Tag: san jose

Winless Skid at 13 After Earthquakes Fall to Real Salt Lake 2-0

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Time is winding down for the San Jose Earthquakes to avoid starting next truly anew, free from any reminders of the struggles of the current campaign. Following a 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake Saturday evening at Rio Tinto Stadium, the Quakes are mired in a 13-game winless streak with three games left in the season. San Jose’s last victory came August 2nd in a 1-0 result against the Seattle Sounders, with the match serving as the inaugural event held at Levi’s Stadium.

Real took the lead on a 24th-minute strike from Ned Grabavoy, then Sebastian Velasquez beat San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch four minutes later for the final goal of the game. Salt Lake outshot the short-handed Quakes, more than doubling the Quakes attempts on net (9) with 20.

San Jose partook in its second-straight match short-handed with 17 players. Some notable faces like Atiba Harris (Saint Kitts and Nevis) and Cordell Cato (Trinidad and Tobago) answered the call for international play duties. Also absent from the backline was defender Victor Bernardez, joining his countrymen to represent Honduras in exhibition play.

The Earthquakes’ leading scorer, Chris Wondolowski, also was missing upfront after playing for the United States Men’s National Team in Friday’s 1-1 draw with Ecuador. The game, played at East Hartford, Connecticut’s Rentschler field, marked the final international appearance for former Earthquake Landon Donovan.

Up next for the Earthquakes is an international friendly, with the Quakes welcoming Victor Bernardez’s old Honduran side CDS Vida to Santa Clara. Following the friendly Tuesday, San Jose wraps up the home portion of the schedule with a Saturday evening showdown against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Saturday match-up, a contest pitting the Quakes against a desperate Vancouver squad looking to lock in the last spot in the Western Conference, marks the final game the Quakes will play at Buck Shaw Stadium. They’ll move to a new stadium expected to open at the start of next season. The Quakes still have one more road game, the best shot at snapping the winless skid. San Jose closes out the season at the Stub Hub Center against last place Chivas USA October 26th.

Timbers Rally to Eliminate Quakes From Contention

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The nightmare is over for the San Jose Earthquakes. Following a 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers (10-9-12, 42 points) Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium, the Quakes now officially have been eliminated from MLS Cup contention. No longer will a San Jose player have to talk about the faint possibility of making up points in the standings to make a postseason run in a campaign that from its onset seemed fated for a struggle.

There has been plenty of bad luck going around Santa Clara County. A smattering of injuries to backbone players, players like Steven Lenhart, Clarence Goodson and a litany of others, compounded with a lack of consistency among the healthy and an on-and-off scoring touch see the Quakes (6-13-11, 29 points) one spot ahead of Chivas USA, a team set to take a few seasons off following financial struggles, for dead last place in the Western Conference.

“A lot of good work and effort in front of our fans was all for naught tonight,” said Earthquakes defender Jason Hernandez. “They say you make your own luck. We try our hardest every night but we just can’t seem to get our heads above water. It’s very frustrating.”

Saturday’s game served as the perfect metaphor for the season. After a 56th minute Chris Wondolowski strike, his 14th of the season, handed San Jose the lead the Earthquakes looked on their way to their first win in 11 games. Perhaps in another season, that’d be the case. But in the year of misfortune, things wouldn’t be that easy for the men in blue.

“It was another frustrating night,” said head coach Mark Watson. “I thought we played well at times. We knew we were playing a good team who wanted to possess the ball. I thought we defended well and had a bunch of chances.”

Reminiscent of the last meeting between these two teams, the Timbers tied the game late, this time on a deflection by Rodney Wallace in the 71st minute. Just three minutes later, the bounces went against San Jose again, this time by way of the double-deflection goal for Wallace. Just like that, three points became one became none for San Jose.

“Portland is a good team, but to give up two deflection goals is the story of our season,” said Hernandez. “I’d love to have some deflection goals go in for us. I feel like we’ve been on the wrong end of things for most of the year.”

“The two goals they scored, the deflections, is the way our season is going,” added Watson. “I’m really disappointed for our guys. They came out motivated to win in front of their home fans, and once again, we leave disappointed.”

The Quakes hold a second chance to play spoiler to Portland’s playoff hopes Wednesday. They travel to the Pacific Northwest with a chance to Keep Portland, two points ahead of Vancouver for the final Western Conference playoff spot, from widening the gap.

For the Quakes, Wednesday could mark one of the final four games of Coach Mark Watson’s tenure as bench boss. Rumors have swirled that Watson, who took over as interim coach following the departure of Frank Yallop during the 2013 season, may be terminated at the end of the season. While it would be easy for Watson and co. to pack it up over the next few weeks, don’t expect to see the Quakes go soft.

“It’s about pride right now,” said Watson. “It’s about character, pride. Every time you step on the practice field or on the field for a game, you do your best, work as hard as you can. Fight for this club. I have no doubt our guys will do that right until the end of the season.”

Watson isn’t the only one facing uncertainty at season’s end. Many players are motivated to continue toiling away to earn a spot on a squad, be it with the Earthquakes or in the MLS and beyond.

“There’s plenty of motivation,” said Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch. “You play for points, you play for pride in the jersey, you play for pride in your own blood, and you’re playing for contracts. The list goes on and on. If you don’t have motivation to play then you just need to get out of here.”

Sharks’ shots don’t count in preseason opener Part 1

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Photo: The Canadian Press

By Pearl Allison Lo

Although San Jose had a overall 34-19 shot advantage, they weren’t enough as the Canucks’ goalies beat the Sharks’ split squad playing in Vancouver Tuesday, 4-2.

Bo Horvat scored the game winner at 11:33 of the third after winning a faceoff. Horvat was aided by Derek Dorsett and Mike Zalewski.

Starting at 5:35 in the first, San Jose had four shots on goal, including one by Matthew Nieto after he had a takeaway, in under 30 seconds.

The Canucks’ Jordan Subban scored the only goal of the first period.  He was aided by Hunter Shinkaruk and Linden Vey at 7:51.

The Sharks’ Taylor Fedun who led all with six shots on goal, was busy starting at 15:11, with a blocked shot, two shots on goals and a missed shot in just over 20 seconds.

Each team had a power play opportunity in the period, but Vancouver was the more active with seven opportunities during to one.

San Jose got most of their shots during the second period, outshooting the Canucks 18-5.

Vancouver starting goalie Eddie Lack came out around the 12th minute. His team had seven giveaways during the period before that. Lack was replaced by Joel Cannata who was tested early, and able to withstand one power play, before Brent Burns scored during the Sharks’ second power play of the period at 16:07. Burns was helped by Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture.

Shinkaruk scored less than a minute later though to give the Canucks back the lead. He was assisted by Alex Friesen and Vey.

Marleau then came back just over a minute later to score single-handedly at 18 minutes into the period. He scored on his own takeaway.

Vey capped the game with less than 30 seconds left, as he scored on an empty netter. Four San Jose opportunities in the 18th minute preceded the goal. Daniel Sedin and Radim Vrbata aided as Vey earned his third point of the night.


Game notes: Both Burns and Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa led with four blocked shots apiece. They were also the two players on the ice the most, with Bieksa on for 28:25 and Burns on for 26:39. Other leaders were Dane Fox with four hits. Meanwhile, in Stockton, the Sharks’ other split squad ended up with a more dominant score to even San Jose’s preseason opener, beating the Canucks 5-2. The Sharks will come back together when San Jose plays the Phoenix Coyotes Friday at 7:30pm.  

Whitecaps Penalty Kick Tops Quakes

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By Matthew Harrington

The search for road win number two, and a much-needed three points in the standings, continues for the San Jose Earthquakes with only eight games remaining. The Quakes continued their tour of the Pacific Northwest Wednesday night with a 2-0 loss at the hands of Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 at BC Place. San Jose, 10 points back of Vancouver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, went winless on its current three-game road trip. They tied both Real Salt Lake and the Portland Timbers in the previous two contests.

Pedro Morales put Vancouver (8-6-13, 37 points)on the board, converting on a penalty kick in the 39th minute following a Victor Bernardez infraction, for the Whitecaps first goal in over 450 minutes of play. Bernardez was whistled for delivering an elbow to the back of Kendall Waston in the penalty area on a challenge of a free kick attempt. Waston would head in the Whitecaps second marker in the 56th minute for the 2-0 result.

The Quakes (6-6-15, 27 points) failed to generate any offensive momentum for large chunks of the night, attempting only four shots on goal to Vancouver’s 17. A lone San Jose attempt found its mark, with another two registering as off target. The other attempt was blocked. The Whitecaps managed six shots on target, thanks in part to a slight edge in possession, controlling play 55.8 percent of the night.

A victory for Mark Watson’s Quakes would have bumped San Jose above Colorado for the seventh spot in the Western Conference table. The loss, however, bumped Vancouver over Portland and into the postseason picture. The Whitecaps entered play Wednesday night a point back of the Timbers in sixth place.

Sunday afternoon, the Quakes desperation push will collide with a familiar face, as Landon Donovan’s Los Angeles Galaxy come to Buck Shaw Stadium for an afternoon match. There will be an air of nostalgia of the Quakes glory days with Sunday marking Donovan’s last appearance in front of the San Jose fans that once rooted him on.

The 32-year-old announced on August 7th that this would be his last MLS season. In Donovan’s four seasons as a member of the Quakes, the organization won its two MLS Cups (2001 and 2003). The MLS all-time leader in goals and playoff goals earned MLS Cup Most Valuable Player honors in the 2001 iteration.

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.

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 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.

No Shock in Spokane for San Jose

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Photo Courtesy SJ SaberCats
Photo Courtesy SJ SaberCats

By Emily Zahner

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON—The San Jose SaberCats (7-3), riding a four game winning streak, took on the Spokane Shock (5-5) tonight at the Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington. Riding in with confidence and less impactful injuries, the Cats took the win 49-34. With the added offensive power of Reggie Gray, who returned from injury tonight, the Cats made easy work of Spokane. With the loss of their MVP quarterback Erik Meyer, the Shock have been putting up low numbers lately, and tonight was no exception. However, coming into the game tonight, San Jose didn’t come in with any low expectations. The Shock hold the edge over the season series between the two teams, leading 5-3.

The first half was all Cats. The first period saw the Cats go up 14-6, followed by an equally offensive second, ending with San Jose up 28-13. San Jose didn’t let up until the final whistle. Scoring 14 points in each of the first three quarters, San Jose gave themselves a lead that would give them the victory. Spokane was equally as consistent, but on the opposing side of the score sheet; scoring 6, 7, and 7 in each of the first three periods. The Shock made it interesting in the fourth, outscoring the Cats 14-7.

Spokane seemed out of sorts without the leadership of QB Erik Meyer. Brian Zbydniewski completed 24 of 42 passing attempts, good for 303 yards and two touchdowns, and two sacks. Meanwhile, Russ Michna performed on the other end of the scoring spectrum. Michna completed 17 of 29 passes, good for 4 touchdowns and 218 yards.

In his return to the lineup, Reggie Gray received 8 passes good for 83 yards, completing one touchdown. The next best on the team was Jason Willis, with two received passes and 40 yards and a touchdown. San Jose has now won five games in a row, improving to a 7-3 record.

The Cats have a bit of a break before heading down to Arizona to take on the always impressive Arizona Rattlers on May 31st at 6:30pm.

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.”

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.”