SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes defeated Sporting Kansas City 3-0 on Saturday night at PayPal Park in San Jose. Cristian Espinoza scored his third game-winning goal of the season, Jeremy Ebobisse scored twice, and 19-year-old Cade Cowell tallied two assists in his final match before joining the United States Men’s National Team.
San Jose jumped out to an early lead on a goal by Espinoza in the ninth minute. In the 38th minute, Ebobisse was taken down in the penalty area, securing a penalty kick and drawing a red card for Sporting defender Robert Castellanos. Ebobisse successfully converted the ensuing attempt. Ebobisse then got his second of the match in the opening minutes of the second half, first timing a shot past goalkeeper Tim Melia.
Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made two saves to earn his third shutout in six starts this season.
The Earthquakes will now hit the road to face Real Salt Lake at America First Field on Saturday, April 22. The match will kick off at 6:30 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).
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes now hold a 4-2-2 record (14 pts.) during the 2023 regular season and currently sit in fifth place in the 14-team Western Conference.
The Quakes are now 26-29-10 all-time vs. Sporting Kansas City, including an 18-7-8 record at home. The result snaps a five-match winless streak against the club dating back to 2019 (0-3-2).
With the win, San Jose has earned their best start through eight matches since 2016 (4-2-2). The Quakes also earned their best start through five home matches since 2016 (4-0-1).
The Quakes have scored first in five of their last seven matches against Sporting Kansas City dating back to 2019.
San Jose’s last victory by a margin of 3+ goals was vs. Austin FC (4-0) on Oct. 20, 2021.
Forward Cristian Espinoza scored his fifth goal of the season and 20th of his MLS career. Espinoza ties Shea Salinas, Steven Lenhart, and Jeff Baicher for ninth most goals in club history (20). Espinoza is currently tied for the third most goals in MLS.
Forward Jeremy Ebobisse scored his third and fourth goals of the season and 49th and 50th of his MLS career. Ebobisse now has the eighth most goals in club history (22).
Forward Cade Cowell tallied two assists, marking his first and second assists of the season and 13th and 14th of his MLS career.
Midfielder Jamiro Monteiro tallied an assist on Ebobisse’s goal, marking his first assist of the season and 30th of his MLS career, which includes nine with the Quakes.
Defender Paul Marie tallied an assist on Ebobisse’s first goal, marking his first of the season and fourth of his MLS career.
Goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made two saves to earn his third shutout in six starts this season.
MATCH INFORMATION
2023 MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 3 – 0 Sporting Kansas City
Saturday, April 15, 2023 – PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 14,212
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Cristian Espinoza (Cade Cowell, Jamiro Monteiro) 9’
SJ (2-0) – Jeremy Ebobisse (penalty) 40’
SJ (3-0) – Jeremy Ebobisse (Cade Cowell, Paul Marie) 51’
Misconduct Summary:
SKC – Erik Thommy (caution) 31’
SKC – Robert Castellanos (ejection) 38’
SJ – Cristian Espinoza (caution) 60’
SJ – Carlos Gruezo (caution) 77’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Paul Marie, Rodrigues, Jonathan Mensah (Tanner Beason 89’), Carlos Akapo; Carlos Gruezo (Judson 82’), Jackson Yueill ©, Jamiro Monteiro (Tommy Thompson 73’); Cade Cowell (Benji Kikanović 82’), Jeremy Ebobisse (Ousseni Bouda 89’), Cristian Espinoza.
Substitutes not used: Michael Baldisimo, Emi Ochoa (GK), Jack Skahan, Miguel Trauco.
SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 10; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 2
SPORTING KANSAS CITY: Tim Melia; Robert Voloder, Robert Castellanos, Dany Rosero, Graham Zusi (Cameron Duke 70’); Erik Thommy, Remi Walter, Felipe Hernández (Willy Agada 46’); Dániel Sallói (K Shelton 70’), Alan Pulido (Andreu Fontàs 41’), Johnny Russell © (Marinos Tzionis 70’).
Substitutes not used: John Pulskamp (GK), Logan Ndenbe, Chris Rindov, Roger Espinoza.
SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 10; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH LUCHI GONZALEZ
On tonight’s performance against Sporting Kansas City:
“Yeah, definitely very proud. You saw their determination and early urgency when the game started. I even felt it in the warmup and in the locker room in terms of these guys want to get after it, they want to compete and play. I’m really proud of the group to have a performance like that. I know the early red card does make it difficult for the opponent, but look, I think [Borussia] Dortmund played today and they were up a man but the game is unpredictable, sometimes you can get casual or loose and I am proud of our guys to have a mature performance in the second half and also show that same determination in attack and press to score the third goal which I thought was really important. And then, regarding the experience we had in New York and then through the week, I said it earlier in the press conference mid-week, that the guys from the first training back were competing and they were pushing each other. They love the game, they love to be around each other, and they carried that through the week, and I felt that they performed well tonight because of their mentality to compete, their want to play, and to take advantage of every moment.”
On the improvement and calmness of the defense against Kansas City:
“I think the group shows a patient urgency, where we want strong and fast actions and intensity, but at the same time, we want to be calm and know we can weather the moment and we can get through the moment. There are different ways to try and work on that, and improve and develop that, but in training we’re going to have a buildup and we’re going to try and bring the ball forward and break lines and there’s going to be mistakes. The players are going to make mistakes and it is a game of mistakes. In fact, if they’re not making mistakes, we are not trying to do enough, we are not trying to impact the game enough collectively and individually. We know mistakes are going to happen, but can we have a good press after a loss? Can we have a good reaction collectively to get it back or to get in a good defensive recovery shape? I think when you do those things well, which we’re trying to do, then you can be more confident in your buildup knowing that we as a group have each other’s back if there’s a mistake to try and get behind the ball or get it back. So, we want to keep working that way and keep improving that.”
On forward Cade Cowell’s performance tonight:
“Cade [Cowell] is a young man who I got to know a year and a half ago working with the [U.S.] national team. In 2021, he was in a camp in California, which was my first camp, and that was my first experience in terms of seeing his potential and his mentality at a young age. I was excited before the season started to just work with this young player and know that he already has experience in the league but has such a high ceiling and can continue to grow, develop, and just help this club and this team compete and win. Tonight was a great example of decisiveness. He was very clear when he wanted to cross, when he wanted to shoot, when he wanted to combine his pressing forward or backward, and then he showed a good commitment to stay connected defensively. Whatever the decision was, whether there was a mistake or not, whether it worked or not, I also saw an emotional intelligence to be calm and just fight for the next moment and be confident in the next moment. It was really a complete game and just to me an example and a reference for more games to come and more opportunities to come for him. He’s going to be with the national team, so we’ll look forward to hopefully him getting an opportunity there in representing our league, our country, and our club, and we’ll have him back ready for our next game against [Real] Salt Lake. I am definitely proud of his development on and off the field, and he trains hard and he’s open minded, so at the end of the day, I’m not surprised he can have a performance like tonight.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CADE COWELL
On tallying two assists tonight vs. Sporting Kansas City:
“Obviously it felt really good individually, but also glad to help get a huge three points at home and keep our streak alive.”
On his United States National Team callup:
“It felt really good to have a game like this right before I leave. You know, going to camp feeling really confident and hopefully get some good minutes or if I get any minutes at all, just going there. Hopefully, work as hard as I can in the game and show what I can do.”
On his connection with defender Paul Marie:
“We’re really good friends off the pitch. It’s not easy for either of us to play on the left side and use our weak foot sometimes, especially on defense. That can be really challenging. But he stepped up and did a really good job on the left. It’s not easy at all to do so he’s doing really well.”
