FRISCO, Texas – The San Jose Earthquakes and FC Dallas played to a 1-1 draw on the road on Saturday night at Toyota Stadium. An opening goal from Jeremy Ebobisse helped the Quakes earn a point in Dallas as they prepare for their final match of the regular season.
The Quakes opened the scoring in the third minute from forward Jeremy Ebobisse. MVP candidate Cristian Espinoza kept a long cross in play and set up midfielder Jackson Yueill with space to send a low cross for Ebobisse to hit a sliding shot into the net. San Jose would end the first half up 1-0.
FC Dallas would find the equalizer in the 57th minute. Both sides would trade blows through the second half, with goalkeeper Daniel made a crucial save in the closing minutes to earn the point on the road for the Quakes.
The Earthquakes will now prepare for their final match of the regular season, a Decision Day matchup against Austin FC on Saturday, Oct. 21. Kickoff from PayPal Park is slated for 6:00 p.m. PT and will be streamed globally on MLS Season Pass (Apple TV), as well as on local radio via 810 AM The Spread (English) and 1370 KZSF (Spanish).
Prior to Decision Day, the Quakes take a break from MLS league play and prepare to face Honduran-side C.D. Olimpia in an international friendly match on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 6:00 p.m. PT.
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes currently hold a 10-10-13 record (43 pts.) during the 2023 MLS regular season and currently sit at eighth place in the 14-team Western Conference.
The Quakes now hold a 29-21-22 record against FC Dallas, including a 12-13-10 record on the road. They have only lost once to Dallas in their last 13 MLS regular season matches (4-1-8)
Forward Jeremy Ebobisse scored his 10th goal of the season and 54th of his MLS career. He has become the third player in club history to score 10+ goals in back-to-back seasons, joining Chris Wondolowski and Ronald Cerritos.
Midfielder Jackson Yueill tallied his fifth assist of the season and 17th of his MLS career.
Forward Cristian Espinoza tallied his 13th assist of the season, furthering his own all-time club assist record to 57.
MATCH INFORMATION
FC Dallas 1 – 1 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, October 7, 2023 – Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas.
Attendance: 17,474
Man of the Match: Jeremy Ebobisse
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Jeremy Ebobisse (Jackson Yueill) 3’
DAL (1-1) – Jader Obrian (Jesus Ferreira) 57’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Jeremy Ebobisse (caution) 21’
DAL – Sebastian Ibeagha (caution) 60’
DAL – Ema Twumasi (caution) 90+2’
FC DALLAS: Maarten Paes; Marco Farfan, Nkosi Tafari, Ema Twumasi, Sebastian Ibeagha; Paul Arriola (C) (Jesus Jimenez 90+3’), Asier Illarramendi, Paxton Pomykal (Facundo Quignon 84’), Alan Velasco; Jader Obrian (Bernard Kamungo 87’), Jesus Ferreira
Substitutes not used: Jimmy Maurer (GK), Eugene Ansah, Liam Fraser, Sam Junqua, Jose Martinez, Dante Sealy
SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 8; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 2
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel; Miguel Trauco, Paul Marie (Cade Cowell 63’), Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo; Jackson Yueill (C), Carlos Gruezo; Matthew Hoppe (Jamiro Monteiro 63’), Cristian Espinoza (Jonathan Mensah 85’), Jeremy Ebobisse (Judson 82’)
Substitutes not used: JT Marcinkowski (GK), Ayo Akinola, Jack Skahan, Tommy Thompson, Niko Tsakiris
SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 8; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 4
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH LUCHI GONZALEZ
On tonight’s result against FC Dallas tonight:
“The point is important. The point allows us to still have an edge. Now it’s very clear, we’re disappointed. We were winning and we didn’t close that out in a way to qualify tonight. So that’s disappointing. I thought we had a fantastic first half, getting pressure on the ball, attacking sequences, and defensive organization. The point is still going to give us some type of advantage with those other teams.”
On his thought’s following tonight’s performance:
“I’m going to grab that we had a really good first half away. I’m going to grab that we got a point in Minnesota and a point in Dallas, which are not easy places to gets points, and we are playing our direct rival on the table. I don’t want to dwell too long on what we didn’t do or what we could have done. We could do that for the rest of our lives, and not just in soccer but our personal lives. I’m going to grab the things that I am proud of in our process, in how we act and how we play. I’m going to grab the first half today and use it as a reference. I’m certainly going to own the fact that we let up in the second half in certain ways that we are disappointed with. How we conceded that goal. But then let’s go and show that we can have a complete game. We have the potential to do it and we have got to work to find a way to do that.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD JEREMY EBOBISSE
On tonight’s performance against FC Dallas:
“When we came into the game from the beginning, we wanted to go for three [points]. We wanted to clinch playoffs tonight. We started off quite well in that. I think that [FC Dallas] were naturally going to get some chances and build some momentum at home as any home team would. We did a pretty good job of repelling those with guys making some plays. Ultimately that dam broke a little bit. You have to manage each situation. The point is still very valuable.”
On the Quake’s chances to qualify for playoffs:
“Look, I’ve been around long enough to know that Decision Day is crazy. We can still finish seventh or maybe even higher. Games in hand have to be won, they’re not automatic three points. We will see how the other teams do and be ready to push for the highest position possible on the last day.”
