Tag: San Jose Earthquakes

Espinoza scores gamer and Yarbrough makes five saves in Quakes 3-2 win over Rapids

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The San Jose Earthquakes celebrate victory over the Colorado Rapids at Dicks Sporting News Park in Commerce City Col on Sat May 11, 2024 (San Jose Earthquakes X photo)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes looked to continue their recent strong run of form against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado for some rainy night soccer. San Jose defeated LAFC in their most recent league game at Levi’s Park and drew the game before that against Nashville. The Quakes remain undefeated through three games with a 3-2 win over the Rapids on Saturday night.

Add in an additional victory against the Oakland Roots in the US Open Cup, and the Earthquakes have been playing much better recently than they did to start the season. Meanwhile, Colorado finds themselves fifth in the Western Conference entering the night.

If San Jose wanted to walk away with a point, or three, they were going to have to overcome a major obstacle. Hernan Lopez, great nephew of Diego Maradona, was making his first start in the MLS.

San Jose Starting XI:Yarbrough, Costa, Wilson, Rodrigues, Akapo, Tsakiris, Gruezo, Pellegrino, Lopez, Espinoza, Ebobisse

Colorado Starting XI: Steffen, Rosenberry, Bombito, Maxso, Vines, Bassett, Larraz, Fernandez, Mihailovic, Cabral, Navarro

Colorado got out to a very early lead, or so they thought in the seventh minute, but the play was called offside. In the 10th minute, Yarbrough was forced to make a goalline save as the Rapids once again nearly made it 1-0 but failed to convert following a cross.

Colorado could’ve easily had a 2-0 lead just ten minutes in, but the Quakes had been able to keep it 0-0 for the time being. The first yellow card of the night was handed out to Djordje Mihailovic who elbowed Vitor Costa while attempting a challenge for the ball.

In the 26th minute, once again Colorado seemingly took the lead when Omir Fernandez got the ball past William Yarbrough with a great finish. However, the goal would be overturned because Kevin Cabral was offside and interfered with Carlos Akapo, preventing him from making a defensive play on the ball.

As a result, Colorado had their second goal of the half overturned and the game remained in a deadlock. That wouldn’t remain the case for long though, as in the 33rd minute Rafael Navarro would score off of a deflection following a corner kick to give the Rapids a 1-0 lead. Fernandez did get his goal later in the half as well, in the 42nd minute a shot outside of the box slid past Yarbrough and made it 2-0 for the home team.

A few minutes later, Amahl Pellegrino scored after a scramble in front of the net. Steffen made a save for the Rapids, Jeremy Ebobisse’s shot off of the rebound was deflected by a defender in front directly to Pellegrino who put it away to make it 2-1.

It’s worth noting, the play was started by a fantastic pass by Lopez who was playing very well in his first MLS start. Colorado had a third goal called off due to offsides during the 49th minute when a header found the back of the netting.

Lopez tied it up with his first career MLS goal off of a corner when the ball was deflected and he volleyed it past Zach Steffen to make it 2-2 before halftime. It was a wild first half, with quite a bit of offense and certainly, there will be some controversy about the amount of overturned calls but after the first 45 minutes, it was a brand new game.

In the 56th minute, Yarbrough had a collision with his teammate, Carlos Gruezo that brought some concern from the official and medical staff but he remained in the game. Cristian Espinoza would break the tie in the 66th minute after a nice passing play which left him with only the keeper to beat and it was three unanswered goals for the Earthquakes, who now led 3-2 with less than a half-hour remaining.

At one point, it seemed as if Colorado was going to easily walk away with the win but in less than 30 minutes of game time, San Jose went from down 2-0 to up 3-2, shocking the home crowd. Shortly after the goal, the Quakes got two quick yellow cards. As a result, they needed to be very careful and ensure that they didn’t have a defender get booked for a second time.

Despite quite a few opportunities for Colorado to tie it up, they would be unable to and the Earthquakes would walk away with a win moving them out of last place in the Western Conference, passing both the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers who will play one another tomorrow afternoon.

Bouda’s late goal propels in Earthquakes 1-0 shutout win over Roots in U.S. Open Cup

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San Jose Earthquakes forwards Ousseni Bouda (#17) and Benji Kinkanovic (#28) celebrate Bouda’s game winning goal over the Oakland Roots during the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 match at Pay Pal Park on Tuesday MAY 7, 2024. (San Jose Earthquakes)

SAN JOSE — Ousseni Bouda scored the game’s only goal as the San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Oakland Roots in 1-0 shutout win in the Round of 32 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday evening at Pay Pal Park.

San Jose advanced to the Round of 16 and will play the Sacramento Republic FC, who beat Monterey Bay FC 2-0 later in the evening, on either May 21st or 22nd. Oakland bowed out of the tournament as they return to USL Championship play.

Niko Tsakaris found Bouda along the right wing inside the Roots zone. Bouda made a move inside and rifled a right footed shot that pinballed off the far post into the back of the net for the eventual game winning goal.

‘Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez starting XI consisted mainly of his bench players. 2024 Super Draft first round pick Jamar Ricketts earned his first start of the season at left back and played impressive throughout the opening 45 minutes. Hernan Lopez also made his first start in a ‘Quakes kit, in his second appearance for San Jose. Also, Emi Ochoa made his debut for the first team with his first start in goal.

San Jose played a sluggish first half as they didn’t manage many quality shots on target. Oakland played aggressive in the first half and made a surge late thanks to the Earthquakes lackadaisical play in their own end.

A give and go between Bryan Tamacas and Jeciel Cedeno resulted in a shot inside the right of the box that ‘Quakes goalkeeper Emi Ochoa had to make a save in the 41st minute. Then in the 44th minute Edwin Rodriguez’ shot attempt deflected off a ‘Quakes defender that went wide left barely missing the back of the net.

Ochoa came up with a huge save to start the second half. A header into the box went high up near the crossbar, Ochoa leaped high into the air with one hand and hit the ball off of the crossbar and cleared the ball out of danger.

Jack Skahan chance in the 63rd minute cruised across the middle of the box his shot was saved by Roots goalkeeper Paul Blanchette.

Ouesseni Bouda scored a goal with a rifle of a right footed shot pinballed off the far post into the back of the net for his first goal of the tournament in the 77th minute.

Rodriguez received a red card and automatic ejection from the match in the 82nd minute when he elbowed Bouda in the head while the ball was in the air and Bouda heading it down.

Ochoa finished the match with his first clean slate of his pro career and the first one for San Jose this season.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to MLS action on Saturday 5/11 against the Colorado Rapids at 6:30pm at Dick’s Sporting Good Park.

Earthquakes snap winless streak with 3-1 beatdown of LAFC at Levi’s Stadium

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The San Jose Earthquakes celebrate one of their three goals against LAFC at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday MAY 4, 2024. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

There’s something about playing at Levi’s Stadium.

The San Jose Earthquakes scored three unanswered goals en route to a 3-1 dominant victory over the Los Angeles Football Club on Saturday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium.

San Jose snapped a five-match winless streak and have points in back-to-back games for the first time this season. LAFC had its four-match unbeaten streak snapped and have lost back-to-back games at Levi’s Stadium against San Jose.

The match featured the Earthquakes debut of Argentine midfielder sensation Hernán López who came in as a substitute for Jack Skahan to start the second half. López, who is the nephew of Argentine legend Diego Maradona, was acquired last week from Argentine Primera Division side Godoy Cruz for a club-record transfer fee of $6 million to become the ‘Quakes new Designated Player.

“It felt really good being able to get on the field and being able to get situated with my teammates. I felt good. … I have a lot of mutual friends with Cristian. We didn’t know each other beforehand, but I got his [phone] number when I knew that playing for San Jose was an option. I spoke to him and just like Luchi was a reason that I came, just like [general manager] Chris Leitch was a reason that I came, so was Cristian and the way that he took me under his wing to bring me into this area,” López said.

The Earthquakes (2-8-1) drew first blood early in the first half off of a set piece. Cristian Espinoza centered the ball into the middle of the box off of a corner kick. Rodrigues flew in from the right side and headed the ball into the near post past LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for the fullback’s second goal of the season in the fifth minute sending the boisterous Levi’s crowd into a frenzy.

“This is a soccer-crazy region. We have three major cities and have all the supporting communities,” said Earthquakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez regarding the 43,774 announced attendance. “This is one of the top cities in the country for the game. To see them come out tonight in big number and support the team, on the 50th anniversary, Hernán’s [debut] game, it gave us a lot of momentum and it makes a difference and give us the extra energy to honor that and give it back to them.”

In the 23rd minute, San Jose looked to repeat what it did in the fifth minute, score off a corner kick. Once again Espinoza centered the ball into the middle, but Vítor Costa header was blocked by Ilie Sánchez and cleared out of danger for LAFC.

Two minutes later Maxime Chanot was issued a yellow card for a bad foul he committed against Jeremy Ebobisse resulting in a free kick. Ebobisse’s left footed attempt from just outside the box sailed wide left.

LAFC’s (4-4-3) best chances to get on the scoreboard came late in the opening 45 minutes. First int he 37th minute, Eduard Atuesta’s right footed shot from just outside the box in the middle was saved by ‘Quakes goalkeeper William Yarbrough. Then Yarbrough snatched up a shot from Mateusz Bogusz in the 44th minute.

San Jose doubled its lead in the 55th minute. A turnover by LAFC led to a quick counterattack. Espinoza curled in a long ball from just beyond midfield out to Amahl Pellegrino who received the ball just outside the D for a breakaway chance. Pellegrino made a move around Lloris before he buried a left footed shot into an empty net for his second goal in a ‘Quakes kit.

“I know Cristian (Espinoza) has one of the best right (feet) in the league. I like to go behind the defender to attack that space and when I saw he got the ball, I just hoped he would swing it to me, and he did it. It was a fantastic ball and made my job easy. To get the right touch and go past the goalkeeper. It went in and it was a good feeling. I hope we can keep doing what we’ve doing the last two games and build on this,” Pellegrino said.

The Earthquakes scored its third unanswered goal off of its second set piece in the 59th minute. Espinoza’s corner kick sailed into the middle and was deflected off the foot by Denis Bouanga and into the back of the net that was too hot to handle for Lloris for an own goal.

“I know he’s (Espinoza) a leading assister not only on the team, but in the league, and has been consistent over the seasons. He’s lethal and relentless, he trains like that and it is great to reward him and his teammates. I’m really happy to have two set pieces scored tonight and not concede and give up zero defensively,” Gonzalez said.

LAFC spoiled Yarbrough’s shutout bit in the 69th minute after a turnover inside the ‘Quakes zone. Christian Olivera intercepted a passing attempt by Costa. After a give and go with Kei Kamara, Olivera delivered a right footed shot into the back corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

Yarbrough finished the match with six saves, including three quality chances from LAFC in the final 10 minutes, on seven shots for his second victory of the season. Lloris made just one save on three shots on target in the losing effort.

“It was a great night for him (Yarbrough). I thought he was dominant in crosses and shot blocking. We’ve had our challenges in goal … It is why we brought in William for this type of experience,” Gonzalez noted.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished four corner kicks. LAFC had seven.

Espinoza’s second assist of the match on Pellegrino’s goal, tied a club record with Richard Mulrooney with his 14th game winning assist for the most in club history.

San Francisco 49ers All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner was flanked by Mexican National Team legend Oswaldo Sánchez and boxing world title contender Ruben Villa as he fired the siren before the match.

The Quakes are 7-8-1 against LAFC in MLS play overall with a 6-2-0 record at home, including six straight victories across PayPal Park and Levi’s Stadium.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Oakland Roots of the USL Championship in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday 5/7 at 7:00pm at Pay Pal Park.

Nashville-San Jose end up in a draw 1-1 at Music City

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San Jose Earthquakes defender Carlos Akapo (29) kicks the ball past Nashville SC midfielder Jacob Shaffelburg during the first half at Geodis Park in Nashville on Sat April 27, 2024 (AP News photo)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes are in Tennessee to take on Nashville SC for their fourth matchup against each other in history. The previous three meetings had all ended in a draw, the Earthquakes desperately needed a win as did Nashville.

Both sat 14th in their respective conference entering the night, San Jose at the bottom of the West while Nashville was ahead of only the New England Revolution in the East. Nashville entered the night with a defensively minded 5-3-2 formation while the Quakes stuck with their standard 4-3-3. The Quakes came back after Nashville took a 1-0 lead to tie up the game 1-1 for the draw at Geodis Park in Nashville.

Nashville Starting XI: Willis, Muvi, Maher, Kallman, Lovitz, Shaffelburg, Yearwood, Godov, Davis, Mukhtar, Surridge

San Jose Starting XI: Yarbrough, Costa, Bradon, Rodrigues, Akapo, Tsakiris, Gruezo, Yueill, Kikanovic, Ebobisse, Espinoza

Earlier this week, the Earthquakes announced their record signing of midfielder Hernan Lopez from Godoy Cruz of the Argentine Primera Division. Although he has yet to join the team he will certainly be a difference maker when he gets into the lineup in the near future.

The first opportunity of the game came in the fourth minute when a throw-in got Cristian Espinoza behind the defense, he passed it to Niko Tsakiris who ran out of time and was unable to convert on the opportunity. The first booking of the night came at the end of the fifth minute when Daniel Lovitz’s challenge didn’t go as planned and he ended up with a yellow card.

Tsakiris would get a yellow in the 14th minute as he cut across into the box with the ball and put himself in a dangerous situation to try to get a penalty called. Nashville took a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when Hany Mukhtar fired a shot from well outside the box and it found the left side of the netting. As they had multiple times this season, San Jose dug themselves a hole that they had to try to climb out of early on.

By the 27th minute, the game had been all Nashville, they led in shots 8-1 and on the scoreboard 1-0 despite the Earthquakes having 58% possession to that point. Nashville would maintain their lead for the remainder of the first half but were unable to build on it.

The Earthquakes would need a much stronger showing in the second half if they hoped to walk away with any points. At this point, they still had yet to record a shot on target. Other than the single goal, it was a pretty uneventful half as neither team was able to create high-quality scoring chances despite Nashville getting an abundance of shots.

Luchi Gonzalez made a couple of substitutions to start the second half with hopes that they’d provide a spark to a team that desperately needed it. Skahan and Pellegrino came on for Tsakiris and Benjamin Kikanovic. The Earthquakes got their first quality scoring opportunity of the night in the 53rd minute when Jeremy Ebobisse kicked the ball wide-left.

If he had aimed the shot on target, it could’ve easily tied the game at 1 but instead, it was still in favor of Nashville. An hour into the match, the Quakes still hadn’t tested Nashville’s keeper Joe Willis. In the 62nd minute, Nashville got a chance to make it 2-0 but William Yarbrough was able to make the save to deny a header from Sam Surridge from point-blank range.

The Earthquakes went straight down the pitch to score their first of the night, as a perfectly timed run by Jack Skahan got him behind the defense while remaining onside. The only person he had to beat was Willis, and he did just that to make it 1-1. Ebobisse was then subbed off for Preston Judd as Gonzalez hoped to keep the offensive momentum running. In the 66th minute, Brent Kallman received some medical attention.

At the end of the 71st minute, the Earthquakes nearly made it 2-1 however Skahan’s shot went just wide. Nashville made a few substitutions of their own, trying to swing momentum back in their favor as time started to run out. Rodrigues went down and caused a short delay with less than ten minutes remaining, he’d be substituted off as the Quakes could not afford to take any chances.

Nashville brought pressure and tested Yarbrough at the beginning of stoppage time getting a couple of solid opportunities before the ball was knocked out of play. Neither team would be able to break the deadlock, it would end in a 1-1 draw which was a decent result for two struggling teams however either one could’ve won. Nashville would certainly feel disappointed with the result given how strong they were in attack though.

Quakes edged by Galaxy 4-3 at Dignity Health Sports Park

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The score says it all the La Galaxy just gets by the San Jose Earthquakes at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson CA on Sun Apr 21, 2024 (San Jose Earthquakes X photo)

By William Espy

The San Jose Earthquakes found themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference with just three points through their first eight games as they entered Match Day 10 and visited the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California for the 100th California Clasico.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy were second in the conference behind only the Vancouver Whitecaps entering the night and hoped to regain first place in the West. They have struggled at home so far this season though, as they were 1-0-2 in their first three home games. The Galaxy came away with a close 4-3 victory over the Earthquakes.

Earthquakes Starting XI: Yarbrough, Costa, Rodrigues, Beason, Akapo, Tsakiris, Gruezo, Yueill, Pellegrino, Judd, Espinoza

Galaxy Starting XI: McCarthy, Cerillo, Yoshida, Caceres, Aude, Puig, Brugman, Delgado, Pec, Joveljic, Paintsil

In the 7th minute, the Galaxy got the first booking of the night when Joseph Paintsil was shown a yellow card for a foul on Vitor Costa. After the foul, referee Rosendo Mendoza was clearly not pleased with the foul and was fairly animated during his conversation with the group of Galaxy players talking to him.

In the 10th minute, the Galaxy got their first quality scoring chance of the game when they methodically passed the ball around before the ball was eventually headed to Gabriel Pec who shot it just over the net.

In the 14th minute, Pec scored his second of the season when William Yarbrough came out of the net to attempt to prevent him from getting a shot off, but the ball bounced over the Earthquakes’ goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

As a result, the Galaxy had a 1-0 lead early in the match. In the 21st minute, Mendoza initiated a video assistant referee review for a handball inside the penalty area against the Earthquakes. After the review, a penalty was awarded to the Galaxy due to Niko Tsakiris’s elbow making contact with the ball as part of the Galaxy’s set piece.

Paintsil shot the ball toward the bottom right of the net, while Yarbrough stayed in the middle and it was 2-0 in favor of Los Angeles. Halfway through the first half, things looked bleak for the Earthquakes already. It didn’t take long for things to get even worse though, in the 30th minute Painstil took a corner kick and crossed it directly to the head of Maya Yoshida who increased LA’s lead to 3-0.

The Quakes would get themselves back into the game as Cristian Espinoza whipped it in on a free kick. After hitting a defender’s head, it bounced to Rodrigues who headed it into the netting and made it 3-1 in the 32nd minute. In the 45th minute, Espinoza was called for a foul and shown a yellow card, San Jose’s first of the game. At halftime, LA led 3-1 over the Earthquakes and San Jose had a lot of work to do if they wanted to have a chance to walk away with a point.

Preston Judd wouldn’t come out for the second half, as Jeremy Ebobisse was substituted on in his place. A shot from Dejan Joveljic got past Yarbrough in the 51st minute, but a defender was able to get back and clear the ball before it crossed the goal line and prevented the Galaxy from taking a 4-1 lead.

In the 55th minute, Carlos Gruezo became the second member of the Earthquakes to be booked during the game following a challenge on Riqui Puig. Shortly afterward, a breakout pass from their defensive third gave the Galaxy a strong attacking opportunity and Puig scored to make it 4-1in favor of LA.

In response Luchi Gonzalez made his second substitutions of the night, bringing Jack Skahan and Benjamin Kikanovic on for Amahl Pellegrino and Tsakiris.

Just a minute later Kikanovic, who had just been substituted into the match, gave the team a spark with a header goal to reduce the Galaxy’s lead to 4-2 with just over 30 minutes remaining. A pointless slide tackle by Vitor Costa resulted in the Quakes’ third yellow card of the night in the 64th minute.

This led to a couple of substitutions for the Galaxy who took a more defensive, counter-attacking approach. In the 69th minute, things changed drastically. Ebobisse got in past the defense, and Eriq Zavaleta attempted to challenge him from behind.

After tripping Ebobisse up, Zavaletta was shown a straight red card and San Jose was awarded a penalty shot. Not only did the Earthquakes have an opportunity to make it a single-goal deficit, they were going to have a man advantage for the remainder of the game.

Ebobisse was awarded for his effort and took the penalty himself which he scored to make it a 4-3 game. In the 76th minute, Skahan was booked with a yellow card after accidentally catching Yoshida in the face with his boot while attempting to play the ball.

In the 81st minute, John McCarthy made an incredible save to deny Kikanovic who nearly scored to tie the game up. In the 88th minute, the Galaxy launched a counter-attacking opportunity but it was called offside as the attacker passed it too late otherwise, it could’ve easily become a 5-3 game.

With eight minutes of stoppage time, the Earthquakes had quite a bit of time to tie things up. A shot from Tanner Beason in the 92nd minute was one of their best scoring opportunities however it deflected off of a defender’s head in front of the goal. Despite applying a considerable amount of pressure on the Galaxy, the Earthquakes wouldn’t be able to tie it up and San Jose walked away without a point after a 4-3 loss.

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.

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.

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.

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.