Tag: San Jose Earthquakes

Galaxy too much for Earthquakes in 2-1 win in the California Classico

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Los Angeles Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljic celebrates his goal over the San Jose Earthquakes in his team’s 2-1 win at Dignity Health Park on Sunday MAY 14, 2023. (Los Angeles Galaxy)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Los Angeles attacked and pressed their way to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in the 97th installment of the California Classico on Sunday evening at Dignity Health Park.

San Jose had its seven-match point streak snapped. Los Angeles snapped its two-game losing streak with just its second win on the season.

A scoreless first half featured both teams that tried to establish a physical presence with a combined total of 14 fouls in the opening 45 minutes. Los Angeles controlled the possession by a 57%-43 margin. The home team had the majority of scoring chances while San Jose tried counter-attacking only to turnover the ball on the final third of the pitch.

San Jose’s (5-4-3) best chance came early in the sixth minute when Christian Espinoza centered a ball over to Jeremy Ebobisse inside the box, but Ebobisse’s header attempt was easily saved by Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond, who made his return from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss seven matches he suffered on March 18th.

Los Angeles (2-6-3) best came a minute later when Chicharito chipped the ball just wide right of the net past ‘Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski.

The Galaxy drew first blood off a set piece in the 60th minute on a controversial play. Memo Rodríguez’s corner kick was headed in by Martín Cáceres for his first goal of the season. San Jose contended that Cáceres’ hand touched the ball before he headed the ball in, but referee Joe Dickerson ruled it a good goal.

“I think our performance was not good. We can play better than that. Our quality in the attacking third. We had more turnovers than we’re used to. It comes down to connections and quality,” ‘Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez said.

Los Angeles iced the game in the first minute of stoppage time when Dejan Joveljic, who had just come into the game substituting in for Chicharito, stripped the ball away from Jonathan Mensah and dribbled in on Marcinkowski before depositing the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.

San Jose spoiled Bond’s shutout bid in the final minute of stoppage time when Ousseni Bouda got behind the defense inside the box and buried a shot past Bond for his first goal of the season. It was too little too late for San Jose as time expired on the ensuing kickoff.

Bond finished the match with two saves on three shots to earn the victory. Marcinkowski made three saves on five shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with two corner kicks. Los Angeles had four.

The Galaxy lead the overall series 39-25-16.

Until tonight’s match, the away side had won four of the previous matches and San Jose has won five of the past nine matches down in LA.

Ebobisse had his goal streak in Los Angeles snapped as he had scored in all five previous road games (seven goals). He has scored eight goals in 11 matches vs LA.

UP NEXT: San Jose concludes its two-game LA road trip when they take on LAFC on Saturday 5/20 at 7:30pm at BMO Stadium.

Earthquakes battle to 2-2 draw with Austin FC

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San Jose Earthquakes Cade Cowell positions for the ball against Austin FC’s Nick Lima in a 2-2 draw at Q2 Stadium on Saturday APR 29, 2023. (Major League Soccer)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Earthquakes played to a hard fought 2-2 draw with Austin FC on Saturday evening at Q2 Stadium.

San Jose has points in five of its past six matches. Austin FC is winless in its past six matches (0-3-3).

The Earthquakes drew first blood in the 21st minute. Carlos Akapo slipped a pass inside the box to Jackson Yuell. The ‘Quakes captain turned around a fired a curling left footed shot from 15 yards out for his first goal of the season.

Austin FC scored the equalizer in the 40th minute. A long ball into the box was headed back into the middle by Rodney Redes and Emiliano Rigoni blasted a one-timer into the upper corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

San Jose regained late in the second half. Christian Espinoza centered the ball into the middle where an unmarked Jeremy Ebobisse headed the ball just underneath the cross bar and over the goal line for his fifth goal of the season in the 75th minute.

Espinoza recorded his 49th assist, one shy of tying Shea Salinas’ club record of 50.

“Christian (Espinoza) is going to become the all time (assist) leader (of San Jose) and he’s not going to need me for that. We can be appreciative of the moment tonight. We have to be hungry…we have to demand more of ourselves to be more lethal,” Ebobisse said.

Austin FC evened the score three minutes later. Fullback Nick Lima sent a ball into the box from 25 yards out where Sebastian Driussi headed the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.

Things got chippy in the final minute of stoppage time when Yueill and Daniel Pereira were issued yellow cards for a bad foul and unsportsmanlike conduct.

‘Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski finished the match with two saves on four shots on target. Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver made one save on three shots on target.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with 12 corner kicks. Austin FC has nine.

San Jose remains unbeaten in six all time meetings against Austin FC 2-0-4.

In the ‘Quakes past 22 matches they have suffered back-to-back losses only once.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts LAFC on Saturday 5/6 at 4:30pm at Levi’s Stadium.

Racial slur accusation overshadows Earthquakes and Red Bulls 1-1 draw

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San Jose Earthquakes celebrate Christian Espinoza’s goal in the second half against the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on Saturday APR 7, 2023. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

An alleged racial slur used by one of the New York Red Bulls marred the match between the San Jose Earthquakes and the New York Red Bulls that ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday evening at Red Bull Arena.

After a foul by Judson on Dylan Nealis in the 54th minute, the game was delayed by 18 minutes after a incident between Dante Vanzeir and Jeremy Ebobbise took place. Vanzeir was the player who allegedly used the racial slur toward one of the Quakes players.

Played resumed in the 72nd minute without any further disciplinary action by the officials.

San Jose (3-2-2) scored in the 80th minute when Carlos Gruezo sent in a long ball over to Christian Espinoza along the right wing. Espinoza made one move to the inside before firing a shot into the back of the net for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Espinoza has scored the last four goals for the ‘Quakes.

Due to the long delay, 21 minutes was added to the end of the second half.

The Red Bulls scored the equalizer in the 17th minute of stoppage when Tom Barlow cleaned up a rebound from close range for his first goal of the season.

Ebobbise was emotional after the game regarding the incident on the field.

“First of all, it’s a difficult game when we play the Red Bulls. We have a lot of respect for their style of play. We understand there is going to be a lot of duels and they go strong into the duels. At times, that results in late tackles on our end, and then on their end. That’s all part of the game. What we saw tonight should not be part of the game. I can’t correlate the various actions or the timeline that I’m going to lay out, but with what started with a foul that was being committed by Judson, fast forward a few minutes, seconds, and it ended with a racial epithet being used. Now, I understand there is going to be an investigation. I’ve been a part of those. I’ve had to support teammates through them. I have seen them, so I want to be mindful of that even as I share. I think what’s important for me to share is that I know what I heard. And the reason why I felt, after a lengthy conversation, that we should continue with the game is because the player who said the word claimed that it was not aimed at any of us. Whether that is a good faith comment or not, again, we’ll see how the investigation goes on. It’s just a difficult moment. Once again, players being put in charge, forced to make a decision, manage all sorts of emotions because the system is not robust enough to capture moments and gain clarity within a matter of minutes, seconds that these actions happen. I think what’s important is that the team was united in whichever step we move forward with. And that goes top to bottom, from coaches to players,” Ebobbise said.

‘Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez praised his team for how they handled themselves during and after the alleged incident.

“It’s unfortunate that the players and people near and on the field had to experience a 20-minute moment where, I can’t speak factually, but when I listen to my players in terms of what was said or not said, or who it was directed to, there are things that are unacceptable and very unfortunate, very disappointing, that take precedent over the game we play. I have to be really proud of our players to be together in solidarity, to talk, to decide and to obviously not accept what they heard. I don’t know what the next step is. I would hope the league will take this serious to the max degree in terms of an investigation and there being consequences, potentially indefinite consequences if the investigation supports what are players understood as being true. We as a club, myself as the head coach, and the staff are going to support the players, any step moving forward that the players want to act on, and we hope and count on the league, and the referee crew as well, in terms of investigating, coming down to the truth so that there can be actions that, don’t make it right, that’s for sure, but at least show that it’s unacceptable and the league will act on that based on our standard as a society and as being a top professional league in this country. Unfortunately, the game is in a shadow because of that situation because it’s less important.”

Both teams and MLS are aware of the incident that took place, and the league said in a statement that it will launch an investigation into the matter.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the match with four corner kicks. New York had five.

The Quakes are now 17-15-10 all-time vs. the New York Red Bulls, including an 4-11-7 record on the road. The result snaps a four-match losing streak against the club.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday 4/15 at 7:30pm at Pay Pal Park.

Rough first half leads to loss for Earthquakes 3-0

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes Twitter. The Earthquakes huddle up before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On the road the Earthquakes came out with a disappointing performance and dropped their first game of the regular season 3-0 against St. Louis.

For San Jose JT Marcinkowski got the start while for St. Louis Roman Bürki was in between the pipes.

Penalty trouble came early in this match for San Jose as at the 14th minute Rodrigues was given a yellow card on a foul.

At the 29th minute of the match the Earthquakes subbed in Michael Baldisimo for Carlos Gruezo.

The scoring got started at the 34th minute as forward Nicholas Gioacchini scored his first goal of the season.

The foul trouble continued in this game as Miguel Trauco was given a yellow card at the 40th minute on another foul.

Three minutes of extra time was added in the first half and João Klauss capitalized on the extra time scoring for St. Louis and making it 2-0.

At halftime the Earthquakes made a couple substitutions as Paul Marie came on for Miguel Trauco and Benjamin Kikanović was subbed on for Tommy Thompson.

Not long after being subbed in Kikanović was also given a yellow card on a foul as well.

At the 58th minute another substitution was made as Tanner Beason came on for Rodrigues.

The 64th minute saw more foul trouble for San Jose as Cade Cowell this time was hit with a yellow card.

While the beginning of the half saw the Earthquakes getting a few chances later in the half at the 68th minute of the match Tomás Ostrák scored for St. Louis putting the game away.

The win for St. Louis was historic though as they are the first expansion team in MLS history to win their first four games of their existence.

Looking at some quick number the possession percentage in the match favored San Jose at 55.1% to 44.9%. The shots in the match favored St. Louis 20-13 with shots on goal also favoring St. Louis at 8-2.

As noted throughout this recap in total San Jose took five yellow cards while St. Louis was only given one.

The Earthquakes next game will be against Toronto on March 25th at 7:30 p.m. at home.

Earthquakes drop opening game of regular season against Atlanta 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes Twitter. Cristian Espinoza dribbles the ball upfield.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose hoped to open their regular season on the right foot but unfortunately faltered right at the finish losing against Atlanta 2-1.

For the Earthquakes Daniel De Sousa Brito started in net while Brad Guzan started for Atlanta.

An important debut was made as well in tonights game as Carlos Akapo made his first appearance for San Jose.

The Earthquakes in this match got off to as good of a start as a team could ask for as at the 12′ mark of the first half the offense struck gold.

The goal started off with Rodrigues crossing it beautifully to Espinoza who found Jeremy Ebobisse crashing the net who headed it home making it 1-0.

Despite the good start just a minute after the goal Carlos Cruezo was handed a yellow card on a foul.

On the foul Atlanta was awarded a penalty shot which went wide.

At the end of the first half the score remained the same at 1-0.

The second half was closely played with Atlanta pushing to tie the match at one.

At the 85′ mark of the second half the Earthquakes made three substitutions putting in Tanner Beason, Jack Skahan, and Michael Baldisimo. While Miguel Trauco, Cristian Espinoza, and Jamiro Monteiro were taken off.

The 90′ mark had another yellow card given out to San Jose this time Benjamin Kikanovic was given the foul.

In the extra time was when Atlanta did their damage as at the 90′ +3′ mark Thiago Almada scored to tie the match up at one.

On the goal though Almada was also given a yellow card for excessive celebration.

That did not seem to deter Almada who instead scored another goal this time at the 90′ +9′ mark to give Atlanta the lead.

With that goal Almada put the game away as San Jose could not respond.

The Earthquakes next game will be on March 4th against Vancouver at home at 7:30 p.m.

Earthquakes get another preseason win over Minnesota United FC 4-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes. Earthquakes players celebrate after scoring against Minnesota United FC on February 15th.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

After a quick start the Earthquakes were able to hold on to a victory over Minnesota United FC by a final of 4-1.

In goal for San Jose was Daniel De Sousa Brito.

Cristian Espinoza got the game started off on the right foot as he scored early finishing on a nice cross.

Feeling the momentum Espinoza was given another great opportunity and scored again getting two goals in the first nine minutes of the game.

On a penalty though Minnesota United FC struck back cutting San Jose’s lead in half.

That ended up being the score going into halftime with the Earthquakes still holding on to their lead.

In the second half San Jose stuck first as Carlos Akapo fead Niko Tsakiris in the box who settled the ball turned around and scored making it 3-1.

On a corner kick this time Daniel Munie scored on a header extending the lead to 4-1 in favor of the Earthquakes.

That score would hold as San Jose got the win 4-1 over Minnesota United FC.

The Earthquakes final preseason game will be against the New York Red Bulls this Saturday at 10 a.m.

Earthquakes come away with victory in preseason over D.C. United 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Earthquakes. Midfielder Jamiro Monteiro running during practice on February 7th 2023.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In their second game of the preseason the Earthquakes rode a strong first half to victory over D.C. United winning by a final of 2-1.

For San Jose JT Marcinkowski started between the pipes looking to get the victory. While forward Jeremy Ebobisse started in the striker spot.

Things got off to a solid start for the Earthquakes as on a corner kick Jamiro Monteiro ended up with the ball in a perfect striking position and scored making it 1-0.

Following that up on a beautiful cross Cristian Espinoza struck the ball with precision and scored over the D.C. goalkeeper making it a 2-0 match.

San Jose held that lead until half.

In the second half the Earthquakes started off with some solid possession and passing keeping United on their heels.

On a penalty though D.C. did score making it a 2-1 game in the second half.

Despite the goal San Jose was able to hold on and got the victory by a final of 2-1.

The Earthquakes next game in their preseason schedule will be against Minnesota United FC at 12 p.m. on February 15th.

Earthquakes new head coach looks to change culture in 2023

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Striker Cade Cowell looks to drive the ball during Quakes training camp on Thursday JAN 12, 2023. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE —To say 2022 was a tumultuous year for the San Jose Earthquakes was an understatement.

It was the first season post Chris Wondolowski, who had retired after the 2021 season, and then head coach Matias Almeyda tried everything he could to get himself relieved of his duties. Matias was gone after San Jose began the season winless in their first seven games.

Interim coach Alex Covelo did his best to calm the sinking ship, but the team still struggled as they finished with an 8-15-11 (35 points) and dead last in the Western Conference.

General Manager Chris Leitch hired former FC Dallas head coach and at the time assistant coach for the US Men’s National Team, Luchi Gonzalez on August 17, 2022. Gonzalez would take over the team once Team USA exited out of the 2022 World Cup that concluded last month.

This week training camp opened for the Quakes and it was the first chance the media was able to get a first look at his coaching style.

The roster, which returns Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse, Cade Cowell, and Nathan, were broken into groups and were participating in ball drills throughout the majority of practice and less conditioning drills. A complete 180 from last season and during Almeyda’s regime.

When asked what was the main thing that stood out about Gonzalez, Ebobisse said Luchi’s ability to communicate with the team.

“He’s really eager to communicate with his players. I think everyone has gotten time to speak to him directly, on the field or off the field. He (Gonzalez) wants to get to know us, wants to build a cohesive family environment, which he already has been, but want to take it to another level. I think if we continue to build trust in one another, integrate the new guys, that trust should show on the field in good moments and moments of adversity when we try to fight back,” Ebobisee said.

Up and coming forward Niko Tsakiris, who is looking to play more minutes in 2023 after a promising start last season, said he’s excited to have a clean slate and is looking forward to learning and benefitting from Gonzalez’s system.

“New change, new faces with the staff and the team. It’s been to kind of see a new way of play. We’re excited for the (upcoming) season for sure,” Tsakiris said.

One big challenge a new head coach faces is not just getting the players to believe in his system but to hold the players accountable from the start of the season to the end. Gonzalez, who run sprints with his coaching staff after practice concluded, said it’s up to him and his staff to set the example of accountability in order it to trickle down to his players.

“It starts with myself as the coach,” Gonzalez said. “We need to mirror our accountability. Like human beings, it’s the mirror effect. We want to show that every day we want to get better. We want to show that we respond to adversity. We want to show an intensity and a relentlessness in our training. If we model that as a staff, I think the players, I believe think they take that on and collectively move in the right direction.”

Espinoza, who was the catalyst for San Jose’s offense last season, expects the Quakes to figure out their identity during the preseason and likes what Gonzalez has brought to the table after only training under him for the past few days.

“He (Gonzalez) just has a different mindset,” said Espinoza through a translator. “He’s bringing in new ideas. For him to be a coach that has (recently) gone through a World Cup and has that under his belt now, just gives you these different qualities and mindsets. I think that’s going to be really special for us and something we can use to our advantage.

Gonzalez has six weeks to get his team ready for its first regular season match against Atlanta United on February 25th. Whatever the result, San Jose is in much better place than a year ago at this time with the stability that Gonzalez brings to a team that desperately needed a culture change.

Earthquakes comeback to draw 2-2 with Sounders in season finale

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Jeremey Ebobissee celebrates his 17th goal of the season with his teammates at Lumen Field on Sunday OCT 9, 2022. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

It’s the end of an era, be it a short one.

The San Jose Earthquakes came back from a one goal deficit in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw with the Seattle Sounders in their season finale on Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field.

San Jose finished their turbulent 2022 season with an 8-15-11 record and 35 points to finish dead last in the Western Conference. Seattle had a subpar season finishing with a 12-17-5 record and 41 points to finish in 11th place and out of the playoffs.

This match marked the final one for interim head coach Alex Covelo, who took over for Matias Almeyda after he was dismissed following an 0-6 start. Covelo won his final home match last weekend, a 2-0 victory over Minnesota United.

The Quakes finished with an 8-11-8 record in MLS play under Covelo. Next season the ‘Quakes will be led by recently hired head coach Luchi Gonzalez, who is currently an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team that will be playing in the World Cup next month in Qatar.

“I talked about my emotions the other day. I didn’t talk about it in the past and I am not going to talk now. I think that these guys, this locker room, is very unique. They are very unified, and they are enjoying the way that we are playing. And at the same time, I cannot be more proud. We are working here everyday downstairs, every day with the players, from the medical part and also with Wondo [Chris Wondolowski], Lucho [Luciano Fusco], Steve [Ralston]. We have a lot of value, not only provisional but also as human beings, which is very important. But I am not going to talk more about emotions,” Covelo said.

Seattle drew first blood in the match’s opening minute. Alex Roldan crossed a ball into the middle over to Nicholas Lodeiro who one-timed a left footed shot past ‘Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski for his sixth goal of the season.

San Jose answered back three minutes later. A shot from Cristian Espinoza was punched out to the middle by Souders goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland. Jeremy Ebobisse cleaned up the rebound for his team leading 17th goal of the season.

It was also Ebobisse’s 44th of his MLS career. He set a new single-season career-high in goals and finished the season third in goals among all American players in MLS, only behind FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez (18) and FC Dallas’ Jesus Ferreira (18).

Lodeiro gave the Sounders back their lead in the 49th minute when he recorded his brace. A corner kick was headed back to the D and Lodeiro one-timed the ball out of the air with a power shot into the left corner of the net for his seventh goal of the season, which was second best on the Sounders.

San Jose scored the equalizer in the 75th minute. Defender Miguel Trauco found Cade Cowell along the left sideline. Cowell dribbled down the middle before pin placing a right footed shot past Cleveland into the lower right corner of the net for his third goal of the season.

“It shows a lot of what we have been doing this year. This is a resilient team. I think we battled until the end, and there is a lot of character and a lot of passion in the locker room. The guys have been fantastic the whole year. This is a hard place to play, and although they are not in the MLS Playoffs, they’re a really, really, really good team. To play how we did, we suffered at times, but it was a positive end to the season and I’m proud of the guy’s work today,” ‘Quakes captain Jackson Yueill said.

Marinkowski finished the match with four saves on six shots on target in his final match of the season. Cleveland made two saves on four shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with one corner kicks. Seattle had four.

San Jose is now 12-15-9 all-time vs. Seattle Sounders FC, including a 6-10-3 record on the road.

Trauco made his first MLS start, playing 78 minutes. He also tallied an assist on Cade Cowell’s goal, marking his second assist of the season and of his MLS career. He has now tallied two assists in his last three matches.

Salinas goes out a hero in final home match of his career in Earthquakes 2-0 shutout win over Minnesota United

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Shea Salinas being celebrated by his teammates after his final home match, a 2-0 win over Minnesota FC, at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Saturday Oct 1, 2022. (San Jose Earthquakes)

by Marko Ukalovic

It was a swan sung to remember for Shea Salinas.

The San Jose Earthquakes veteran midfielder, who played in his final home match of his storied career, scored the game winning goal in a 2-0 shutout victory over the Minnesota United on Saturday evening in the home season finale at Pay Pal Park.

Salinas, who announced his retirement from the game this past Wednesday, was given the start in the midfield by interim head coach Alex Covelo in his final home match of his career.

He made the most of his 63 minutes on the pitch with the goal on two shots. The Man of the Match received a standing ovation from the ‘Quakes faithful on hand that witnessed the final time he donned the home jersey. Covelo substituted in forward Benji Kikanovic in the 64th minute.

Salinas’ goal came in the 52nd minute off a free kick just inside the D. His shot deflected off the leg off Emmanuel Reynoso and past United goalkeeper David St. Clair for his first goal of the season. It was the 22nd goal of his 15-year career in his 375th MLS appearance.

Salinas set up his own goal two minutes earlier when he intercepted a pass at midfield and raced down the middle of the pitch only to be tripped up by Michael Boxall before making a shot attempt on net.

“Tonight was special, (it fees) still kind of surreal, the whole thing,” Salinas said after the match. “It doesn’t feel like the last game (at home). I felt good out there but (I’m) also excited for the future. I thought it was a good way to end it, it was fun.”

San Jose won just their eight match of the season with one left go before they wrap it up for 2022. It was big blow to Minnesota’s playoff hopes as they weren’t able to gain any ground as they stood stuck with 45 points, one point ahead of Real Salt Lake for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They are 0-5-1 in their last six matches.

“For me, to coach Shea (Salinas) is a pleasure. I’ve known him since I came here in 2017. He always has been a role model on and off the field. I was on the bench in 2017 when Shea scored the second goal and gave us the victory that day at Stanford. It has been a pleasure,” Covelo said.

Kikanovic gave San Jose (8-15-10) an insurance goal in the 71st minute. Jeremy Ebobisee chipped a ball over Kikanovic out to the middle and he dribbled out the right wing before depositing the ball into the lower left corner for his sixth goal of the season.

Minnesota United (13-14-6) came out flat with hardly any desperation setting up a winner take all scenario heading into Decision Day next Sunday against Vancouver in a race that has five teams separated by only four points.

The best scoring chance for the visiting team came in the 48th minute when a shot from the left wing by Reynoso was knocked away by ‘Quakes goalkeeper JTMarcinkowski and out of danger.

Marcinkowsi finished the match stopping the two shots on target to earn his fourth clean sheet of the season. St. Clair made four saves on six shots on target in the losing effort.

In the end it was a scripted ending perfect for Salinas that everyone had hoped for but no one expected.

Salinas said to closed out by saying “It was pretty funny. They were huddled up, talking about some plan, and I was jokingly over their shoulder like, ‘Hey guys, I’m just going to shoot it,’ and I walked away. But they were like, ‘No, seriously, that’s fine. Shoot it.’ I haven’t taken a direct free kick my entire career.  I think God had this all planned out and I got to celebrate.”

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with seven corner kicks. Minnesota had six.

San Jose is now 5-4-2 all-time vs. Minnesota United FC, including a 3-2-1 record at PayPal Park.

The Earthquakes are now 8-11-7 in MLS play under Covelo.

Minnesota United had it seven match unbeaten streak snapped as they were 5-0-2 previously against San Jose

San Jose has scored 29 goals in the second half this season.

Salinas still holds the club record with 50 assists.

UP NEXT: San Jose closes out the regular season against the Seattle Sounders on Sunday 10/9 at 2:00pm at Lumen Field.