The 2019 season has been a wild one for the San Jose Earthquakes and its fanbase. After a rough four-match stretch to open the season, including a 5-0 home loss to LAFC, the Earthquakes are among Major League Soccer’s best performing teams and have pulled out so many upsets that the term ‘upset’ may not be appropriate anymore.
Thursday night’s loss should be the final tipping point to convince the nation’s soccer community that the Quakes are for real. Despite a 3-1 final score, the 90 minutes told a completely different story.
The Earthquakes were handed arguably the toughest possible draw in the U.S. Open Cup – a road match against Los Angeles Football Club, who have been downright dominant this season. LAFC holds a 16-1-8 all-time MLS record at home, with their only loss coming to Sporting Kansas City last August.
A shorthanded San Jose side came into Banc of California Stadium and threw the first punch. A dazzling pass by Jackson Yueill split the defense and sent Cristian Espinoza through on goal. He unselfishly laid the ball off to Vako, who buried his first-timed shot. The Quakes continued to attack, sending through ball after through ball behind LAFC’s stunned defense, but weren’t able to finish off their numerous chances. A questionable non-penalty on Espinoza, a narrow offsides call on Chris Wondolowski’s header goal, and Magnus Eriksson’s blast off the post were just a few of the many chances that San Jose created throughout the evening. Give credit where credit is due, though, as LAFC keeper Pablo Signiega made a handful of incredible saves to earn his team the victory.
"I thought it was one of the most unjust results for various reasons,” explained Almeyda postgame. “First because our team played very well and the opposing team is much deeper than ours. We pressured a team that is the best in the league."
“We’re not scared of anyone anymore,” said Wondolowski after the final whistle. “We’re not changing our way. We’re going to be who we are, and we have an identity now and we’re going to continue that.”
The Quakes have asserted themselves as a force to be reckoned with. For as long as Major League Soccer has existed, the stigma has been you must win at home and pick up any points you can on the road. As an example, D.C. United won just one match outside of the nation’s capital last season and still finished comfortably in fourth place.
San Jose under head coach Matias Almeyda has gone for the win in every single match this season regardless of opponent, location, and available players. They defeated Toronto FC at BMO Field 2-1. They held a 1-0 lead over D.C. United at Audi Field before settling for a 1-1 draw. They led 2-0 over Seattle at CenturyLink Field and held a dangerous FC Dallas side scoreless at Toyota Stadium. These Quakes are fearless.
San Jose now returns home for a pair of matches on Wednesday, June 26 against Houston and Saturday, June 29 against the LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium. Saturday’s annual California Clasico has drawn 50,000 fans every year since its inception in 2012.
