SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Los Angeles Football Club 2-1 on Saturday night at BMO Stadium in front of 22,110 fans.
Both teams had early chances from point-blank range but could not convert. In the 20th minute, LAFC forward Olivier Giroud made contact with Quakes goalkeeper Daniel, forcing the injured San Jose shot-stopper to leave the match for Earl Edwards Jr. The first half ended scoreless.
After intermission, the visitors went on the front foot, with Quakes forward Cristian “Chicho” Arango threatening the net twice in the first few minutes. However, LAFC would pull ahead in the 65th minute when Edwards batted away forward Denis Bouanga’s curler from the left wing, but midfielder Sergi Palencia hammered home the rebound from inside the edge of the box. San Jose almost answered in the 73rd minute when defender Rodrigues’ sweeping interception found a streaking Arango for an equalizer. However, the flag was up and the deficit remained. LAFC got an insurance goal in the 86th minute when the Quakes were caught in transition. Giroud’s initial attempt was saved by Edwards, but Bouanga slotted home the rebound for a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Josef Martínez warded off a double team and fed Cristian Espinoza, who blasted the ball into the back of the net to pull one back for San Jose. In the waning moments, an Espinoza corner kick led to the Quakes asking for a handball after it bounced off LAFC’s Ryan Hollingshead arm in the box. However, VAR determined the contact was not sufficient enough to warrant a San Jose penalty kick and time ran out.
The Black and Blue will now travel home next Saturday, April 19, to take on Sporting Kansas City. Kickoff from PayPal Park 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 KSFO 810 AM (English) and 1370 AM La Kaliente (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes moved to 7-10-1 (29 GF, 44 GA) against LAFC, with a 1-8-1 (13 GF, 36 GA) record away.
Quakes team captain Cristian Espinoza extended his consecutive games streak—a club record and the longest active run in MLS—to 117, third on the league’s all-time list.
With his second-half goal tonight, Cristian Espinoza scored his second goal of the season and tied Jeremy Ebobisse for third on the club career scoring list with 34.
Josef Martínez earned his first assist of the season and 20th overall in his career.
Espinoza continued his run of outstanding play against LAFC, as he now has five goals and 12 assists in 17 career games vs. LAFC in MLS play.
The Quakes remained among the highest scoring teams in the league; their 16 goals rank second overall, one behind Vancouver.
LAFC 2 – 1 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, April 12, 2025 – BMO Stadium; Los Angeles
Weather: 65°F Mostly Sunny
Attendance: 22,110
Match Officials:
Referee: Drew Fischer
AR1: Lyes Arfa
AR2: Ryan Graves
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
4th Official: Corbyn May
Scoring Summary:
LAFC (1-0) – Sergi Palencia (unassisted) 65’
LAFC (2-0) – Denis Bouanga (unassisted) 86’
SJ (2-1) – Cristian Espinoza (Josef Martínez) 90+5’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Bruno Wilson (caution) 42’
LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB: Hugo Lloris (GK); Eddie Segura, Maxime Chanot (Marlon Santos 67’), Aaron Long (C); Igor Jesus, Mark Delgado (Timothy Tillman 83’), Sergi Palencia, Ryan Hollingshead; Nathan Ordaz (Cengiz Ünder 67’), Denis Bouanga, Olivier Giroud (Adrian Wibowo 89’).
Substitutes not used: David Ochoa (GK), Odin Holm, Artem Smoliakov, Nkosi Tafari, Yaw Yeboah.
POSS.: 51%; SHOTS: 12; SOG: 4; CORNERS: 4; OFFSIDES: 3; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 12; xG: 1.74
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK) (Earl Edwards Jr. 20’); Bruno Wilson, Dave Romney, Rodrigues (Daniel Munie 75’); Vítor Costa (Preston Judd 90+5’), Ian Harkes (Mark-Anthony Kaye 68’), Beau Leroux (Ousseni Bouda 75’), Cristian Espinoza (C), Niko Tsakiris (Amahl Pellegrino 68’); Chicho Arango, Josef Martínez.
Substitutes not used: Nick Lima, Jamal Ricketts, Oscar Verhoeven.
POSS.: 49%; SHOTS: 17; SOG: 4; CORNERS: 6; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 0; xG: 1.92
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On overall thoughts of the game:
“It’s a game we could’ve got something out of. I think we played fairly well. It was a good game. It was a physical game, and I thought both teams competed very well.”
“We had a bunch of guys that played well, and so did they. It was a good game and give them credit. I think coming off a midweek game like they did and show the kind of competitiveness they did, give them a lot of credit as well.”
On Cristian Espinoza continuing to perform at a high level:
“I think people in the league think he’s a pretty good player, and he’s played well. It’s early in the season. It’s eight games in. I don’t think there’s anything finalized yet at this point. There’s a lot ahead of us in the regular season. We’ll see how we do. Our job is to try to get better, week in and week out.”
On Niko Tsakiris getting the start in midfield again tonight:
“He’s a young player. He needs minutes. Minutes are important for him. This is still a step up for him, so it’s still good to see he’s continuing to improve, and hopefully, we can continue to move him along.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CHICHO ARANGO (translated from Spanish)
On overall thoughts of the game:
“It was a good game. We just made a couple errors with the two goals. ... We have to concentrate for 90 minutes. We'll pick our heads up, prepare for next week and move forward.”**
On returning to BMO Stadium and the reception from the LAFC fans:**
“It was good. I could feel the love and respect from everyone. I've always appreciated that from them. This is a place where I won a championship and scored many goals.”
