Tag: San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes snap losing streak with scoreless draw against Timbers

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment
Aug 2, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski (8, right) kicks the ball against Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell (24, left) during the first half at Avaya Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 2, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski (8, right) kicks the ball against Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell (24, left) during the first half at Avaya Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

By: Eric He

SAN JOSE — While it wasn’t three points, the San Jose Earthquakes snapped their four-game MLS losing streak with a 0-0 draw with the Portland Timbers at Avaya Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The scoreless contest did not lack excitement, featuring plenty of chances and a penalty kick that went awry, but nonetheless both teams will leave with a point in hand.

“A point is better than the last month,” said Quakes head coach Dominic Kinnear. “So we’re happy about that. We definitely had some chances. Obviously you’d love to have the win. I thought overall our game was better today. That should be the standard we set for the rest of the season.”

Portland opened the second half with a dangerous scoring opportunity as Fanendo Adi banged one off the left goalpost.

San Jose followed with some chances of its own. Matias-Perez Garcia created several corner kicks and crosses. A header by Victor Bernandez on a cross by Marvell Wynne sailed just wide, and a right footed bullet by Shaun Francis in the 63rd minute narrowly missed the net.

“We possessed the ball fairly well,” noted Chris Wondolowski. “We created opportunities, but we didn’t really make the keeper work. There were too many chances that we hit off target and we need to be a little more clinical in the final third.”

Added Kinnear: “At times we had good build-up play but let ourselves off the hook by rushing the shot or making the wrong decision. I thought we had our chance to be due for a goal today.”

The Quakes wound up with 55.7 percent of the possession on Sunday afternoon.

Not even a penalty kick could break the tie. Timbers’ midfielder Diego Valeri was tripped up by Francis in the box, but his penalty hit off the crossbar as the Quakes dodged a bullet.

“Luckily, it went my way,” Quakes goaltender David Bingham said. “If it was a hair lower I felt like I would’ve covered it.”

The first half was scoreless, although the Quakes held the majority of the possession and pressure.

Their best chance came early on in the seventh minute. Wondolowski had a point-blank opportunity with no one between him and Timbers goaltender Adam Kwarasey after a nice entry feed from Shea Salinas, but Wondolowski was denied at the doorstep.

The Quakes’ superstar blamed himself for not finishing it off.

“What a great ball by Shea,” Wondolowksi remarked. “Found me perfectly. My touch just got stuck under me. I tried poking it and the keeper made a good kick save. My first touch let me down.”

The 34th minute saw Salinas try to score one himself, lofting a ball on goal that went over the outstretched arms of Kwarasey but wide of the net.

Despite outshooting the Timbers 7-5 in the first half and controlling over half of the possession, the teams entered the locker room tied at halftime.

“It’s disappointing,” said Bingham. “We let them off the hook tonight. I felt like we were the better team throughout the night. Credit to them; they didn’t give up throughout the game, so they did well. If we could’ve been a little sharper here and there we should’ve gotten three points.”

Couldn’t wait for August 

It was a rough July for the Quakes, who dropped all seven of their matches — four MLS, two international friendlies, and a U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match against the Galaxy. Their four-game losing streak was the longest in MLS this season.

Most recently, San Jose dropped a 3-1 decision up at BC Place in Vancouver to the Whitecaps.

“Right now, we are playing well, but the results are going against us,” said Kinnear after the loss on July 21. “We have to go back to basic stuff and just talk about it, look at our mistakes and go back to working hard.”

More Quotables

“No one likes losing games. We need to win games if we want to get in the playoffs, especially in-conference games.”

– Midfielder Jordan Stewart

“We’ve got to stop tying games. We still have a belief we can make the playoffs. You have to put your chances away and that changes the whole dynamic of the game, especially mine in the beginning.”

– Wondolowski

“Passing the ball to the correct team was very helpful. Finding Matias [Perez Garcia’s] feet a little more. We moved the ball better…we got isolated one-on-one. Shea [Salinas] was very effective in the first half. At times we were running the ball a little too much, but I thought defensively we were better. Our commitment to defending was better and overall our attitude was better.”

– Kinnear on adjustments

“Keep encouraging them [to shoot]. Sometimes you’ve got to go where it hurts. An ugly goal can maybe open the floodgates a little bit. Sometimes it needs to be a perfect chance and sometimes it needs to be a bounce of luck. I’m not really caring too much how it goes in or who it goes in from.”

– Kinnear on how he can improve offensive production

Notes

Entering Sunday afternoon, recently acquired forward Quincy Amarikwa had scored three goals in his last two matches. … The Quakes sit at ninth in the West with 26 points, six back of a playoff spot. … When the Quakes and Timbers last played on July 5th, the Timbers scratched out a 1-0 win with a stoppage time goal over the shorthanded Quakes. … The Quakes’ next game is on the road on Aug. 8 against the Dynamo in Houston.

Quakes Fall to Club America 2-1 in Unfriendly Friendly

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Tuesday night’s friendly at Avaya Stadium turned not-so-friendly between the San Jose Earthquakes and Club America in the opening contest of the 2015 Guinness International Champions Cup. In a heated contest that saw a combined 8 yellows and 3 red cards issued, the Quakes fell to their Central American foes 2-1 behind a pair of goals in the final 30 minutes.

“With America, there’s no such thing as friendlies,” said Club America assistant coach Carlos Turrubiates through a translator. “Today was an example of two teams with the will to win. I don’t think there were bad intentions from either of these teams. It was the desire to win and play with the ball.”

The crowd was largely partisan towards the visiting club, with cheering sections donning Las Aguilas’ cream and blue scattered throughout Avaya. Fireworks were lit in celebration of each goal while drums banged throughout the contest. It was a home away from home for the most successful team in Liga MX history.

“These are people are working, fighting,” said Turrubiates of Las Aguilas supporters. They’re working to spend their money. That’s another reason to take this game seriously.”

“Whether it’s one fan, two fans or more, it makes us play harder,” added Turrubiates.

The Quakes capitalized first in the 23rd minute despite being on the wrong end of the run of play for most of the first half. Matias Perez Garcia flicked a corner kick into the penalty box that Quincy Amarikwa pounced on. His header attempt was deflected by Las Aguilas keeper Hugo Gonzalez but popped to the advancing Clarence Goodson. Goodson gave the ball a nod right into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

“It would have been nice to win,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “We put ourselves in a good position up 1-0, possibly more. In the end we didn’t.”

With a showdown with the Los Angeles Galaxy and a debuting Steven Gerrard looming on Friday, Kinnear opted to make mass substitutions to a team already absent its leading scorer with Chris Wondolowski on international duty. 8 of the 10 Quakes remaining on the pitch were subbed out for fresh legs, many of whom were getting their first taste of play against an international foe.

“We do have a game on Friday,” said Kinnear. “It does make us worry about the health of our squad. So it gives some players who haven’t been in international play a taste of what it’s like. It was a hostile environment, the game was very competitive.”

Following the player turnover, America’s fast-paced offense took over. Las Aguilas launched another five shots on goal in the second half after a nine-goal barrage, beating Quakes netminder Bryan Meredith for the first time in the 76th minute. Andres Andrade launched a shot from the semicircle that slid to Meredith’s right into the back of the net.

In the 83rd minute, America’s Francisco Rivera scored a near-identical goal, firing the ball into the back of the net from the half-circle to Meredith’s right again to cap the Aguilas comeback.

The hostilities came to a head in the 15th minute when Clarence Goodson horsecollared Dario Benedetto to the pitch. Both teams gathered in a mob, but after a heated exchange cooler heads prevailed.

“The challenge led to some pushing and shoving,” said Kinnear of the collision between Goodson and Benedetto. “It didn’t stop. That was the point that led to the intensity rising.”

Three more yellows would be issued in a physical half before a blowup in stoppage time between both teams.

Just seconds away from completing the first 45 minutes, San Jose’s Sanna Nyassi was taken down on a slidetackle. While on the pitch, America’s Paolo Goltz stood over the downed midfielder. Nyassi took a few swipes at Goltz with his cleats before igniting another shoving match. The two were issued red cards, forcing both teams to play down a man for the remainder of play.

The two teams played a more civil second half, though four yellow cards were issued. The only red card coming to Kinnear in the 85th minute.

“I was going to get sent to the locker room by the referee so I beat him to the punch,” said a laughing Kinnear of his premature departure before officially being shown the red.

With the dust-ups completed, the game drew to a close. The Quakes ICC experience is far from over. They’ll welcome Premier League standard Manchester United to Avaya next Tuesday for another high-profile match-up.

“Against Manchester United the odds are probably against us,” said Kinnear. “But it’s an honor to be involved in this tournament. It’s prestigious. We’re thrilled to be a part of it.”

Late goal ruins Quakes’ bid for draw in Portland

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By: Eric He

Just minutes away from escaping Portland in a scoreless draw, the shorthanded San Jose Earthquakes were felled by a stoppage time goal by Jack Jewsbury in a 1-0 defeat to the Timbers.

Off a free kick by Diego Valeri from the left of the box, Jewsbury knocked redirected the deflected ball into the net, a fortuitous bounce that cost the Earthquakes a point.

It seemed like luck would favor San Jose in this game. In the 87th minute, Timbers forward Gaston Fernandez headed a cross by defenseman Alvas Powell past David Bingham, but was whistled down for a narrow offside.

The Earthquakes themselves were a victim of the referee’s decisions. Tommy Thompson was knocked down in the area in the 83rd minute after a fantastic run, but the penalty didn’t come.

Instead, San Jose, which fought and clawed enough to deserve a draw, will head home with nothing.

The Earthquakes were playing shorthanded without Chris Wondolowski and Cordell Cato (Gold Cup), Sanna Nyassi (suspension) and Matias Perez Garcia (undisclosed injury), so a draw would have been more than ideal.

A couple of controversial calls went against both teams in the first half.

In the 24th minute, a header by Quakes forward Mark Sherrod off a corner kick was deflected away off the goal line by Powell, but it appeared to be a handball that wasn’t called.

In the 40th minute, Timbers midfielder Valeri burst in and shot one past Bingham, but it was called back due to an offsides that the referee on the sideline missed.

The Timbers sustained pressure for the majority of the first half, generating chances and controlling pressure. But Bingham stood tall in net and the shorthanded Quakes were able to withstand the onslaught.

Notes

The Earthquakes were outshot 23-7, including 7-2 in shots on target. …They have never beaten the Timbers in the MLS era. … The game’s start time was delayed six hours from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST because of an unbearable heat wave in Portland. … The Earthquakes remain on the outside looking in on the playoff picture with 25 points. … Their next game will be on Friday at home against Houston.

Quakes Blanked by Galaxy in U.S. Open Cup Round of 16

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By: Eric He

An early goal was all the Los Angeles Galaxy needed to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in Round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup at Avaya Stadium Wednesday night.

The win came just five days after the Quakes dominated the Galaxy 3-1 in a MLS game at Stanford Stadium.

In the sixth minute, midfielder Kenny Walker lofted a perfect pass to Jose Villareal, who touched it down with his right foot and fired a rocket with his left foot past Quakes’ goalkeeper Bryan Meredith.

“I think we were a bit unaware of the danger that was happening at that present time and it is very surprising that at six minutes we gave up such an easy chance,” said Quakes head coach Dominic Kinnear.

Despite doubling the Galaxy in shots (14-7), the Quakes only had three shots on goal and could not squeeze one by Galaxy goalkeeper Bryan Rowe. Rowe turned aside the Quakes, who pressured all game for the tying goal. He made a tremendous save on a header by JJ Koval off a corner kick in the 51st minute.

Kinnear praised his team for a better effort in the second half: “I thought in the first half all second balls fell to them and they obviously got some chances out of it and got some possession. Where I thought in the second half we were around the ball a heck of a lot more and that’s the reason why we were knocking on the door for as long as we were.”

The Quakes had nine corner kicks to the Galaxy’s zero, in a game played in front of 13,329 at the Quakes’ home stadium.

San Jose will now return to MLS action, as their next game will be on Sunday in Portland against the Timbers.

Quakes surge past Galaxy in California Classico

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By: Eric He

PALO ALTO — For the past several years, the annual California Classico between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Los Angeles Galaxy has lived up to its billing as one of the premier MLS games of the year, and this season’s match at Stanford Stadium was no exception.

In a tight contest filled with intense action in front of a sellout crowed of over 50,000 fans, the Earthquakes defeated the Galaxy 3-1 with three unanswered goals, two coming in the second half.

The Quakes came out strong to start the second half and it paid off with a goal in the 53rd minute by Goodson. Off a corner kick by Matias Perez Garcia, Goodson beat his defender to the ball and headed it past Galaxy goaltender Jaime Penedo to give the Quakes a 2-1 lead. It was Perez Garcia’s sixth assist in his last seven games.

They continued pressing, and Cordell Cato, who subbed in for Sanna Nyassi in the 60th minute, delivered a huge insurance goal just 12 minutes later. After some hard work by Shea Salinas to win the ball, Cato eluded Dan Gargan and had plenty of time to fire a hard shot past Penedo from close range.

The win gives the Earthquakes 25 points, tying them with the Portland Timbers for the final playoff spot in the West.

The first half featured highlight-reel goals for both teams – Juninho for the Galaxy and Chris Wondolowski for the Quakes.

It was Juninho who struck first in the 17th minute with a bolt from well beyond the penalty area, a shot that Quakes’ goaltender David Bingham had no chance to stop.

Wondolowski answered in the 28th minute, finishing it off after a terrific feed by Perez Garcia. Perez Garcia deked out Leonardo, creating room for the cross. It was Wondolowski who started the play to begin with, stripping Gargan of the ball and finding Perez Garcia on the right flank.

Otherwise, both goaltenders stood tall in a fast-paced half.

The Quakes nearly scored right off the bat. On the net-mouth scramble in the opening minute, Wondolowski was denied from point-blank by Penedo.

Penedo also made a strong play in the 20th minute, knocking the ball away from Salinas after the Quakes’ midfielder had a clear path from the left side.

Bingham, meanwhile, made crucial stops in consecutive minutes – in the 23rd minute he denied a free kick off the foot of Stefan Ishizaki followed by a point-blank save on Robbie Keane in the 24th minute.

Shots and possession in the first half were relatively even, as the teams went in the locker room with a goal apiece.

Notes

The Earthquakes have lost just once in their last nine MLS games. … They have also lost just once in 11 regular season games against the Galaxy at home. … The Galaxy’s road winless streak is now at 16 games. … On Friday, the Quakes traded defender Ty Harden to the Fire for forward Quincy Amarikwa. … The Quakes are 35-23-17 all-time in the month of June. … The Quakes have allowed one or fewer goals in seven of their last eight matches. … Since 2008, they have played 13 home games away from their home venue and are now 7-4-2 in those matches.

Quakes Advance To Round Of 16, Defeat Sacramento Republic FC in Shootout.

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By Shawn Whelchel

The San Jose Earthquakes needed 120 minutes of play, and six penalty kicks in a shootout to defeat the Sacramento Republic FC on Tuesday night, but the team earned a second consecutive trip to the Round of 16 on Tuesday night in a spectacular come from behind win in San Jose.

The Quakes drifted lazily throughout much of Tuesday night’s U.S Open Cup matchup, but rode the momentum of a scoring outburst from captain Chris Wondolowski to eventually eliminate Sacramento for the second straight year.

Sacramento wasted no time in putting the pressure on San Jose during their first trip to Avaya Stadium, earning a goal within the opening minutes of Tuesday night’s contest. After sitting out the last three games following a red card suspension, Republic FC midfielder Rodrigo Lopez earned a penalty kick after being tripped up by Shaun Francis inside the box.

Bryan Meredith, who was playing his first minutes of the season in place of normal starter David Bingham, received a tough welcome to the pitch as Lopez was able to shoot the ball past the reserve goal keeper, and into the top left of the net for a goal at the six minute mark.

Sacramento would not let off the gas throughout the rest of the half, continuing to put pressure on Bingham and the San Jose defense. Although they would bend, the defense would not break a second time, disallowing a second goal by Sacramento at the 43′ minute mark following a pair of impressive saves by both defenders and goalie alike.

The Earthquakes failed to return the same amount of offensive pressure that Republic was delivering, only threatening once on a Mark Sherrod header near the halfway mark of the first that bounced wide of the net.

Sacramento started the second half of the game much like the first, earning an early goal while providing all the offensive pressure of the opening minutes. Republic’s second goal of the game came off the foot of Emrah Klimenta, who was able to beat San Jose up the right side of the pitch to sneak a ball under the outstretched leg of Meredith for a 2-0 advantage at the 53′ minute mark.

But San Jose’s fire was ignited at the 73′ minute mark, as a scoring outburst salvaged what looked to be a lackluster game from the Earthquakes up to that point. Mike Fucito started things off by putting goalkeeper Patrick McLain to the test on back to back scoring chances. After sending two tough strikes toward McLain, teammate Chris Wondolowski was able to slip undefended into the front of the net to play the rebound and sink his first goal of the night to cut Sacramento’s lead in half.

Wondolowski would show off his knack for scoring just five minutes later after heading in a perfect cross from Marvell Wynne to tie the match at 2-2. Wondolowski would barely miss a hat trick in the 86th minute but missed just high on the cross bar. The two teams would attack to no avail during the remainder of regulation before being forced to overtime.

Although both teams found a way to threaten, neither could scratch during the first overtime session, leaving a 2-2 tie heading into the second, and final, fifteen minutes. Drained from the extended play, the two sides couldn’t muster up any real scoring threats in the second overtime either, sending the game to a shootout.

San Jose looked to be in trouble after consecutive blocks to Khari Stephenson and Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi put them in a deficit. But Meredith was able to hold off Sacramento’s Emrah Klimenta to keep his team alive. After an equalizer for San Jose notched things back up, Sacramento faltered on their sixth try of the night as James Kiffe launched a ball over the top of the net to secure a victory for San Jose.

Game Notes:

Tonight’s game was the first time San Jose Goalkeeper David Bingham did not play any minutes throughout the entire season.

Tuesday’s win advances their U.S Cup record to 14-11 all-time since the team began participating 12 years ago.

Tuesday night’s game was the first time a non-MLS team has played at Avaya Stadium.

Wondolowski’s two goal night gives him 99 goals as a member of the Quakes, and his franchise leading 176 multiple-goal game.

Wondolowski Joins Century Club, Quakes Draw Orlando City 1-1

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Chris Wondolowski joined MLS royalty in Sunday’s 1-1 draw between the San Jose Earthquakes and Orlando City SC at Levi’s Stadium, scoring the tying goal on a penalty kick to become just the ninth player in league history to score 100 career goals.

“I’m very grateful,” said Wondolowski. “I know the historic value of it. I do appreciate it, but I think it’s one of those things that will slowly sink in. It hasn’t sunken in yet.”

Wondolowski’s marker extended the undefeated run by San Jose (5-4-3) to five games after Kaka put Orlando City (3-5-4) up 1-0 with a penalty strike of his own.

The two teams battled to a standstill in the first half, but a pair of penalty kicks broke open the flood gates in the second half.

“40 yards and in we were a bit missing today,” said Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear. “We had a couple of good opportunities in the first half, a couple chances off set pieces. They were well organized, we were well organized. Sometimes defense rules the day and that’s what happened.”

Despite being down a man after Brek Shea was shown the red card for a spikes-up slide tackle in the 51st minute, the Lions struck first. Goalkeeper Tally Hall lofted a long ball into the attacking penalty box. Forward Cyle Larin and Quakes keeper David Bingham collided going after the 50-50 ball. Referee Allen Chapman awarded Orlando City a penalty kick for apparent contact to the face of the Lion attacker.

“For us to allow that ball to bounce once close to our area is a definite no-no,” said Kinnear. “That five-second segment was the worst we defended all year and we got punished for it.”

After weeks of hype in the media leading up to the game, soccer superstar Kaka delivered on the pitch. The Brazilian went left as goalkeeper David Bingham went right on the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute.

The name opposite Kaka on the marquee leading up to Sunday played the perfect foil, with Chris Wondolowski one-upping the former FIFA World Player of the Year by scoring a significant MLS milestone.

After Orlando committed a penalty in the box, Wondolowski lined up the penalty kick looking to draw San Jose even and pull himself into a tie with Edson Buddle as the eighth-highest scoring player in league history.

He did just that in the 68th minute, getting Hall to guess wrong on a low dribbler to the left for his 7th strike of the season.

The two-time MLS Golden Boot winner raced into the goal to retrieve the ball before being mobbed by his teammates feting him for his accomplishment. The goal scorer wasn’t doing it to soak in the moment though, he wanted to get play started as soon as possible.

“I was ready to go,” said Wondolowski. “I really wanted to get a victory, especially being up a man.”

“I talked to Chris after the game, he wasn’t happy with the result” said Kinnear. “I told him ‘Take a step back. Recognize what you’ve done’. It’s an incredible achievement, couldn’t have happened to a better guy. It’s not the end of his story, but it’s a great accomplishment for a person who has overcome a lot.”

Not too shabby for a player who, coming out of Chico State in 2005, played sparsely for San Jose after being drafted by Kinnear.

“I’m very grateful,” said Wondolowski. “I know the historic value of it. I do appreciate it, but I think it’s one of those things that will slowly sink in. It hasn’t sunken in yet.”

When the team moved to Houston, Wondolowski ultimately was traded by Kinnear back to San Jose where he’s scored all but 4 of his goals. Just this season Kinnear resumed duties as bench boss in Santa Clara.

“I haven’t really sat down with him and said ‘Hey, remember when I traded you’,” said Kinnear jokingly. “’What a great accomplishment.’ Looking at his career at the time, he wasn’t going to have a chance to play in Houston. I thought for him to ply his trade at home, I only made one call on Chris, and that was to San Jose.”

“He has great vision,” Wondolowski said of Kinnear with a smile and tongue firmly planted in cheek. “He knew he was coming back here. He knew he couldn’t bring me there. It was all a master plan.”

If the Danville native keeps up his pace this season, he could end the season as high as 5th on the all-time MLS scoring list. He’d pass Taylor Twellman (101), Dwayne De Rosario (104) and Jason Kreis (108) in the process.

“He’s done it not playing for the glamour team,” said Kinnear. “He’s done it with some calls not going his way. To get 100 goals as the ninth guy in the MLS, he should be really proud of himself.”

That he’d be able to do it all close to home means all that much more to the Quakes mainstay.

“It’s an amazing thing,” said Wondolowski. “I love it. I grew up with this club. To be able to do it for the hometown team in front of friends and family is pretty cool. I got to give my dad a hug after. He had tears in his eyes. It’s one of those things that he definitely appreciated, and I appreciate everything that he’s done.”

For now the season marches on, with nearly a third of the season over for a Quakes team just three points back of FC Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference.

“We’ve had five home games out of 12,” said Kinnear on the schedule so far. “I’m happy with the guys. The competitive spirit is great. At times we look like a great team. That shows the potential that we have. To see where we’re at and the company that we’re keeping in the Western Conference, we’re doing something right.”

Jahn’s header gets Quakes three points

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By Pearl Allison Lo

~ San Jose’s Adam Jahn scored his first goal in almost 2 years to the date, as the Quakes held on for a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo Tuesday.

One minute after Jahn had a deflected shot, he got another chance with an immediate backwards header off Matias Perez-Garcia’s free kick in the 54th minute. Jahn said, “It’s a numbers game; just keep knocking on the door.”

The Quakes have gone without multiple goals since March 22, but all they needed was Jahn. It San Jose moved up to fourth place in the Western Conference

Houston shored up their defense, though not enough. It was a vast improvement from the previous two games.

San Jose’s Fatai Alashe was knocked out of the game in the 26th minute with a yellow card against his opponent, Ricardo Clark. Alashe was kneed in the back by Clark.

The Quakes looked like they had the possibility of making it three straight games with no shots on goal from Western conference opponents after the first half.

However, Clark spoiled that with a shot on goal in the 46th minute.  It was the first given up by San Jose in 135 minutes.

The Dynamo looked like they would tie the game after Quakes’ goalie David Bingham was called for a penalty in the 57th minute, as Boniek Garcia was trying to get to the net.

Giles Barnes took the penalty kick and Bingham rectified the penalty with a save in his first penalty kick. It would have been Barnes’ fifth goal in as many games.

Game notes: San Jose is now 3-0-1 when scoring first in 2015. The Quakes’ Jordan Stewart played for the first time since October 26, 2014. San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski had five shots, none on net and still has not scored against his former team. It was Quakes’ head coach Dominic Kinnear’s first game versus his former team and he is now 24-1-7 with San Jose. The Quakes finish their four-game road trip at Colorado when they face the Rapids at 7pm.

Quakes Shutout League Best Whitecaps

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By: Joe Lami

The San Jose Earthquakes earned their second home victory of the year on Saturday as they defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps by the score of 1-0 for their first shut out of the year.  Credit goes to the back line of Marvell Wynne, Victor Bernandez, Clarence Goodson and Cordell Cato.  Quakes captain, Chris Wondolowski gave them credit where it was due, mentioning “we have to credit the back wall for the shutout, they played amazing tonight.”

Vancouver entered the game with 13 points in six games, leading all MLS teams, but sixth place in the Western Conference San Jose was able to put together their famous last minute goonies magic to get the victory.’

The Quakes owned Vancouver much of the game outshooting the Caps 12-5, but weren’t able to put the finishing touch on an attack until the 75th minute when Sanna Nyassi fired a rocket off the left boot into the left corner for the lead.  Quakes’ manager, Dominic Kinnear, mentioned “the last pass was still a bit off”.  The goal came off a double rebound, as Vancouver was able to get into the shooting lanes of both Cordell Cado and Matias Perez Garica shots.

Though the Caps were able to put up five shots, none of them were on target. San Jose Goalkeeper, David Bingham, jokingly said “yeah, I have not problem with not having to make any saves”. Wondolowski added “to keep them to zero shots is incredible”.

San Jose out earned corner kicks 7-1 over the Caps.  Three of which came in a span of two minutes early in the second half. The Earthquakes best chance off a corner came in the 69th minute, when it was taken short from the right corner.  The cross was beautiful into the box finding the foot of Clarence Goodson off a bounce.  Unfortunately Goodson wasn’t able to handle it and just missed the wide open net to the right.  Goodson commented on the miscue “it was a good run, the one I wanted to make. I was just a split second too late”.

Wondolowski was subbed in the 64th minute due to not feeling well.  The Quakes’ striker mentioned post-game “I wasn’t 100%, so Dominic and I made the best decision to help the team”.

The game was also extremely physical with a total of six yellow cards being issued, as well as two red cards, one to each team, that were issued in the 88th minute.  The cards were handed to the Quakes’ Adam Jahn and Vancouver’s Paolo Tornaghi.

The win for San Jose ends a two-game losing skid and ups their record to 3-3, while Vancouver drops to 4-2-1, as they’ve played the most games in MLS.

Earthquakes Open Avaya Stadium with Preseason Win Over Galaxy

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By: Eric He

SAN JOSE — The game didn’t count in the standings, but in almost every other sense, it did.

The San Jose Earthquakes opened up Avaya Stadium with a bang, beating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 in their final preseason tune-up.

“For a preseason game, it was a big event,” said Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear. “It was almost like opening day. You can just tell the field had something different about it when you walked out onto the field for warmups or the locker room to start the game. It didn’t have a real preseason feel.”

Second half goals by JJ Koval and Adam Jahn were just enough to defeat the defending MLS Cup champions, as the Earthquakes weathered off a late comeback attempt and a hailstorm in the final minutes.

“It was a great day for a lot of reasons,” Kinnear remarked. “Nice to see some goals. The home teams wins, which is good. Stadium is beautiful. The hail at the end was a bit unexpected, but it was a good day for everyone involved.”

Down 3-1, the Galaxy clawed within a goal in the 82nd minute on a tally by Robbie Keane. Taking a ball lofted ahead in the air by Stefan Ishizaki just to the left of the box, Keane left-footed it into the right corner of the net to cut the Earthquakes’ lead to 3-2.

Former Earthquakes striker Alan Gordon had a chance from point-blank to even the game in the 87th minute, but he skied it over the crossbar, and the Earthquakes hung on in three minutes of stoppage time.

A total of four goals were scored in the second half, two by each team.

The Earthquakes doubled their 1-0 in the 58th minute as the second half got under away. Midfielder JJ Koval, the Stanford product and Earthquakes’ ninth overall pick in the 2014 MLS Superdraft, hammered in a left-footed shot past Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe. The ball ricocheted to Koval after a feed by Matias Perez Garcia into the box was knocked down by Chris Wondolowski, right onto the foot of Koval.

“It was a great ball by [Garcia],” said Wondolowski. “He saw my run and put it perfect. I saw [Koval] coming in make a late run at midfield – the amount of ground he covers is amazing – that was a great finish by him.”

He continued: “[Koval’s] engine has always been there. He’s always been able to cover an enormous amount of ground. His composure on the ball; he showed it on the finish. He made that look very easy.”

The two teams then traded goals in the 66th and 68th minutes. The Galaxy got on the board, cutting a 2-0 lead in half after Robbie Rogers, down the left side, found Jose Villareal with a cross, and Villareal headed it past Earthquakes goalkeeper Ryan Bingham.

But San Jose responded. Adam Jahn, who had substituted in for Koval in the 64th minute, headed in a goal off a corner kick by Garcia just four minutes later to give the Earthquakes a 3-1 advantage.

The high-scoring second half made up for a first half where the two teams were perhaps adjusting to the new field.

Kinnear thought so, remaking, “I thought we were a little bit frazzled in the beginning of the game. I thought guys got caught up in the moment a little bit and our positioning was a little bit off.”

There were no goals until the 42nd minute, when the Earthquakes struck first on an own goal by the Galaxy. Maneuvering around defenders in the area, Shea Salinas’ cross deflected off Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez and into the net.

Just a minute later, they nearly tallied a second goal before halftime. It was Salinas again who sent a cross into the box, and a header by Wondolowski sailed just high of the crossbar after Rowe got a finger on it.

Despite being outshot by the Galaxy 5-2 in the first half, the Earthquakes seemed more comfortable and fluid in the latter stages.

In the 22nd minute, the Earthquakes pressured after a few miscues by the Galaxy in their own end, but could not capitalize due to a couple of poor crosses.

The Galaxy had controlled the tempo in the early going, playing in the Earthquakes’ end and generating free kicks and corners. Gordon deflected a pass by Juninho just wide in the 15th minute.

The Earthquakes will take the next week to prepare for the regular season, which begins with a match at FC Dallas on Mar. 7. They will play their first regular season game at Avaya Stadium on Mar. 22nd against the Chicago Fire.

Wondolowski enjoyed christening the new stadium in the preseason finale, but to him, it was just a game that doesn’t count in the standings.

“It’s a great feeling to step out to your home stadium and have a nice lively crowd out there,” he said. “To have passionate fans is amazing. To be honest, I’m really looking forward to the 22nd [of March]. That’s when it really counts.”

Notes

For their “soft” opening, the Earthquakes capped the attendance to 10,000 fans, short of the 18,000 that Avaya Stadium holds. … Jahn finished the preseason with seven goals. … Newly-signed Portuguese defender Paulo Renato suited up on Saturday. Renato spent last season in Segunda Divisáo Série Centro, the third tier of Portuguese football. Renato started in place of the injured Clarence Goodson. … Shaun Francis started on defense in place of Jordan Stewart, who also has an injury. … The Earthquakes finish the preseason 3-1-2, with a record of 1-1-2 against MLS competition.