Defeating Sporting KC and the Odds
San Jose traveled to Sporting Park on Wednesday night to battle with Sporting KC while facing seemingly overwhelming odds. Entering the match without two of its three Designated Players as well as defender Jordan Stewart, who suffered a season-ending injury in the team’s previous contest, San Jose was in search of three points, which they haven’t obtained in Kansas City since August 14, 2004. Moreover, Sporting had been one of MLS’ top teams thus far, holding an undefeated 8-0-4 record at home prior to Wednesday night. Fortunately for San Jose, games aren’t played on paper, as the Earthquakes scored early and often en route to a 5-0 drubbing of their Western Conference foe. The win snapped an eight-game road losing streak to KC and gave the Quakes their first ever win at Sporting Park.
Scoring Five on the Road
San Jose has played 280 regular season road games and scored five goals on Wednesday for just the third time in team history and the first time since August 8, 2001 at New England. The 5-0 win over SKC marked the Quakes largest ever margin of victory on the road and the only time the team has scored five goals while keeping a clean sheet. San Jose is the only team in MLS to rack up five goals in a single game on the road this season.
Wondo Sets MLS Record
With Wondolowski's first goal of the match on Wednesday, he became the first player in MLS history to score 10 or more goals in six consecutive seasons. Only Juan Pablo Angel (2007-11) and Carlos Ruiz (2002-06) have even tallied streaks spanning five seasons.
Wondolowski Hits 100
Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski scored one goal in each half on Wednesday, giving him 100 career goals with San Jose. He became just the fourth player in MLS history to tally 100 goals with a single team [Jaime Moreno: 131 with DC; Landon Donovan: 126 with LA; Taylor Twellman: 101 with NE].
Wondo Moving Up
Wondo’s brace against Sporting gives him 104 career MLS goals, which is tied with Dwayne De Rosario for sixth most in MLS history.
Road Warrior
Wondolowski has now scored 48 goals on the road since 2010, while no other player has scored more than 22.
Double Dipping
Two Earthquakes players tallied braces against Sporting Kansas City – forward Chris Wondolowski and midfielder Cordell Cato. It marked Wondolowski’s club-record 17th multi-goal game, moving him into a tie for fourth most all time, and Cato’s first. The last time the Earthquakes had two players each score multiple goals in a single match was August 25, 2012 at Buck Shaw Stadium – a 4-1 victory over Colorado in which Simon Dawkins and Alan Gordon each found the net twice.
Godoy Making a Difference
Earthquakes newly acquired midfielder Anibal Godoy made his second start for San Jose and his first on the road. Godoy scored his first MLS goal on Wednesday, slotting a left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner of the net. Godoy, primarily a defensive central midfielder, has now scored more goals (1) than the club has allowed (0) in two games since moving him into the starting XI.
Salinas Lends a Helping Hand in his 100th Start for San Jose
Earthquakes midfielder Shea Salinas, who made his 100th career start for the Quakes on Wednesday, set up each of Cato’s two goals. It marked his third and fourth assists of the season and his first multi-assist game since March 15, 2014. With his performance, Salinas now has 32 career assists in an Earthquakes uniform, tied with Ramiro Corrales for fourth on the club’s all-time leaderboard.
Amarikwa Does it Again
Opponents just can’t seem to keep Earthquakes forward Quincy Amarikwa off the score sheet. Amarikwa notched an assist on Wednesday and has now recorded four goals and two assists in seven matches since being acquired in a midseason trade with Chicago. Amarikwa did several additional things to help his team win. He earned the penalty that led to a goal by Wondolowski and later forced a clumsy challenge by Sporting midfielder Benny Feilhaber, drawing a red card. He has drawn six penalties since the start of the 2014 season, while no other player in MLS has drawn more than three.
First Assist for Alashe
Quakes midfielder Fatai Alashe recorded the first assist of his career, sending a cross to Wondolowski, whose header beat Sporting keeper Tim Melia in the 61st minute.
100 Career Saves
Earthquakes keeper David Bingham made his 100th career save on Wednesday. He has now made 82 saves this season, most in the Western Conference and trailing the league-leader by just one.
Flipping the Script
Despite enduring a rough month of July, San Jose is seemingly hitting its stride for a playoff run. The club has now won consecutive matches, both against Western Conference opponents, and is 2-1-1 with three shutouts in its last four. The Earthquakes are now just three points below the red line and play seven of their remaining 10 matches at home.
