AUSTIN, Texas – The San Jose Earthquakes and Austin FC played to a 2-2 draw on Saturday evening at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. The result sees the Quakes earn a point on the road and rise to fourth place in the 14-team Western Conference.
San Jose opened the scoring with a strike by team captain Jackson Yueill in the 21st minute. Carlos Akapo passed a ball into the penalty box to Yueill for the left-foot power shot to the top right corner of Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver’s net (highlight). Austin later evened the score through Emiliano Rigoni in the 40th minute.
The Quakes regained the lead with a header from Jeremy Ebobisse in the 75th minute. Cristian Espinoza sent a cross that connected with Ebobisse in the air (highlight). Three minutes later, the Texas side found the equalizer through Sebastian Driussi off a rebound from a long free kick.
The Earthquakes will now return to San Jose to host the defending MLS Cup champions LAFC at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, May 6, presented by Audi. The rivalry matchup will feature the biggest Cinco de Mayo celebration on the West Coast with a pregame Fan Fest, live music, meet-and-greet opportunities with former Mexico National Team players Jared Borgetti and Missael Espinoza, and a halftime performance with Grammy Award-winning artist El Fantasma. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed globally on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, as well as on local radio via 810 AM The Spread (English) and 1370 KZSF (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes now hold a 4-3-3 record (15 pts.) during the 2023 regular season and currently sit in fourth place in the 14-team Western Conference.
The Quakes are now 2-0-4 all-time vs. Austin FC, including a 1-0-3 record on the road.
Forward Jeremy Ebobisse scored his fifth goal of the season and 49th of his MLS career. He has now scored 23 goals for San Jose, tying him with Danny Hoesen for seventh most goals in Quakes history.
Midfielder Jackson Yueill scored his first goal of the season and 12th of his MLS career.
Forward Cristian Espinoza tallied an assist on Ebobisse’s goal, marking his third assist of the season and 47th of his MLS career. He is now tied with Ronald Cerritos for second most assists in club history.
Defender Carlos Akapo tallied an assist on Yueill’s goal, marking his first assist of the season and of his MLS career.
Midfielder Carlos Gruezo tallied an assist on Ebobisse’s goal, marking his second assist of the season and ninth of his MLS career.
MATCH INFORMATION
2023 MLS Regular Season
Austin FC 2 – 2 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, April 29, 2023 – Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Jackson Yueill (Carlos Akapo) 21’
ATX (1-1) – Emiliano Rigoni (Rodney Redes, Dani Pereira) 40’
SJ (2-1) – Jeremy Ebobisse (Cristian Espinoza, Carlos Gruezo) 75’
ATX (2-2) – Sebastian Driussi (unassisted) 78’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Jamiro Monteiro (caution) 68’
ATX – Dani Pereira (caution) 90+5’
SJ – Jackson Yueill (caution) 90+5’
AUSTIN FC: Brad Struver; Alex Ring (Will Bruin 90+2’), Leo Vaisanen, Adam Lundkvist (Jon Gallagher 46’), Nick Lima; Jhojan Valencia (Owen Wolff 72’), Dani Pereira, Sebastian Driussi (C); Emiliano Rigoni, Rodney Reyes (Ethan Finlay 82’), Maxi Urruti (Gyasi Zardes 72’).
Substitutes not used: Matt Bersano (GK), Julio Cascante, Hector Jimenez, Aleksandar Radovanović.
SHOTS: 16; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 9; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 1
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Paul Marie, Rodrigues, Jonathan Mensah, Carlos Akapo (Tommy Thompson 72’); Jamiro Monteiro (Tanner Beason 86’), Carlos Gruezo, Jackson Yueill (C); Cade Cowell (Miguel Trauco 69’), Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza.
Substitutes not used: Michael Baldisimo, Ousseni Bouda, Daniel (GK), Judson, Benji Kikanović, Jack Skahan.
SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 11; CORNER KICKS: 12; SAVES: 2
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH LUCHI GONZALEZ
On tonight’s match and earning one point on the road:
“The point is good, it’s a positive point for sure. This is not an easy place to play. The have a good fan base, an exciting club, it’s a new club, and they did very well last season. It’s so early in the season. I am proud of the guys. I thought we dualled well. I thought we won battles. I thought we were organized defensively in our shape. We made it difficult to play through. Every diagonal ball we had to shift and reorganize. I thought overall on the run of play defensively we were good. We actually created some good offensive transitions winning the ball in the midfield, winning the ball lower, mid-height, a few times high and creating offensive transitions until the end. I thought we were actually quite dangerous at the end, even when we switched to five in the back. Credit to the boys. I thought they showed up to play in a difficult environment with a disappointing result mid-week and responded, so we will grab that. Moving forward, can we get reorganized quickly on that throw-in the end of the first half? Can we maybe not give away that corner and then defend it better? Of course. We have to keep getting better. But I think we are improving in our ability to compete away. I think one of these games are going to bounce for us, not at home, to get the three points. We just got to keep working and believing in that.”
On facing LAFC next Saturday at Levi’s Stadium:
“The more people that come out, amazing. We’ve had a great environment at PayPal Park. To be fair, we are going to miss that environment and our stadium, our own stadium. It’s an event to get more fans out there and get more connected with the Bay Area and our community to support the club and support the game against a very talent and good team with LAFC. We’re going to take a lot of pride in that. We want to bring our best for the fans. We’re excited and the more people come out and hopefully it fills up so we can get as much support as possible to be that 12th man for us.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD JEREMY EBOBISSE
On his thoughts on tonight’s game:
“Ultimately, it’s a very difficult place to play in. I don’t think any team enjoys trying to get three points here. We came here to do that. We wanted to get our first road win of the year. We’ve been agonizingly close on a couple occasions, and we felt like this was the time to have the lead twice and lose that makes it a little bit challenging for us to accept the result. In order to gain confidence we need to defend with the ball and be able to convert our chances as well.”
On his partnership with Cristian Espinoza and helping him reach the club’s all-time assists record:
“Cristian is going to become the all-time leader. He doesn’t need me for that. His quality shines through and he puts a number of guys in good positions to finish off attacks. We can be appreciative of the moment tonight in getting another Espinoza-Ebobisse connection, but we have to be hungry for more. There was another opportunity in the first half where maybe we could’ve been on the same page. I firmly believe that we can be even more consistent because the quality is there. From his end, he can serve the ball from any angle, any distance from goal. He knows which way to put what kind of spin. For me, I believe in myself to finish chances if he gives me half chances. We have to demand more of ourselves so that we can be even more lethal. I know that, as I said, if its not me that he’s putting in position, he’ll put whoever is making a decisive run. Lots to look forward to. I think there’s a lot more goals to this team."
