Tag: San Jose Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes took another tough defeat at Providence Park going undefeated in 13 visits there against the Portland Timbers and Sun Oct 11, 2020 was no different in another loss to the Timbers (photo from the Portland Timbers) 

by Marko Ukalovic

PORTLAND, Ore.- Jaroslaw Niezgoda scored two goals in a six-minute span in the second half as the Portland Timbers dominated the San Jose Earthquakes in a 3-0 shutout victory during a rainy Sunday evening at Providence Park.

Portland has won five matches in a row to tie the Seattle Sounders for atop of the Western Conference with 30 points. The loss snapped San Jose’s three match winning streak. However the Quakes did not lose any ground in the standings as they stayed at the seventh spot with 20 points, one ahead of both Colorado and Houston, with six matches left to play.

The Earthquakes are winless in 13 trips to Providence Park (0-10-3) dating back to 2011.

Oswaldo Alanís made his return to the starting lineup at centerback for Quakes head coach Matias Almedya, after missing the past five games with a lower body injury. It was his first action since September 16th.

San Jose (5-7-5) held their own in the first 45 minutes getting quality scoring chances only to be thwarted away by Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark when they put shots on goal.

Two of the Quakes best chances to get on the scoreboard in the first half came at the beginning and at the end. Chris Wondoloski’s header from a Cristian Espinoza cross in the sixth minute and Jackson Yueill’s point blank shot in the second minute of stoppage time were stoned away by Clark.

Portland (9-4-3) seized momentum and control of the match a minute into the second half. Diego Chará came streaking with the ball down the right sideline when his cross was headed in by Niezgoda into the upper right corner of the net for his first of two goals on the evening. His fourth goal of the season came at the 46th minute.

The Timbers continued to pressure the Quakes inside their zone led by Diego Valeri. The Argentinean midfielder hurried Tanner Beason into a turnover after a diving save by Quakes goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski. Beason’s clearing attempt went right to the foot of Niezgoda who fired the ball into an empty net for his fifth goal of the season. It was the first career multi-goal game for the 25 year-old striker from Poland.

San Jose had a golden opportunity to cut Portland’s lead in half in the 67th minute when Carlos Fierro was all alone after receiving the ball of the left side. Fierro was one-on-one with Clark when he punted the ball high and far over the net resulting in a goal kick for Portland.

The Quakes appeared to have scored in the 71st minute after a corner kick led to Beason kicking the ball in the net right on the goal line. However, VAR review determined he was offsides and the goal was erased off the board.

The MLS is Back Tournament champions sealed the game in the 86th minute when once again Chará creating the opportunity with a chip cross over two Quakes defenders that was headed in by Felipe Mora, normally a starter for head coach Giovanni Savarese, came in as a sub in the 61st minute, for his seventh goal the season. It was Chará’s second assist of the evening.

San Jose was left frustrated on what could have been had they been able to cash in on the earlier opportunities they had in the match.

This was also the first match where Almeyda only used one substitute during the match with Shea Salinas coming in for Tommy Thompson in the 65th minute.

Clark finished with seven saves for his fourth shutout of the season. Marcinkowski made five saves in the losing effort.

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

Florian Jungwirth was suspended for the match for yellow card accumulation.

San Jose were also without Vako, Guram Kashia and Marco Lopez as they were out playing internationally.

Each team were issued two yellow cards.

UP NEXT: The Earthquakes conclude their two-game road trip when the travel to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy on Wednesday 10/14 at 7:30pm at Dignity Health Sports Park.

 

 

 

The San Jose Earthquakes Paul Marie boots a goal for the Quakes in the second half against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Earthquakes Stadium on Wed Oct 7, 2020 (AP News photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- What a difference a week and a half makes. One minute you’re left rotting in the basement of the Western Conference, the next, you’re in a playoff spot.

The San Jose Earthquakes played one of its best matches from start to finish in a 3-0 shutout victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday evening at Earthquakes Stadium.

San Jose are on a season high three-game winning streak where they have jumped from dead last all the way up to 7th place in the Western Conference with 20 points. The top eight teams in the conference make the playoffs. A tough season for Vancouver continued with their fourth consecutive loss.

Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda only had to make one slight tinker to his starting lineup as Tommy Thompson started at left back in place for Marcos Lopez, who was out playing with the Peruvian national team.

Despite a scoreless 45 minutes, the first half featured plenty of scoring chances from both sides. Vancouver (5-11-0)’s Cristian Dájome sent a header over the cross bar in the eight minute and the Whitecaps leading scorer, Freddy Montero, sent in a shot that Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski saved to keep the Whitecaps off the board in the 20th minute.

“We really saw a competitive team. The restart of this season for each team was difficult. This season is unstable, just how we are living all around the world. It is difficult to train so little and play so often. Today, we had 20 players even. Many youngsters participated. I think standing up after the previous negative performances, there is conviction and special work that we’ve done. There is good communication and adequate interpretation. We were able to overcome that negative streak at the beginning of the season. However, we cannot deny that the season is difficult for everyone,” Almeyda said.

The only thing Vancouver dominated throughout the match was corner kicks. They had seven in the first half alone. Andy Rose’s header in the 26th minute, fought off by Marcinkowski, was the best chance the Whitecaps had to breaking the deadlock.

San Jose (5-6-5) midfielder Cristian Espinoza was involved in two of the Quakes best chances to get the Quakes on the board. He shot attempt in the sixth minute was stoned away by Whitecaps goalkeeper Evan Bush. Then in the 31st minute, Marcinkowski found Espinoza all alone on a long ball but Espinoza’s chip shot sailed over the net.

The Quakes kept its momentum rolling in the second half finally breaking through with the game’s opening goal in the 50th minute. Nick Lima found an open Espinoza inside the box. The 25 year old Argentinean performed a spin-o-rama around two Whitecaps defenders and fired a shot from 15 yards out past Bush to the far left corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

“The team was just trying to keep the momentum going,” said Marcinkowski when asked about his team’s three-game win streak. “Keep the quality we know we can play. I think we lost out identity a little bit ago. It’s nice to have it back. It’s nice to be playing good football.”

Frustrations seemed to get the better of Vancouver as in the 53rd minute, Rose received his second yellow card of the match, resulting in an automatic red card and ejection from the match.

With Vancouver down a man, San Jose took advantage of the situation in the 66th minute. Thompson found Carlos Fierro streaking down the left side of the pitch. Fierro centered the ball into the middle of the box where an open Andrés “Andy” Ríos one-timed the ball past Bush for his fourth goal of the season. Ríos has scored in back-to-back games for San Jose.

The Whitecaps began to lose their composure from there on out. Érik Godoy was issued a red card by referee Allen Chapman in the 75th minute for unsportsmanlike play against Jackson Yueill. They finished the match with only nine players on the pitch.

San Jose capped off its impressive night with its third goal with just under a minute left in the match. Thompson started a counter attack and found Paul Marie, who came in as a substitute in the 85th minute for Lima, and the 12th overall pick in the 2018 MLS draft lasered in a shot from 20 yards out beating Bush to the far left corner of the net for his first career MLS goal.

Marcinkowski finished the night with five saves for his first career shutout and third straight victory. Bush also finished with fives saved in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose had four corner kicks. Vancouver had seven,

The Earthquakes announced earlier in the afternoon that the club has signed midfielder Jackson Yueill to a new multi-year contract.

Quakes defenseman Florian Jungwirth will be out with a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation. He was issued a yellow card in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the first half.

San Jose won the possession battle by a 66%-34% margin.

The Earthquakes are one of five teams in MLS to win each of their last three matches.

The Quakes now hold a 4-0-0 record in their last four meetings with Whitecaps FC, scoring at least three goals in each of them.

San Jose set a club record with five Homegrown Players appearing in a match for the first time (Cowell, Fuentes, Lima, Marcinkowski, Thompson). The Quakes also had each of their last three first-round SuperDraft picks appear in the match (Beason, Haji, Marie).

Espinoza has now tallied a goal or assist in three consecutive matches, totaling one goal and three assists in that span. It also marked his second game-winning goal of the season and second of his MLS career.

Fierro was credited with an assist on Rios’ goal. It marked his second assist of the season and second of his MLS career.

Thompson was credited with an assist on both Rios’ and Marie’s goals. It marked his third and fourth assists of the season, and eighth and ninth of his MLS career. His four assists this season tie his single-season career high (2017).

Eighteen-year-old Homegrown Gilbert Fuentes made his first appearance of the season and third of his MLS career, entering as a substitute in the 85th minute.

Midfielder Siad Haji made his first appearance of the season, entering as a substitute in the 88th minute.

UP NEXT: San Joe begins a two-game roadtrip as it travels out to Portland to take on the Timbers on Sunday 10/11 at 7:00pm at Providence Park.

 

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.