VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-0 on Saturday night in front of 21,309 fans at BC Place.
The hosts opened the game with a barrage on the Earthquakes’ net, but goalkeeper Daniel turned them away multiple times, with key stops from point-blank range in the 20th and 21st minutes. However, Vancouver would get the breakthrough in the 35th minute when Fafa Picault headed in a corner kick from Ryan Gauld.
San Jose had temporarily secured the equalizer in the 68th minute when winger Cristian Espinoza found second-half substitute Ousseni Bouda in transition for the clinical finish, but the goal was called back for offside. Vancouver added a second goal when Stuart Armstrong netted a Ryan Gauld feed in the 86th minute to close the scoring. Though the Quakes had drawn with the ‘Caps on the road in 2022 and defeated them in 2023, they were not able to secure points on this trip.
The Quakes now travel to Seattle for their next MLS regular-season contest next Wednesday, Sept. 18, against Seattle Sounders FC. Kickoff from Lumen Field will take place at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as on local radio via AM 810 The Spread (English) and AM 1370 La Kaliente (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The Quakes moved to 11-12-12 (48 GF, 50 GA) against Vancouver Whitecaps FC in MLS regular-season competition, including a 4-10-4 (20 GF, 32 GA) record on the road.
San Jose saw their two-game unbeaten streak at BC Place snapped after drawing 3-3 in 2022 and winning 1-0 last season.
Forward Cristian Espinoza extended his run of consecutive MLS regular-season games played to a current league-high of 103 with his start tonight (Oct. 2, 2021 – present). The streak is not only a Quakes record but tied for the sixth-longest in MLS history (Bobby Boswell, June 19, 2013 – June 18, 2016). Luis Robles holds the league record with 183 straight appearances (Sept. 29, 2012 – May 12, 2018).
Goalkeeper Daniel made eight saves on the night, one more than he had in last season’s 1-0 road win over Vancouver.
The San Jose Earthquakes and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, both founded in 1974, are celebrating their 50th anniversaries this season. The Quakes’ initial game in the North American Soccer League (NASL) was against the Whitecaps on May 5, 1974. Forward Mani Hernandez scored the club’s inaugural goal, with the Quakes emerging victorious 2-1 after winning a penalty shootout.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 – 0 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 – BC Place; Vancouver, British Columbia
Weather: 62°F Partly Cloudy (Indoors; Roof Closed)
Attendance: 21,309
Match Officials:
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
AR1: Michael Barwegan
AR2: Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho
4th: Alain Ruch
VAR: Geoff Gamble
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
Scoring Summary:
VAN (1-0) – Fafa Picault (Ryan Gauld) 35’
VAN (2-0) – Stuart Armstrong (Ryan Gauld) 86’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Carlos Akapo (caution) 26’
VAN – Ralph Priso (caution) 41’
SJ – Jack Skahan (caution) 89’
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC: Yohei Takaoka; Ranko Veselinovic, Tristan Blackman, Bjørn Utvik; Sam Adekugbe (Mathias Laborda 66’), Alessandro Schopf (Stuart Armstrong 84’), Ralph Priso (Sebastian Berhalter 56’), Ali Ahmed (Edier Ocampo 66’), Pedro Vite; Fafa Picault (Levante Johnson 84’), Ryan Gauld (C).
Substitutes not used: Isaac Boehmer (GK), Deiber Caicedo, Belal Halbouni, Damir Kreilach.
POSS.: 56%; SHOTS: 13; SOG: 8; CORNERS: 5; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 6; xG: 2.48
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel; Paul Marie (Amahl Pellegrino 73’), Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo, Benji Kikanović (Vítor Costa 45’); Jackson Yueill (C) (Jack Skahan 86’), Niko Tsakiris (Alfredo Morales 55’), Hernán López; Preston Judd (Ousseni Bouda 45’), Cristian Espinoza.
Substitutes not used: William Yarbrough (GK), Beau LeRoux, Tommy Thompson, Casey Walls.
POSS.: 44%; SHOTS: 3; SOG: 2; CORNERS: 2; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 8; FOULS: 5; xG: 0.47
NOTE: All stats are unofficial.
EARTHQUAKES INTERIM HEAD COACH IAN RUSSELL
On the team’s effort tonight:
“We started the game decent, had some good energy. We played three at the back to try to deal with their two forwards. They have dangerous players there, and we struggled a bit with some runs from midfield. They were getting beyond us. We tried a few tactical switches during the game and created some chances. [Ousseni] Bouda had a good chance; he was offside. We didn't generate enough in attack and were defending a lot.”
On the decision to substitute Benji Kikanović:
“At halftime, Benji was injured; we didn't know that until we're walking back on the field, and he couldn't go, so Vitor [Costa] just went, played wing back. Benji was having a good game. You know, he's been good all year. I wouldn't have taken him out.”
On the recent performance of forwards Preston Judd and Ousseni Bouda, who had the game-tying goal called back for offside:
“Bouda’s been in really good form. I wanted to get Bouda on the field. I thought Preston did okay. He could do better, but Bouda had a big chance, almost scored another one.”
On the tactical takeaways from tonight’s match:
“The way that Vancouver defends, they played the two [forwards] high so played a back three. We were able to circulate the ball, 3v2. Now, inside their upper man, they have three midfielders to our two. In those moments, we’ve got to find the gap whether it's Cristian [Espinoza] tucking in or non-tucking in, a pocket, try to bring extra players in. I think at times, we did find those gaps and able to get it wide, but it wasn't consistent enough. There's usually space against them wide they play zonal with their wing backs. So these little switches of play, we did get into positions, especially in the first half, but crossing left something to be desired, and they were pretty organized with their back three when we were crossing balls. They're pretty good in the air.”
“We did find gaps at times, but Vancouver is organized. They're a good team. They get back behind the ball quickly. So when you do find these pockets, you have to go at pace. You have to have good service. You have to serve it beyond them, in behind their backs, in the air. They're good in the air.”
EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER PAUL MARIE
On looking ahead to the midweek match against Seattle Sounders FC:
“Tonight, the mentality was not right. We know it. We were supposed to be on the front foot and we were not. We definitely need to shift our focus on Seattle and come out at 200%.”
On areas of improvement:
“We're not clinical enough. I think we need to keep the ball better, and we need to hurt them more. We were not able to tonight. I think we ran a lot defensively and just used a lot of energy where we were trying to press a lot. We were not doing great with that. … When you get to the final third, we need to do way better. We need to work on it.”
On Hernán López being positioned more on the left side of the attack tonight:
“He has a lot of freedom, because we've been giving him a lot of freedom. So he can help us left, right. He can kind of go where he wants. It's nice. We need to find him and put him in good situations. We know if we put him in a good situation, he's going to be spreading the balls and shooting. He's going to be very dangerous.”
