Tag: Wondo

More Late Minute Heroics Help the Earthquakes Draw Real Salt Lake in First MLS Match of the Season

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By: Joe Lami

It took until the 95th minute for the Earthquakes to get the equalizer, but once again the team from San Jose finds a way to get the goals when they matter, as they draw Real Salt Lake 3-3 in the first MLS match of the year.

San Jose got on the board first in just the sixth minute, when Chris Wondoloski found his first of the season off a free kick from the foot of Shea Salinas.  The free kick from the left side was swung in and found the thigh of the captain for the 1-0 lead.

However, just minutes later Real Salt Lake would find their first of three goals in the first half.  It was Salt Lake Captain, Kyle Beckerman finding the net on just the second Salt Lake shot of the game at the 11-minute mark.  The left footed kick from outside of the box found just enough of the bottom left post to bounce its’ way in for the 1-1 draw.

Real Salt Lake had much of the possession in the first half, with a 68%-32% advantage and it showed.  Salt Lake would take the lead in the 32nd minute as another ball found the bottom left corner of the net, this time it was from the foot of Joao Plata for his first of the season.

The domination for Real Salt Lake would continue, at the 41st minute Alvaro Saborio would force Jon Busch to make a diving save.  As the Earthquakes goalkeeper would just get enough of a touch to keep the ball out of the net.  However, Busch wouldn’t be able to keep the next opportunity out of his net, as Luke Mulholland would drill a rebound home for Salt Lake’s third goal of the half just before the halftime whistle would blow.

“We challenged ourselves at the half…this group doesn’t need much talking, we’re all experienced, and we know what we needed to do coming out of halftime” said Quakes keeper, Busch.

The first 30 minutes of the second half were very slow, and very defensive.  It was starting to look like the Earthquakes were going to run out of time.  That was until Victor Bernandez would find the back of the net for his first of the season and the game to make it 3-2 in favor of Salt Lake.  The goal came off of a corner kick from Shea Salinas, for his second assist of the game.

“I don’t try to pick out a player, I just try to put it in a dangerous spot, and we hopefully we have someone that’s going to send it home” said Salinas.

Lighting struck twice for the Earthquakes, in the 95th minute Bernandez would find his second of the game.  It was a mixed play out in front, and Bernadez was able to get a boot on it to find the target.  With the goal in extra time, it is the second time this week that the Earthquakes have found an equalizer in extra time.  It is also the 17th time in the past two seasons, where San Jose has put the ball in the net in extra time in the second half.

An eventful week that saw the Earthquakes sign a deal with the city of San Jose to agree on focusing sustainability and green initiatives and two extra time goals to earn draws comes to an end.  Now San Jose has to worry about their second leg with Toulca in Mexico on Wednesday, and then travel to Sporting Kansas City for their first road match of MLS play on Saturday.

Wondolowski shines in his return, nets two in Quakes victory

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By Ivan S. Makarov

August 3, 2013
 
After being gone for almost a month on the U.S. National Men’s team call up, Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski made his return count in the very big way against Chivas USA in the Saturday night contest at Buck Shaw Stadium. The team’s top goalscorer of the past few seasons showed he’s in top shape as he scored both goals for the team in 2-0 home victory.

“Tonight was great for Wondo,” said Quakes interim head coach Mike Watson after the game. “He’s been away for a while with the [U.S.] National Team, but I know he wanted to come back and make a contribution for us and he did that very well for us.”

Wondo’s presence was felt by the home side since the beginning. After successful run with US National Team that saw San Jose’s forward play a key role in CONCACAF Gold Cup championship, it seemed as though Wondolowski had an extra quickness and confidence to his game. It was something he might have lacked in the first half of the season, which saw him struggle to score goals at his usual pace. This time Wondo was focused and often ahead of defense by a step or few during many attacks by the Quakes. It really was the same Wondo that won the title of the top goalscorer in the league in the last regular season.

That confidence translated into two goals for Wondolowski.

The first one came at the very end of the even first half that saw both team exchange a few good, but not great chances on goal. Steven Beitashour delivered a long but accurate pass to the edge of the box for Victor Bernandez, who headed it towards open Wondolowski. The header fell straight into Wondo’s head who directed into the top corner for a nice finish.

The second goal by Wondolowski came towards the end of the second half, when Chivas USA were already playing with the man down after Carlos Bocanedra was sent off with the red card for two footed challenge on Shea Salinas. Wondolowski picked up a rebound inside the box after Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy made a difficult save on a great shot by Shea Salinas. With Kennedy down, Wondolowski put the ball just over him and into the net, scoring his seventh goal of the season.

Chivas USA had their share of chances during the game, but another great night in goal by Jon Busch, and his third clean sheet denied them any points in San Jose this time.

With the win, the Quakes improved their playoff chances, as this was their third straight victory in MLS action.

“I think the way we’ve been playing can carry us into the post-season,” said Chris Wondolowski. “That’s the great thing about this team: It’s not just one player who carries the team; it’s all 11 men out there working for each other. We have to fight for every ball, capitalize on our chances and play solid defense. I feel we’ve been doing that as of late and that’s a great recipe to make a playoff push.”

The Quakes are still out of the playoffs in the MLS standings, but are now only three points out of the fifth playoff spot in the West. Their next game is against Montreal in CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday. After that, the Quakes are playing Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS action on Saturday, a team they’re chasing for that playoffs spot.