Tag: San Jose Earthquakes

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- Beat LA, Beat LA. That could be the new motto for the San Jose Earthquakes.

For the the second time in less than a week, the Quakes pulled off a dramatic come from behind victory over an MLS team from Los Angeles. This time it was the Los Angeles Galaxy’s turn to suffer the sting of defeat in a 2-1 loss on Saturday evening at Earthquakes Stadium in the third installment of the California Classico.

Andrés “Andy” Ríos cashed in a penalty kick in the 82nd minute to give the Quakes their first and only lead of the match. It was set up when Cristian Espinoza set in a cross over to Shea Salinas just inside the box. Rolf Feltscher tripped up Salinas on the ensuing play and referee Robert Sibiga awarded San Jose the eventual game winning shot. It was Ríos third goal of the season.

The win for San Jose has given them something they haven’t had during the regular season in 2020, a winning streak. For LA, they have lost four matches in a row and are currently on a five-match winless streak. San Jose has now climbed out of the basement of the Western Conference and sit only a point out of the 8th and final playoff spot with 17 points (Real Salt Lake has 18 points). The Galaxy are now dead last in the conference.

For the second match in a row, Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda stayed with the same starting lineup he had last Saturday against LAFC.

Also for the second time in a row, the Quakes conceded the first goal of the match early in the first half. It only took the Galaxy four minutes in to the first 45 minutes to get on the scoreboard.

Quakes killer, Cristian Pavón set up LA’s lone goal with a nice cross inside the box where Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez hit the right post with his shot attempt. The rebound squirted out to Sebastian Lletget, who one-timed the ball into an empty net for his sixth goal of the season. He has scored four of the last five Galaxy goals.

San Jose (4-6-5) had a great opportunity to even the game in 12th minute when Los Angeles conceded a penalty kick off a handball by Nicholas DePuy off a Chris Wondolowski pass attempt. After a video review the call stood on the pitch.

However, Wondo telegraphed his penalty kick attempt to the right that allowed Galaxy goalkeeper David Bingham to make a diving one-handed save to deny the all-time career MLS goal scorer from getting number 164.

San Jose controlled played for the last 20 minutes of the first half. Headers from Wondo in the 26th minute and Florian Jungwith in the 32nd minute gave the Quakes momentum after the fast start by Los Angeles.

The Quakes scored the equalizer at the 42nd minute when a cross from Nick Lima sailed over from right to left on to the foot of Marcos López. The 20-year old left back made one touch before blasting a left footed strike past Bingham into the upper right corner of the net for his first career MLS goal.

“For me, it means a lot because I’ve wanted it for a long time. I find it in a good time professionally, I’m still growing as a player, but I’m glad for my goal and happy for the team. I thank God for the opportunity and also the team for giving it their all,” López said.

Things got chippy at the 58th minute when Lima and Joe Corona challenged for a ball near the sideline that resulted in Corona slapping Lima in the back of the head when both players were down on the ground. Emotions flared as Jackson Yueill confronted Corona by pushing him. Both Yueill and Corona received yellow cards for their actions.

“I wouldn’t count it to one moment exactly,” said Lima regarding the team’s first winning steak of the season. “I count to a couple days leading up to the game and not playing the role of the victim. We went down to LAFC knowing that it was going to be a tough game, but we went and played freely. We emphasized that, and we emphasized work rates, just kind of the simple things that you can control. We made that front and center, and that we have a goal. At the time we had to solidify something that we’re all achieving. I think getting into a playoff spot is what that is right now, and we go out there each game with that goal in the back of our minds. We’re trying to get that.”

San Jose’s backline did an impeccable job at keeping Los Angeles’ (4-7-3) big three of Pavón, Chicharito and Jonathan dos Santos off the scoresheet. Pavón was left frustrated on the final play of the match when his free kick from 20 yards out sailed high and wide of the net.

“Tonight, we felt joy. The players in these last two games have given a whole lot. They are believing more in themselves, and luckily after a long time we were able to train for one week straight. I think today we faced a very difficult opponent, the previous game as well, and we were able to be competitive and get the victory,” Almeyda said.

Quakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski didn’t record a save in his second straight victory. Bingham made four saves in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose three corner kicks. Los Angeles had four.

Yony González made his Galaxy debut. The 26 year old from Colombia came in as a substitute in the 72nd minute for Lletget.

Quakes forward Danny Hoesen underwent surgery to repair oblique and adductor muscle tears on Friday. The surgery, performed by Dr. William Brown, is expected to sideline the forward for the remainder of the 2020 regular season.

Hoesen, 29, has made 104 appearances (64 starts) for San Jose since joining the club in 2017, tallying 23 goals and 12 assists. Hoesen was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2018 and his 23 goals rank seventh all-time in Earthquakes history.

San Jose is now 5-2-2 against the Galaxy in its last nine matches. LA leads the overall series 32-25-16.

The Earthquakes are one of four teams in MLS, and one of just two teams in the Western Conference, to win each of their last two matches.

The Quakes held LA to just one shot on target.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday 10/7 at 7:30pm at Earthquakes Stadium.

The San Jose Earthquakes had lots to celebrate with a shocking win over LAFC on Sunday night in Los Angeles (@SJEarthquakes) 

by Marko Ukalovic

LOS ANGELES, Calif-The San Jose Earthquakes could not have chosen a better time to get its first win against the team who won the team that won the MLS Supporter Shield last season.

San Jose scored two goals in the final 13 minutes, including the game winner scored by Jackson Yueill in the final minute of stoppage time and snapped their nine game winless streak with a 2-1 win over LAFC on Sunday evening at Banc of California Stadium.

The dramatic win by San Jose is the first one over LAFC since they second Los Angeles club came into the MLS as an expansion team back in 2018.

Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda once again made changes to the starting eleven with Chris Wondolowski, Nick Lima returning to the lineup. Goalkeeper JT. Marcinkowski also made his second start of the season.

LAFC (5-6-3) controlled the play for the entire first half winning the possession battle 60%-40% and created numerous scoring chances in the first 30 minutes. The best chance was when Diego Rossi chipped a ball over Tanner Beason for a point blank shot that Marcinowski made one of his two saves on the evening.

The hard work paid off for LAFC minutes before halftime. Bradley Wright-Phillips made a touch pass over to Mark-Anthony Kaye who lasered in a ball past a diving Marcinkowski for his third goal of the season at the 45th minute.

Almeyda substituted Shea Salinas and Vako in for Wondo and Marcos López in the 63rd minute. The fresh legs for San Jose (3-6-5) as the momentum of the match began to shift the Quakes way.

“We let ourselves down,” said LAFC head coach Bob Bradley. “It’s a bad loss.”

Christian Espinoza was the catalyst on both goals. On the first he set up Salinas, who dribbled in from the left into the middle where he buried a shot to the right corner of the net beating LAFC goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega for the equalizer in the 80th minute.

Then in the third minute of stoppage time, Espinoza gained possession off a deflection and sent a cross into the middle of the box where Yueill one-timed the ball past Sisniega for his first and biggest goal of the season.

“You would’ve thought we won the World Cup when we scored that last goal,” Salinas said. “We have to play with passion and we did that tonight.”

Marcinkowski’s two saves were earned him his first career win. Sisniega made six saves in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had one corner kick. LAFC had six.

LAFC won the possession battle 53%-47%.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday 10/3 at 7:30pm at Earthquakes Stadium.

 

 

by Marko Ukalovic

COMMERCE CITY, Colo- The San Jose Earthquakes are stuck in an abyss they can’t escape from. Its latest tough pill to swallow was a 5-0 shutout loss to the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday evening at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

San Jose is winless in eight straight games since the regular season resumed. Colorado has won two matches in a row and three out of their last four.

Colorado (5-4-4) dominated the first half attempting nine shots on goal. They controlled the possession battle 64%-36%.

Kellyn Acosta appeared to have have scored his second goal of the season at the 29th minute. He recovered his attempted pass that was blocked by a Quakes defender. His shot from 20 yards out beat Quakes goalkeeper Daniel Vega to far right. However a video review showed that midfielder Jack Price was offsides before he fed a pass to Acosta as referee Drew Fischer overturned the call.

Price redeemed himself six minutes later off a set piece. Price placed a free kick into the middle of the D box where an unmarked Cole Bassett headed the ball past Vega to the far left corner for his fourth goal of the season at the 35th minute.

Giving up goals off of set pieces have been a big glaring weakness for San Jose this season.

“We definitely practice it enough, and I think it’s more of a concentration thing and communication thing,” said Chris Wondolowski regarding his team’s failure on set pieces. “I think that set pieces are a bit more complicated than they sometimes look. There is a lot of crossing. There are picks, but there is a lot of time where easy communication can sort that out and sort that out easily. I think that we’re lacking on that right now.”

San Jose’s (2-6-5) best chance to get on the scoreboard came in the 39th minute. Acosta fouled Tommy Thompson setting up a free kick from 15 yards out. However, Jackson Yueill’s shot attempt sailed to the right of the net.

The Rapids doubled its lead just five minutes into the second half. Acosta made a pass out to a racing Jonathan Lewis who flew in from the left slot and chipped a ball past a challenging Vega for his fifth goal of the season at the 50th minute.

Danny Hoesen, who returned to action as a substitute in the 63rd minute after missing the past two games with a lower body injury, came with in two yards of cutting the Rapids lead in half. Chris Wondolowski, who came on as a sub to start the second half, kicked in a ball into the middle off a corner kick that landed right on the foot of Hoesen. However, Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough made a point blank save to keep San Jose off the board.

Colorado iced the game in the 70th minute thanks to some bad luck from San Jose. Andre Shinyashiki received the ball after a throw-in and made a nice move around Tanner Beason near the goal line. Shinyashiki’s centering attempt was deflected into the net off the foot of Thompson for an own goal.

Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda is beyond frustrated and still looking for answers.

“Realistically, we have all been really looking at ourselves. There are no excuses. It’s really sad to lose the way we have been losing, mostly because we have fans that have accompanied us at a distance. Every team has their history, some more successful than others but nonetheless it’s all history. This is a moment I’ve never experienced in my life. I have some of the blame to not find a way…”, Almeyda said.

The Rapids kept pouring it on after some shady defense by the Quakes. Auston Trusty crossed a ball into the middle from the right to a wide open Nicolás Mezquida, a sub in the 60th minute who went in all alone against Vega and chipped the ball into the left corner of the bet for his first goal of the season in the 79th minute.

Colorado finished off the scoring in the 84th minute when Bassett led a two-on-zero break with Shinyashiki. Bassett touched a pass to the left and Shinyashiki buried the ball past Vega for his second. goal of the season.

This match was very similar to the Quakes last match against Portland where the Quakes conceded three goals in the last 20 minutes of the second half.

Yarbrough finished with four saves for his second shutout of the season. Vega also finished with four saves in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had three corner kicks. Colorado had four.

Colorado won the possession battle 60%-40%.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels to Los Angeles to take on LAFC on Sunday 9/27 at 7:30pm at Banc of California Stadium.

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- Portland Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark made five saves against the San Jose Earthquakes. His fourth one was a game saver that allowed his team to escape with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday evening at Earthquakes Stadium.

Shea Salinas crossed a ball into the middle of the box to Chris Wondolowski in the 89th minute. Wondo headed the ball heading into the left corner of the goal before Clark’s diving attempt swatted the ball away preventing San Jose from scoring the potential game winning goal.

The Quakes poured on the chances late in the match, including a free kick by Vako from 15 yards out in the 88th minute that was blocked the Timbers defense, but Clark made sure they didn’t complete the comeback.

San Jose now sits in the cellar of the Western Conference with only 11 points. Portland moved into seventh place with 15.

San Jose head coach Matias Almeyda injected some youth into the starting lineup in attempt to spark his team that has looked anemic in the past two matches. Jacob Akanyirige made his debut for San Jose. The 18-year old fullback from Pleasanton, Calif is another homegrown talent to make his debut this season. He joined the Quakes Academy when he was 14 years old.

Another big lineup change by Almeyda was inserting goalkeeper James Marcinkowski into the starting lineup. Marcinkowski, who replaced Daniel Vega, made his first start since October 28, 2018.

“I think what was going through my head was hoping to help the team win. I think that’s what all of us try to do. We try to go out there and perform our best. At the end of the day, we’re trying to get three points. It was nice to be back out there of course, but a little unlucky to not get all three tonight. Secondly, with the save, I think it’s just one of those things where time slows down, and you just try to make the save. It wasn’t anything too spectacular I don’t think. It was kind of down to my right, but, yeah, at the end of the day I’m just trying to help the team get three points. It kind of leaves a little bit of a sour taste in your mouth, but it was great to be back out there,” said Marcinkowski.

San Jose (2-4-5) had its first quality scoring chance in the 29th minute when Oswaldo Alanís sent in a free kick initially saved by Steve Clark. Florian Jungwirth had a point-blank chance but kicked it off the arm of Clark for his third save of the first half.

Portland (4-4-3) capitalized on a Quakes turnover at midfield four minutes later. Diego Chará, found his brother Yimmi Chará down the left side of the pitch. Chará beat Paul Marie in a one-on-one battle down the field before he chipped the ball past Marcinkowski into the right corner of the goal for his first goal as a member of the Timbers.

The Quakes Vako was inches away from evening the score when his shot hit off the right post in the 39th minute. San Jose out shot Portland 12-3 in the first 45 minutes.

San Jose kept the momentum they built in the first half, when Andrés Ríos crossed a ball into the middle and Tommy Thompson’s shot deflected off the head of a Timber’s defender in the 59th minute.

The Quakes finally scored the equalizer in the 76th minute after a pretty give-and-go between Vako and Wondo. Vako chipped the ball over to Wondolowski who returned it back with a header. Vako then danced around Clark and slid the ball into the net for his third goal of the season.

“I believe the players adapted well to our system tonight on the field. I will say again, when you have time to train, you can practice in many areas of a game plan. But when you cannot train, you can’t. The interpretation from the players has been really important, their concentration, and execution because most of the planning is done in drawing. They haven’t really trained. But in these last two games, we really have had resistance, love for the game, and we have to keep going,” said Almeyda.

Initially the goal wasn’t called on the field as a Timber defender cleared the ball away. After a couple of minutes where both teams played on, the VAR ruled to have the play reviewed. Referee Alex Chilowicz needed only a second to determine the goal counted.

It was the 10th goal conceded by Portland in the second half this season.

Marcinkowski made three saves for his first win of the season.

GAME NOTES: San Jose seven corner kicks. Portland had two.

Alanís left the game at the end of the first half with a lower body injury.

San Jose dominated the possession battle 64%-36%.

Portland was without its star midfielder Sebastian Blanco due to an ACL injury.

The Quakes have now a 5-2-5 overall home record vs. Portland. The Earthquakes have a 4-1-1 record in their last five home meetings against Portland, outscoring them 11-4.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Portland return to the pitch once again on Saturday 9/19 at 7:30pm at Earthquakes Stadium.

The San Jose Earthquakes Oswaldo Alanis (4)  and the Los Angles Galaxy’s Jonathan Dos Santos (8) meet before their match at Avaya Stadium in San Jose on Sun Sep 13th, 2020 (@SJEarthquakes photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- The difference between two extra points is a matter of inches.

For the San Jose Earthquakes that was the case as a potential game winning goal in the final minutes was waved off due to an offside call that resulted in a 0-0 draw with their SoCal rival the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday evening at Earthquakes Stadium.

In the 89th minute of the match, Marcos Lopez centered a ball into the middle of the box where Andy Rios was able to kick it past Galaxy goalkeeper for what would have been a 1-0 lead for San Jose. However Rios left a split second too early and was flagged for offsides, negating the goal.

San Jose, despite picking up a point, remains winless in five consecutive games (0-3-2) since coming back from the bubble in Orlando. LA’s three-game winning streak was snapped but their point streak continued at four games.

The second installment of the California Classico of the season featured quality scoring chances by both teams throughout the match, however both goalkeepers played spoilers as they kept the ball out of their nets.

San Jose controlled the possession battle in the first half with a 56.7%-43.3% edge. Their defensive play was a major upgrade after a humiliating 7-1 loss to Seattle just three nights earlier.

Galaxy goalkeeper David Bingham was the man of the first half stoning away two quality scoring chances by the Quakes.

First in the 18th minute off a free kick by Jackson Yueill, Bingham punched Yueill’s ball back into the middle where Guram Kashia’s first attempt was kicked away by Bingham. Kashia recovered the ball and his second attempt sailed wide left.

Then in the 34th minute, Yueill received the ball from 12 yards out and his shot was knocked aside to the right by Bingham resulting in a corner kick San Jose failed to cash in.

Los Angeles controlled play in the final five minutes of the first half. Efrain Álvarez came within inches of breaking the deadlock when his left footed shot from 20 yards out hit the right post in the 42nd minute.

In the second half, it was Quakes goalie Daniel Vega’s turn to play heroics as the Galaxy controlled play in a 23 minute stretch from the 57th minute to the 80th minute of play.

Sebastian Lletget’s header from the center of the box was saved by Daniel Vega in the 75th minute. It was one of LA’s best chances to score but were left frustrated.

San Jose ended up winning the possession battle 56.6%-43.4%.

Both Bingham and Vega finished the match with two saves a piece.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had six corner kicks. Los Angeles had eight.

The Galaxy were issued two yellow card during the match Daniel Steres received one in the 17th minute for a dangerous tackle on Shea Salinas and Julian Araujo received at the end of the match for persistent infringement . San Jose’s Nick Lima received a yellow card in the 3rd minute of the match for unsporting behavior.

San Jose is 0-1-1 against the Galaxy this season and are 4-2-2 in their last eight matches.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Portland Timbers on Wednesday 9/16 at 6:30pm at Earthquakes Stadium.

The Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes played to a draw on Saturday night at Avaya Stadium in San Jose (USA Today photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- Drastic changes to the starting lineup almost paid off for Matias Almeyda.

Colorado Rapids Kai Kamara headed in a ball off a corner kick in the 81st minute as the set piece allowed the Rapids to earn a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Earthquakes Stadium.

San Jose is winless in three straight games since coming back from Orlando and started the first phase of teams returning to play in home markets. Colorado’s winless streak reached a season high at six games.

Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda went looking for answers after an embarrassing 5-1 loss to LAFC this past Wednesday as he dramatically shook up his lineup with six changes to the starting lineup. In was Chris Wondolowski, and Danny Hoesen up front, while three quarters of the back line was switched, including Orlando Alanis, who returned from an injury.

It was the Quakes’ first at Earthquakes Stadium since March 7, nearly six months since their most recent home game. The match is the first live sporting event in Santa Clara County since the onset of COVID-19.

Both teams had early scoring chances in the first half but weren’t able to cash in any of their opportunities as they headed into halftime tied at zero.

Colorado (2-3-3) came close to breaking the deadlock in the 54th minute when Diego Rubio was open on the right slot but his shot hit off the right post.

San Jose (2-3-3) capitalized on a gift from Colorado just four minute later when Sam Vines conceded a penalty kick for the Quakes when a Christian Espinoza cross attempt went off his hand in the 58 minute.

Wondo finished off the penalty the kick right down the middle as Rapids goalkeeper guessed wrong to the left side. The MLS all-time leading goal scorer now has three goals on the season and 162 for his career.

Colorado woke up offensively as they controlled possession for the final 30 minutes of the second half and generated quality scoring chances. Quakes goalkeeper Daniel Vega came up with some key saves during that stretch, including a diving save off a header by Cole Bassett in the 77th minute.

The Rapids tenacity finally paid off with Kamara’s 129th career goal as the set piece has been the Quakes Achilles heel ever since they came back from Orlando and is an issue Almedya’s squad has yet to remedied.

San Jose best chance to go ahead late in the game came at the 84th minute when Alanis’ free kick from 20 yards out just sailed high over the net resulting in a free kick for Colorado.

GAMES NOTES: Wondolowski was named Man of the Match.

San Jose had seven corner kicks. Colorado had eight.

San Jose had four yellow card. Colorado had three.

The Quakes are recognizing an honorary captain at each of the team’s next two home matches, that included tonight. Honorary captains were selected with program partner Austen Everett Foundation. Tonight’s honorary captain was 10-year-old Santiago Lopez from San Jose. He was diagnosed on Thanksgiving 2019 with a rare form of brain cancer called DIPG. He had have a custom player card created and shared on Instagram. He also received a goody bag with a customized Earthquakes jersey, plush toys and soccer balls, with gear given to his sibling as well. The club recently captured and sent Santiago a video message from his favorite Quakes player Andy Rios.

UP NEXT: The Quakes travel up to Seattle take on the Sounders on Thursday 9/10 at 7:00pm at Century Link Field.