Tag: San Jose Earthquakes

Quakes Close Out Buck Shaw Stadium With 0-0 Draw

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes shut out the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps FC, but failed to score themselves, shutting down Buck Shaw Stadium with a 0-0 tie in the final MLS game played on Santa Clara University’s campus in front of a sellout crowd of 10,525.

“Historically, we made it tough for other teams to play here,” said Quakes defender Jason Hernandez, a member of the Quakes since the first game at Buck Shaw, also a 0-0 draw in May 2008 against FC Dallas. “I’m glad we could at least finish on that note.”

While the Quakes (6-15-12, 30 points) couldn’t end a now-14 game winless streak along their residency of Buck Shaw, interim coach Ian Russell picked up his first point as a bench boss. Russell took over for Mark Watson, who was dismissed earlier in the week after it was revealed that current Houston Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear would take over coaching responsibilities for the Earthquakes next season after a disappointing campaign this year.

“We’re all playing for jobs right now,” said starting goalkeeper Jon Busch. “Dom’s going to come in next week and you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The men in San Jose jerseys were desperate to earn job security, but Vancouver (11-8-14, 47 points)entered the contest needing points locked with the Portland Timbers in a tie for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with two games left to play. With that in mind, Russell and the Quakes made some tweaks to their usual formation to try to counter Vancouver’s high octane offense.

“We knew we wanted to finish off Buck Shaw the right way,” said Busch. “You could see it with the way Ian set the team up tonight. We were high-pressing them, trying to get turnovers.”

The result was a success, though not quite an overwhelming one, with the Quakes managing their first clean sheet since August 2nd at Levi’s Stadium against the Seattle Sounders but nothing on the scoreboard offensively.

“The whole back four was fabulous,” said Russell of his defenders. “I think it started with the first line with (Wondolowski), then the midfield five putting pressure on all the time. Then the back four really stood up.”

While there weren’t any Goonies-type shenanigans, San Jose isn’t despondent about the farewell for Buck Shaw, their home for the last seven seasons.

“In my five years, there have been so many come backs, late game heroics,” said Busch. “I honestly think it was written in the script to end 0-0 tonight. It wasn’t a lack of effort on the offensive side, we just couldn’t get one.”

“I played the first game here and the last game here,” added Hernandez. “Full circle. I’m very honored to be a part of this club for that long, leave this stadium with so many memories.”

Memories, however, aren’t enough to damper excitement for the Quakes shiny new stadium, with construction set to conclude in December on the 18,000 seat state-of-the-art field.

“We’re kind of glad to be out of this stadium,” said Russell. “We’ve had some good memories here, but when you have the nice big one down the street, I think we’re ready to go.”

With one more game left on the schedule, a match against last-place Chivas USA next Sunday, one last piece of business must be resolved.

Could the Quakes be opening Earthquakes Stadium with a special ceremony recognizing a club record being broken? Jon Busch needs only two more saves to tie the club benchmark of 137 in a single season set by Joe Cannon in 2000.

“For me it’s not about individual records,” said Busch. “If it happens next week, it happens. I don’t play this game for individual records, I play to win games and have chances at individual trophies. The team results are much more important than any individual accomplishments.”

FC Dallas Embarrasses San Jose at Home With 5-0 Shutout; Ends Earthquakes’ Point Streak at Four Games

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Photo Credit: mlssoccer.com
Photo Credit: mlssoccer.com

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–

Saturday night was something out of a nightmare for the San Jose Earthquakes as they were absolutely dominated by FC Dallas in a 5-0 shutout. Star rookie, Tesho Akindele, stole the show for Dallas recording his first career hat trick. Fabian Castillo was also a major factor for Dallas as he contributed two goals and an assist.

The nightmare began in the 11th minute for San Jose, when defender, Shaun Francis pulled up short due to an apparent hamstring injury. He would walk off the field for a few moments to get a breather before deciding to go back into play. He would play for just over a minute, but was too injured to continue, as Earthquakes’ coach, Mark Watson, had to burn his first substitution in the 13th minute. Brandon Barklage came in for the injured Francis.

The Earthquakes had some chances early in the first half, forcing Dallas goalkeeper, Raul Fernandez, to earn his shutout. In the 29th minute, Sam Cronin, hit a skipping shot from the right side just outside of the box, forcing Fernandez to make the diving save to his right.  Fernandez had five saves in the win. Just a minute later, Castillo found his first of the evening with a great individual effort, making Jason Hernandez look silly along the way to give Dallas the 1-0 lead.

In the 43rd minute Dallas would take a 2-0 advantage when Akindele got his first of three when a shot from outside the box took a tricky bounce off of an Earthquakes’ defender before it made its way past Jon Busch.

The Earthquakes best chance came in the 45th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick. Matias Perez Garcia was taken down in the penalty box to give Chris Wondolowski a chance. Wondolowski fired a bullet that just missed the top left corner to end the half.

FC Dallas tacked on three more goals in the second half to propel them to victory. Castillo’s two goals on Saturday night gives him the team lead with eight on the season. “We couldn’t handle him, he has a ton of pace and incredible individual effort,” commented Watson. “He caused a lot of problems with his pace,” added Busch.

Akindele’s three goals now gives him seven on the season, making him the honor of being the highest scoring rookie in FC Dallas history. Aleksey Korol previously held the honor for his five tallies he scored in 2000.

FC Dallas extends their unbeaten streak to nine with the victory. It also marks the first time that Dallas coach, Oscar Pareja, has beaten San Jose in his ninth attempt.

San Jose had their unbeaten streak snapped at four games with the loss. “There was a good feeling about the team. We finally got something going, and then this loss. It’s really deflating,” commented Watson.

The Earthquakes will try to recover on Wednesday when they host division leading, Seattle.

Earthquakes Blanked at Home

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By: Phillip Torres

SANTA CLARA- The San Jose Earthquakes (4-7-4) hosted Chivas USA (4-7-5) in at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara on Wednesday night. The Earthquakes played a hard fought game all evening but ultimately came up short as they were shut out at home against Chivas USA 1-0.

The first half of play went scoreless as both teams had limited opportunities to score against the opposing goalkeepers.

The first and only goal of the game was scored by Erick Torres of Chivas USA. Torres put the ball in the corner of the net after a couple of deflections opened an opportunity for the lone goal of the game. The score came at the 53rd minute mark.

The presence of Chris Wondolowski was definitely missed by the earthquakes as he has yet to return from his FIFA World Cup Tour with Team USA.

The attendance of 9,114 witnessed a good game but a tough luck loss for the hometown Earthquakes.

Third Time Not a Charm for Quakes to Capture Clasico Magic

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By Matthew Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – There would be no customary rally for the San Jose eleven Saturday night at Stanford Stadium, snapping a streak of thrilling come-from-behind wins in the clash of California sides. Earthquakes supporters expecting the customary late California Clasico offensive burst instead had to settle for the explosions the of post-game fireworks with the Quakes long since retired to their locker room to dwell on the 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

For the first time in three years, the Earthquakes (4-6-4) had no answer for the Los Angeles Galaxy. San Jose didn’t need three second-half goals like in 2012, nor did they need stoppage time goals from Shea Salinas and Alan Gordon as they did last season. No, the Quakes needed a lone strike to salvage a point. Unfortunately for the men in blue, time ran out on this year’s comeback bid despite a valiant second half.

“We knew that our performance where it needed to be in the first half,” said Watson. “We had a few moments, we had a few chances. I thought LA dictated the play. We knew we’d have to come out with more energy and use the ball better.”

The two teams battled to a standstill after 45 minutes of play, matching each other move for move. Los Angeles attempted eight shots on goal to the Quakes’ seven, but neither side converted. The two sides appeared even in possession, though LA controlled the play for 55% of the opening half. It was San Jose striker Steven Lenhart however, that had the best chances of the half. Lenhart narrowly missed putting the ball into the back of the net on a pair of headers that beat LA keeper Jaime Penedo but trickled wide of the goalpost.

Gyasi Zardes erased the clean sheet in the 62nd minute, firing a point-blank rocket from dead center past a defenseless Jon Busch to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead. The Galaxy forward was set up on his third goal of the season by Marcelo Sarvas who, with his back to the keeper, found Zardes squared up on goal for the strike. In total, Los Angeles had 17 attempts on net to 13 for the home squad. Five went on goal for Los Angeles, one for the Quakes.

“Our guys competed all night,” said Earthquakes coach Mark Watson. “I thought they just had a little bit more quality on the night. I think it was a game where there wasn’t that many chances. I think we had an equal number of scoring chances, we just couldn’t finish them.”

LA nearly double its advantage in the 72nd minute after midfielder Stefan Ishizaki lofted a shot on net from just outside the penalty box corner to the right of Busch. The ball beat Busch’s cross-body dive and rang off the back post. A Quakes defender swooped in to clear the ball from a hungry Zardes and allow the San Jose netminder to regain position.

Naturally, the man who coined the “Goonies” nickname for San Jose nearly gave the home side new life with a late equalizer. In the 88th minute, Lenhart once again used his head to advance on the Galaxy net. Penedo narrowly managed to get his left fingertips on the bid to preserve his shutout, while Los Angeles (5-3-5) weathered the final surge to nab the three points and hold San Jose off from the seventh spot in the Western Conference. The Galaxy entered play one point (17 total) ahead of the Quakes entering play Saturday. LA continued a five-game unbeaten streak.
San Jose received some bad news before even taking the pitch, as centerback Clarence Goodson was a late scratch after aggravating an injury in warm-ups.

“(Clarence) pulled his groin in the warm-up,” said Watson. “We had to make a late substitution, which was disappointing. We worked with Clarence, he’s a big part of our team. I thought Jason Hernandez came in and did a fantastic job. He had 10 or 15 minutes to get himself mentally prepared and he did what he always does. He battled hard and gave everything he had.”

The Quakes were also short Shea Salinas with an injury while Chris Wondolowski and Victor Bernardez performed World Cup duties. While Bernardez and Honduras were ousted from the preeminent tournament of soccer after group play, he wasn’t quite on a time table to return to MLS play just yet.

“It was going to be close,” said Watson on the status of Bernardez Saturday. “We knew that. He played Wednesday in Brazil. It’s a long flight. He just didn’t feel he could give one hundred percent. He’ll be ready for Wednesday.”

The Quakes may also have Salinas back in the line-up Wednesday at Buck Shaw Stadium when they welcome Chivas USA to the Bay Area. The Quakes previously snapped a season-opening five-game winless streak by topping Chivas 1-0 at Buck Shaw on April 26th.

Earthquakes Start U.S. Open Cup With a Win

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Photo Credit: San Jose Earthquakes
Photo Credit: San Jose Earthquakes

By: Joe Lami

SAN FRANCISCO–Calif.

The San Jose Earthquakes started their U.S. Open Cup run with a 2-1 victory over Sacramento Republic FC on Wednesday Night in front of 3,788 fans at Kezar Stadium.  The Quakes automatically earned a trip into the fourth round by playing in MLS, and hosted their USL affiliate in their first game of the U.S. Open Cup.

Republic FC got on the board first in the 42nd minute when a Justin Braun header from the 6-yard box found the back of the net to get past Quakes Keeper, David Bingham.

Just minutes later, San Jose was able to answer right back on a penalty kick from Kari Stephenson in the 45th minute.  San Jose earned the penalty kick on a weird situation, as Clarence Goodson found the net from a corner kick, however the goal was waived off and San Jose was granted the penalty kick.  “It was weird, usually the referee give advantage, but once he waived it off and gave us the corner, we had to take advantage, and we did,” Earthquakes’ Head Coach Mark Watson commented after the game.

Republic FC dominated much of the second half, but San Jose was able to find the game winner off of a counter attack in the 73rd minute. Cordell Cato found a ball just inside the 18-yard box and hit it low to find its way into the net for the game winner.

Sacramento forced Bingham to come up big at the end of the game, as he made a couple of amazing saves to keep the win and preventing the game go into extra time.

Sacramento was a lot hungrier and proved it by outshooting San Jose 14-9.  “They were motivated and they came out and pressed us right from the start.  After a slow start, we were able to get back into the game,” Watson added.

San Jose continues their U.S. Open Cup Run on June 24, and will take on the winner of Seattle Sounder and Elite PSA.  If Seattle wins, San Jose will travel to Seattle and if Elite PSA wins, San Jose will host the Round of 16 match.

Earthquakes Explode for Three Goals in Dominant Win Over Houston

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By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–The San Jose Earthquakes earned their second consecutive home win on Sunday Night with an impressive three goal win over the Houston Dynamo.  The win for San Jose also marks the fifth straight time the home team takes away at least one point from Buck Shaw Stadium.

The Earthquakes were able to do it without star, Chris Wondolowski, who is on leave for the United States National Team, in which he was named to the World Cup team earlier this week.  “The guys are trying to fill the void of not having Wondo, and it clearly worked tonight,” said Earthquakes Head Coach, Mark Watson.

Khari Stephenson lead the charge for the Quakes with two goals, his first two of the season.  The first came in the 37th minute after a miscue from the Dynamo lead to an indirect kick for San Jose.  After a tap of the ball from teammate, Shea Salinas,  Stephenson drilled it into the bottom left corner of the net to take the 1-0 lead.  It wouldn’t be until the Second Half until Stephenson scored his second goal.  Steven Lenhart created the opportunity by being a pest in the 18-yard box and drawing a foul.  Stephenson found the bottom left corner again on the penalty kick in the 58th minute.

Atiba Harris capped off the scoring with his first of the season that came off of a hustle play.  On a bouning ball to Houston Goalkeeper Tally Hall, Harris steeped up and applied pressure, beating the keeper to the ball with his head.  The ball took a home bounce of the post and found Harris for the tap in.

Houston forced Quakes Goalkeeper, Jon Busch, to come up huge to earn his clean sheet.  The Dynamo outshoot the Quakes 13-12 and 6-4 with shots on target.  Houston had their best chances come in the 30th and 33rd minutes, as Busch stopped three of the six on target in that span.  In the 30th minute, Warren Creavalle headed a cross inside the six-yard box forcing Busch to make the diving save to his right.  Only three minutes later, Houston found a header once again in the six-yard box off the head of Will Bruin.  Busch made the initial save, but the rebound found the foot of Bruin, where Busch somehow found a way to get in front of that shot as well.  “Those two stops kept us in the game,” added Watson.  Busch earns his fourth clean sheet of the season in the win.

San Jose earns three points in the win, however remains in sixth place in the Western Conference, only trailing the Colorado Rapids by two points.  The Quakes return to the pitch on Saturday, May 31 as they travel to take on FC Dallas.

Earthquakes lose 1-0 to Seattle

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By: Phillip Torres

SEATTLE- The San Jose Earthquakes fell 1-0 to the Seattle Sounders on Saturday at Centurylink Field. Obafemi Martins scored the lone goal of the game for Seattle and sent the Sounders to victory. The loss was the Earthquakes fourth on the season.

San Jose dressed only 16 players, two short of the maximum that they could have dressed. The Earthquakes were short two men because of injuries. Although San Jose was short two men, they still played a competitive game losing just 1-0 against the (8-3-1) Sounders.

The Earthquakes played without their normal starters; Chris Wondolowski, Clarence Goodson, Victor Bernardez, Alan Gordon, Steven Lenhart, Yannick Djalo and Andy Gorlitz.

The Earthquakes will be back on the field on Sunday, May 25 as they will host the Houston Dynamo at Buck Shaw Stadium. Kickoff will be at 7:30 pm.

Quakes “Survive the Storm” for Second Win of 2014

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By Matthew Harrington

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On a night when the San Jose Earthquakes turned back the clock, donning kits similar to their original NASL iterations in their first season in 1974, the best ally for the club to prove the victors turned out to be a forward ticking timer. The Earthquakes scored the first two goals then weathered an FC Dallas barrage to cling to a 2-1 lead and collect three points at Buck Shaw Stadium Saturday night.

“We survived the storm,” remarked defender Jordan Stewart.

Midfielder Cordell Cato connected on his first goal of the season for the Quakes (2-3-4) beating Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez in the 25th minute. The Quakes were also beneficiaries of an opponent own goal. San Jose played down a man for more than half the game after officials sent Shea Salinas off with a red card in the 45th minute.

“That was quite a night,” said San Jose coach Mark Watson. “To use the old cliché, it was a tale of two halves. I thought in the first half we played well, got the goal and had a chance to make it two-nil. The second half was just about sticking together defending and seeing the game out.”

After receiving a perfect header from Clarence Goodson, Cato found himself on breakaway staring down only Dallas keeper Fernandez. Cato struck a low shot to the left passed Fernandez for a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute. San Jose netminder Jon Busch was awarded the second assist on the marker, his first career helper, after firing a pass up-field to Goodson.

“I saw a big body up there, I thought it was Alan (Gordon),” said Busch. “I saw a big body and I just said I’m just going to hit it down the middle to one of the big bodies and something good will happen. And something good did happen.”

San Jose honored former player, coach and general manager Johnny Moore by inducting him into the team’s Hall of Fame Saturday. It was a big night for the former wearer of number 8, but his present day counterpart nearly stole some of his thunder. On a Quakes free kick in the 73rd minute, Chris Wondolowski appeared to net the second goal of the game. The replay showed that, despite the perfect placement, Wondolowski’s left foot narrowly missed the ball. Instead, it was ruled a Dallas own goal off the boot of David Texeira for a Quakes 2-0 edge.

“To be honest, it was nice to get a bounce our way,” said Wondolowski of the own goal. “On Wednesday night (a 0-0 tie against Colorado at Buck Shaw) we didn’t get those bounces. We’ve been unlucky this season so it was nice to get a bounce.”

FC Dallas pressured San Jose throughout the night with forwards Fabian Castillo and Blas Perez combining on a number of Grade-A chances that Busch and company turned aside, including a chance in the 57th minute that crossed over the goal line but somehow managed to stay out.

“We do drills like that in training during the week,” said Busch. “You make the first save and get across the goal. I was fortunate enough that I got it quick enough and was able to make a play on the second shot that came off the post and came all the way across.”

Dallas finally broke through in the 76th minute after Michel beat Busch on a perfectly placed from just outside the penalty box. The Dallas midfielder tucked a perfect ball right into the top left corner for the sole visiting tally, his fifth of the season. Busch bounced back to hold the score and seal the win.

“I wish I could say I’m shocked,” said Wondolowski. “I see it every day. He does a great job. He’s a great goalie.”

Busch credited his teammates for playing strong in front of him.

“We needed this one badly,” said the keeper. “I can’t be prouder of the boys, they just battled through a lot of adversity. You take a red card just before halftime against a very good possession team, so you know you’re going to take wave after wave.”

With the Quakes already fighting an uphill battle, down a man with five other players booked for yellow cards, the deck appeared further stacked in Dallas’ favor when a generous six minutes of stoppage time were added at the end of play. The only major delay in the second half came when Alan Gordon went down in the 56th minute, but he quickly moved to the sideline along with the Earthquakes trainer before being subbed out in favor of J.J. Koval. Gordon told the media after the game that he doesn’t expect to miss any time and just suffered from dead legs Saturday night.

“I thought it was a long time,” said Watson. “The referee said the Alan Gordon injury was three minutes. There’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t change your mind, but I thought it was a little bit too much.”

Dallas took full advantage of the extra time, putting a salvo of shots on Busch to try to steal a point on the road. Despite a few close calls, the Quakes managed to pull out the victory for their second win this season, both coming at Buck Shaw Stadium.

“I think it shows the character this team has,” said Watson. “We’ve always had that. I thought tonight was a perfect example of that. Under extreme circumstances, all the things going on, we kept fighting and battling.”

The Quakes look to build off Saturday’s adversity laden win when they travel to Seattle to face the Sounders at the inhospitable CenturyLink Field next Saturday.

“Hopefully this gets us going,” said Busch. “We had a similar performance the other night, just couldn’t get the goal we needed. Tonight we got the two goals we needed. Hopefully we can take from this and move forward.”

The Quakes may soon be moving forward without the club’s all-time leading scorer. Chris Wondolowski may soon be joining the United States Men’s National Team for World Cup duty, including a May 27th tune-up at Candle Stick Park against Azerbaijan.

“We got a win, that was good.” Said Wondolowski. “If I am leaving, I wish I was leaving with us in first place. It is what it is. I know these guys are going to do a great job.”

Rapid’s Goal Keeper Irwin Heroic in 0-0 Draw

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Photo Credit: sjearthquakes.com
Photo Credit: sjearthquakes.com

By: Joe Lami

SANTA CLARA, Calif–For the second straight match between the Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Earthquakes it ends scoreless, as the April 20th match also ended in a 0-0 draw.

Chances were seen from both squads with 31 total shots taken.  The Rapids outshot the home side 16-15.  However, the Quakes had the upper hand in shots on target 7-4, forcing Colorado Goal Keeper Clint Irwin to play an outstanding game.

The Quakes had a couple of outstanding chances, the first one coming in the tenth minute when a cross sent into the box by Midfielder, Atiba Harris found Striker, Chris Wondolowski.  However, Wondolowski misplayed the ball, which prevented him from scoring his team leading sixth goal of the campaign.

Another chance came for San Jose in the 23rd minute off of a corner kick set up by Shea Salinas.  Salinas decided to play the corner short.  He ended up with the ball of the left side of the box then striking it right at Rapid’s Keeper, Irwin.  Irwin was able to come up with the easy save.

Quakes’ Defender, Andreas Gorlitz, was substituted at the 45th minute with a right knee injury after a risky challenge by Colorado Midfielder, Charles Eloundou.  The challenege handed Eloundou the first yellow card of the game. “It doesn’t look good, it could be the end of the season type of thing,” explained Earthquakes Head Coach, Mark Watson.  Wondolowski added “it makes stomachs turn seeing injuries like that happen.  It doesn’t matter which team the player was on.”

The Quakes came out firing in the second half as well, with good chances coming from Alan Gordon and Wondolowski in the first 15 minutes of the half.  San Jose’s best chance of the game came off of the boot of Harris as he struck one towards net.  The ball was sure to find the back of the net until Irwin made a sprawling save to his right to keep the game even keel.

It wouldn’t be Earthquakes soccer if they hadn’t tried to get one late to win the game, and it almost came to fruition when a ball of the foot of Wondolowski found the right post and kicked right and away from the goal.

An impressive performance from the Quakes ends in disappointment once again, as they are unable to get on the board to earn a much needed 3-point game.  “We faced a great goal keeper tonight and of course it’s frustrating when you can’t get one by him, but we have to keep plugging away and can’t get ourselves down,” commented Wondolowski.  “I believe we did well, we created a lot more chances, and it was a good stepping stone,” added Harris.

The Earthquakes don’t have much time to rest as they are back to action at Buck Shaw Stadium this Saturday hosting FC Dallas.

Small Package Delivers Huge First Win of 2014 for Earthquakes

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By Matthew Harrington

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The man who stands shortest on the Earthquakes squad elevated his game head and shoulders above his competition in San Jose’s first win of the 2014 season. Minute midfielder Yannick Djalo tallied his first MLS goal in a 1-0 triumph over visiting Chivas USA at Buck Shaw Stadium, providing a scoring spark in the 66th minute for the scuffling San Jose side after subbing in to open the second half. San Jose was booked for three yellow cards in a physical tilt, while the visitors were assessed two yellows and a red card, a booking on their goalkeeper for playing a ball outside of the penalty box.

The Quakes (1-2-3) opened play Saturday knotted with Montreal for the fewest points in the MLS standings, but Chivas proved just the opponent to help San Jose turn around its five-game winless streak in 2014. San Jose has not lost to Chivas in any of the encounters over the last two seasons.

The Rojiblancos (1-4-3) took their 2014 season opener 3-2 over visiting Chicago but failed to find the W in six consecutive games to sit just three points ahead of San Jose in the league table. With the win, the Earthquakes tied Chivas with six points earned on the campaign.

“You never want to wait too long for the first one,” said Earthquakes coach Mark Watson. “We’ve waited a little bit. It’s a relief. We still have work to do. It’s three points. We take it, we run with it and we get back to work on Monday.”

Djalo, an import on loan from Sport Lisbon e Benefica of Portugal’s Primeira Liga, received a Shea Salinas cross and tucked a bouncer just inside of the left post for a precision strike out of reach of diving Chivas keeper Dan Kennedy.

“It was a great team play,” said Djalo through an interpreter. “Salinas made a great pass over to me. I was happy to score the goal, but it was the high level of the team that got the goal. The ball made the goal. I just wanted to focus and put it into the corner.”

The winning volley marks the first career MLS goal for the five-foot-six veteran of 166 professional games, all abroad, in only his fourth game in the States.

“The teams are all competitive here,” said Djalo of the MLS. “That makes every game competitive. There’s a lot of hard work to be done. That makes me excited every game.”

For Djalo, the issue hasn’t been adjusting to the league as much as it has been overcoming injury, chiefly tightness in his right hamstring that has limited his availability in the early going. Watson utilized Djalo sparingly in his three previous MLS engagements, coming on in the 79th minute or later in two of three appearances. He entered the game at the half in March 13th’s loss to the Columbus Crew for his longest stint before tonight.

“Last week I wasn’t in the condition to play,” said Djalo. “I was a little sore still and couldn’t get through a game. Thanks to the work of the medical staff here, they did a great job with me all week. I was able to get on the field for 45 minutes. I hope that’s going to be a little bit more.”

“There was an argument to start him,” said Watson. “We felt with the way his hamstring has been the last couple of weeks, it wasn’t the prudent thing to do. He’s getting close. He’s a real dynamic player. He helps us when he’s on the pitch.”

For the second straight game, Quakes keeper Jon Busch collected the clean sheet, blanking the Rojiblancos one week after shutting out the Colorado Rapids in a scoreless draw on the road. Busch handled all three shots labelled for the San Jose net, while his defenders managed a pair of blocked shots and forced 10 Rojiblanco shots off target.

“We’ve got some tremendous defenders on this team,” said Busch. “It’s coming together very nicely defensively. I thought Victor (Bernardez) and Clarence (Goodson) did a beautiful job dealing with some very dangerous crosses. I was very happy with them in front of me. They were tremendous tonight.”

The Quake defense proved especially stout against Chivas striker Erick Torres. Torres took the pitch tied with Clint Dempsey for the MLS in goals atop the chase for the Golden Boot. Though Torres’ loaded foot had already found the back of the net six times previously this season, San Jose kept him off the sheet. Torres managed multiple chances on net by way of kick and header, but none found their mark thanks to his opposition’s containment.

“The defense played strong,” said Watson. “That’s one of the things we’ve been working on, being tougher to break down. Getting two shutouts in a row helps us confidence-wise. There are still little things we need to do.”

Proving defensively stout has been critical for the denizens of Buck Shaw Stadium as they slog through a scoring drought. San Jose owns only one game with more than one goal scored in their favor this season in six attempts. A handful of injuries to start the season have hampered San Jose’s offensive rhythm, especially at the midfield position, but the team appears close to being on the mend.

“We work every day on both sides of the ball,” said Watson. “I don’t think the team is where it needs to be. The group’s getting healthy, which helps. We get more time to work together as a group and we’ll continue to do that.”

Among the wounded rounding into form, Watson put heavy emphasis on what a hampered Djalo has brought, and what the expectations for him will be when he’s at full strength.

“Right from the start of the second half, he gave us that little spark,” said Watson. “The thing with him is, he’s got a good technical base. He can get out of pressure. He’s most dangerous when he can get space, when he runs. He made a great run to the far post and a great finish.

Despite a feeling around the team that the Portuguese player may be called upon to be San Jose’s next potent weapon, the smallish soccer star-in-waiting handles the weight with aplomb.

“Everyone feels the same pressure,” said Djalo. “You have to come into the game, do the best you can, contribute to the team and try to get wins. The pressure is the same for everybody. I play the game to help contribute to my teammates. They go through a lot of hard work every week, every game. I just want to help them succeed.”

Saturday’s score certainly made Djalo a popular man, both with the fans and his new teammates who now know what it feels like to have a mark under the win column in the league standings. The Earthquakes now carry a little less pressure heading into next week’s showdown in Vancouver against the Whitecaps no longer mired in last place in the Western Conference.

“We got the monkey off our back,” said Busch. “Hopefully we can relax and play our game.”