SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the Oakland Roots Sports Club 1-0 in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on Tuesday night at PayPal Park.
After a scoreless first half, the Quakes began to assert themselves in attack, sparked by the second-half substitution of Ousseni Bouda. In the 76th minute, the hosts broke through, as 18-year-old San Jose native Niko Tsakiris dribbled past multiple defenders to feed Bouda, who promptly blasted a goal from behind the edge of the box. Oakland striker Johnny Rodriguez was later shown a red card and subsequently sent off in the 82nd minute as the Quakes finished the game with a man advantage. The Roots made one last push in the closing moments, but they could not equalize as San Jose ran their unbeaten streak in all competitions to three games.
With the win, San Jose advances to the Round of 16 in a road match against Sacramento Republic FC. The game will be streamed live on usopencup.com, mlssoccer.com and uslsoccer.com. Date and time for the match are TBD.
The Quakes return to Major League Soccer regular-season play Saturday, May 11, when they face the Colorado Rapids on the road. Kickoff from Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is set for 6:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, as well as on local radio AM 810 The Spread (English) and AM 1370 La Kaliente (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer's Club Championship in its 109th edition – has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
Goalkeeper Emi Ochoa made his first start for the Earthquakes’ first team after making 35 appearances for the club’s second team in MLS NEXT Pro, notching seven shutouts in two seasons and helping lead Quakes II to the Western Conference Semifinals in 2023. A Homegrown Player from Salinas, California, the 19-year-old Ochoa also earned his first clean sheet.
The shutout marked the first one in all competitions for San Jose in 2024 after 11 games conceding at least one goal. After conceding 24 goals in their first nine games, the Quakes have only allowed two in their last three in all competitions.
At 18 years old, Homegrown midfielder Niko Tsakiris became the youngest player in club history to record an assist in the U.S. Open Cup.
Midfielder Hernán López made his first start for San Jose after coming on as a second-half substitute in last Saturday’s 3-1 win over LAFC in MLS play.
Defenders Jamar Ricketts also made his first start for the Quakes’ first team, playing 55 minutes. San Jose selected Ricketts was selected 13th overall in the first round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.
The Quakes now face Sacramento Republic FC in the Round of 16 for the second time in three years. In their last meeting on May 25, 2022, the Republic won 2-0 at home. Sacramento would eventually make it all the way to the 2022 U.S. Open Cup final, losing 3-0 to Orlando City SC.
San Jose Earthquakes 1 - 0 Oakland Roots SC
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 – PayPal Park; San Jose, Calif.
Weather: 66° Windy
Man of the Match: Ousseni Bouda
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Ousseni Bouda (Niko Tsakiris) 76’
Misconduct Summary:
OAK – Justin Rasmussen (caution) 20’
OAK – Memo Diaz (caution) 25’
SJ – Ousseni Bouda (caution) 51’
OAK – Johnny Rodriguez (ejection) 82’
SJ – Preston Judd (caution) 84’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Emi Ochoa; Paul Marie, Tanner Beason, Daniel Munie, Jamar Ricketts (Tommy Thompson 55’); Alfredo Morales (Jackson Yueill 56’), Niko Tsakiris, Hernán López (Ousseni Bouda 46’); Benji Kikanović, Jack Skahan (Michael Baldisimo 90+5’), Preston Judd.
Substitutes not used: Jacob Jackson (GK), Cristian Espinoza, Casey Walls.
POSSESSION: 56%; SHOTS: 17; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; CORNERS: 3; FOULS: 15.
OAKLAND ROOTS SC: Paul Blanchette; Justin Rasmussen (Etsgar Cruz 90+5’), Niall Logue, Gagi Margvelashvili; Memo Diaz, Daniel Gomez (Camden Riley 86’), Neveal Hackshaw (Napo Matsoso 77’), Bryan Tamacas, Riakoze Donasiyano (Miche-Naider Chéry 86’), Johnny Rodriguez, Jeciel Cedeño (Lindo Mfeka 77’).
Substitutes not used: Timothy Syrel (GK), Ilya Alekseev.
POSSESSION: 44%; SHOTS: 7; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; CORNERS: 2; FOULS: 11.
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH LUCHI GONZALEZ
On the club’s quest to win the U.S. Open Cup:
“It’s a cup that that has evaded us historically in the club, and we want to win it for the first time. It’s an avenue to be in an international game with Concacaf Champions League. We’re going to approach each game in the cup with respect.”
On Ousseni Bouda’s impact as well as veterans like Jackson Yueill and Tommy Thompson as second-half substitutes:
“I thought it was key with Bouda starting the second half pushing Jack [Skahan] into midfield which he does quite well. I thought it was a good spark giving a young player like Bouda the opportuntity. I thought Jackson [Yueill] came in and gave us a good connection in the midfield and more control of the midfield in the game. Tommy Thompson with a lot of experience came in and gave us composure. He made a lot of overlapping runs, was very organized and showed his intensity.”
On Niko Tsakiris’ game-winning assist to Ousseni Bouda:
“He generated that play with just his ability to dribble and drive the game forward from the midfield. … He’s an eight (central midfielder) now, for the future, for this club, for this league, and I believe for the [U.S. Men's] National Team. … You’ve got to love his mentality. Even with mistakes, he just shakes it off quickly and moves forward and has courage in the next play.”
On playing a local opponent in the U.S. Open Cup:
“I think the [players] were definitely up for the game. They understood the narrative behind it. We’re proud to be San Jose Earthquakes. … As a whole this is important to me as the head coach of this team, to our fans and to our ownership. We want to give it everything we’ve got, show passion and care for this cup. That’s our perspective.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD OUSSENI BOUDA
On capitalizing on an opportunity to play in the Open Cup:
“For me, I’m trying to get a bigger role in the team. Every single moment matters. Every minute that I get on the field I want to make the most out of it, just like today. Coming on at halftime, I tried to make the most out of those 45 minutes.”
On if there is additional pressure for the team in the tournament as one of eight MLS clubs:
“I wouldn’t say there is an added pressure. For us, we treated this game like any other game. We have a strong squad. We have a lot of people who are not starting who are quality players. … A lot of people have a point to prove and got the opportunity today. I thought everyone did well and really took their chance.”
On his determination to score in this game:
“For me, I try to get into dangerous spaces. Especially in between the lines, so that it’s really difficult for their center backs to jump in, and then also it’s behind their midfielders. These are dangerous areas that if I’m able to get the ball, I can then slip someone in and get a shot off, and that’s what I try to do. … I just told myself to keep shooting, keep trying to slip people in and then eventually one will go in. … I know that I can play on the inside or outside. I’m comfortable in between the lines as well. I really recognized that that was a space that we could utilize and hurt Oakland tonight.”
EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER NIKO TSAKIRIS
On teammate Ousseni Bouda’s determination to score:
“Guys come in always wanting to make the difference, always wanting to bring something new, bring a spark. I think Bouda did that tonight. He showed his qualities that we all know he has. You’re determined to make your stamp on the game. In a moment like that he found the opportunity and he put it away, and we’re glad that he did.”
On the importance of the Open Cup:
“We know the history of this tournament. We know how important it is for this club, we’ve talked about that. We know it’s only five games to get to the final and the opportunities that it brings to win this cup. We recognize the importance of that. For us young guys playing in the tournament, it’s another experience, another opportunity for us to get on the field, and we have to take advantage of it.”
On playing another Bay Area club:
“Playing Monterey [Bay FC], playing [Sacramento Republic] and having the opportunity to play Oakland this year, we have to recognize that we’re the MLS team in the area and they have nothing to lose. We recognize that. It’s also opportunities for us, the guys that might not get as many minutes during the year. It’s an opportunity for them to show their quality, and we’re looking to go far in this tournament.”
EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER EMI OCHOA
On making his first-team debut and start (Translated from Spanish):
“It was my first game with the first team. I was a little nervous at first obviously. It’s normal, but I worked hard, trained hard, and did everything that my coach asked that I do. I’m happy and proud of the team too for the win and we’ll keep going.”
On his impressions of matching up with Oakland:
“It was definitely a tough game. Oakland’s a good, strong team. I think we started off a bit slow but we got the hang of it. I never doubted the team. I just thought we were going to win it.”
On competing for playing time with the rest of the goalkeepers:
“We have a great goalkeeper union. We have a little older, veteran guy in William [Yarbrough] who brings experience, so I try to learn things from him and he’s a great guy. We recently signed Jacob Jackson who’s also a great, young guy, and we push each other every training and we try to improve every day. It’s a great group.”
