The San Jose Earthquakes will visit Dignity Health Sports Park and defend their nine-match unbeaten streak when they face the LA Galaxy on Friday, August 20. Friday’s match will conclude the trilogy series between San Jose and LA in 2021, with the SoCal side winning the prior two meetings.
San Jose extended their unbeaten streak to nine (2-0-7) after holding Minnesota United FC to a 1-1 draw at PayPal Park on Tuesday despite playing more than 70 minutes down a man. San Jose struck first in the 12th minute when a cross from Cristian Espinoza was deflected into the goal by Minnesota’s Bakaye Dibassy. Minnesota equalized just moments after Nathan was shown a straight red card in the 21st minute.
Defender Luciano Abecasis says the Quakes were playing to win the match despite being down a player. Speaking on the result, he says the team came away with a hard-fought point.
“It was a valuable point with how the match turned out in the end and the fact that we were playing for a long time with one less player,” Abecasis said on Tuesday. “It was clear by the team’s ambition that we wanted the three points because we needed them. The red card limited us a lot, but it forced the best out of each of us and we were able to hold onto the game and create chances on top of that… We spoke in the locker room about staying focused, that we needed everyone’s maximum effort. That’s what we did, and I think we left a really good image with one less player.”
Tuesday’s draw keeps the Quakes just on the edge of playoff positioning. San Jose currently sits in ninth in the Western Conference standings, level on points with LAFC (8th) and one point behind Portland for seventh.
LA currently occupies third (11-7-2) in the Western Conference standings, just one point behind second place Seattle Sounders FC and two points behind first place Sporting Kansas City. After falling to the Colorado Rapids 2-1 at home on Tuesday, the home side will look to improve in the standings, while the Quakes continue in their search to climb above the playoff line.
Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez leads LA in goals with 10 this season but has been absent since June due to a calf injury. In his last MLS match, Chicharito tallied two goals against the Earthquakes at PayPal Park. It is uncertain if Hernandez, now back in training, will return to action on Friday.
Meanwhile, San Jose’s leading goal scorer Chofis is available to reinforce the attack after serving a single-match suspension. On the flip side, Nathan will not be available on Friday because of a single-match suspension stemming from Tuesday’s ejection.
Kickoff at Dignity Health Sports Park is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, and via radio on KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
