Martinez recorded his hat trick after taking a pass off of a long ball from Espinoza. The Man of the Match made one touch with the ball before chipping the ball high over Kim into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season in the second minute of stoppage time.

“When you have the right mentality in every game and every training session, then things start to work out in your favor,” Espinoza said.

Daniel finished the match stopping nine of the ten shots on goal to earn his third win of the season. Kim made three saves on nine shots on goal in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with three corner kicks. DC United had four.

San Jose is currently 19-15-9 (72 GF, 69 GA) against D.C. United, with a 10-5-7 (41 GF, 31 GA) record at home. San Jose is now unbeaten in their last four against D.C. dating back to 2019 (2-0-2).

The Quakes scored six goals for the first time in MLS play since Sept. 19, 1999, when as the Clash, they defeated the Miami Fusion 6-1 powered by a brace from Ronald Cerritos.

With his 20th-minute penalty kick goal, Espinoza passed Landon Donovan for fourth on the club career scoring list with 33.

With his three goals, Martínez passed Bradley Wright-Phillips for sixth on the MLS career scoring list, going from 117 to 120 goals. The Venezuelan now has 12 goal contributions (11g/1a) in 15 matches vs. D.C.

Martínez also became the seventh player in club history to record a hat trick. Only Chris Wondolowski has multiple three-goal games for San Jose (5).

Assisting on Martínez’s 16th-minute goal, Tsakiris notched his first helper of the season and second of his early MLS career.

Assisting on Pellegrino’s 90th-minute goal, Jamar Ricketts notched his first career MLS assist. Kaye also assisted on the goal, amassing his second helper of the season and 28th in his MLS career.

Daniel now leads all MLS goalkeepers with 37 saves, four ahead of Charlotte’s Kristijan Kahlina with 33.

UP NEX: San Jose travels down south to take on their SoCal rival LAFC on Saturday April 12th at 7:30pm at BMO Stadium.

Quakes Stymied by Rapids 2-1 on a cool Star Wars Night in Pay Pal Park

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San Jose Earthquakes lose the match at Pay Pal Park in San Jose to the Colorado Rapids in MLS action Sat Mar 15, 2025 (San Jose Earthquakes X image)

By Michael Roberson

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Force Was Not with the San Jose Earthquakes (2-2) as the Colorado Rapids (2-0-2) were able to flood the Silicon Valley 2-1, on Star Wars Theme Night.

San Jose was on the attack early, as they had two shots on goal within the first two minutes of the match.  Their aggression was impressive, but did not lead to any goals during the early moments.

Their defense was stellar, as they did not allow a shot, let alone a shot on goal for nearly 40 minutes,  However, Colorado used patience and was very efficient in their tactics.  They scored on their lone SOG and shot at the 38-minute mark on a timely kick by center midfielder Cole Bennett.  Rapids 1-0 over the home team.

At that point the ‘Quakes were Shakespearean Moment: Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing.  However, that would change before the end of the half.  They were playing at a 12:8 ratio, Shots:S.O.G., and 0 goals to show for their efforts.

At the 45-minute + 1 extra minute, attacking midfielder and newcomer, Cristian Arango converted a one-timer boot to the back of the net off of a corner kick assist by Cristian Espinosa.  The game was tied 1-1 at recess.

The second half was a continuation of the Earthquakes trying to shake things up for their opponent.  Although no scoring opportunities came to fruition.  on the other side of the pitch, Colorado parlayed their efforts into a game-winning goal by striker Calvin Harris.  At the 71st minute the Rapids took the lead for good, even though there were 19 regulation minutes left in the game, with an additional 7 minutes of stoppage time.

Ten minutes after Harris’ goal, Arango received a yellow card for violating the space of a Colorado player performing a free kick.  San Jose still tried to get a second equalizer with the multitude of minutes left in the contest.  Unfortunately for the Earthquakes, their last attempt to tie the game was a header that was easily stopped by the Colorado goalkeeper, Zachary Steffen.

After 90 minutes + 9 more stoppage ticks, the Earthquakes were on the losing end of a one goal game for the second straight week at PayPal Park, 2-1.

The Quakes are next in action in the state of North Carolina, as they take on Charlotte FC, Saturday, March 22 at 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT.  The Rapids head back to the Rocky Mountain State to host the Portland Timbers on the same date, at 7:30 PM MT.

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

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

By William Espy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Marko Ukalovic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By William Espy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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