HOUSTON, Texas – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Houston Dynamo FC 4-1 on Wednesday evening at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas.
After conceding two goals at the start of the first half, the Quakes pulled one back with a 41st minute header from defender Carlos Akapo. Forward Cristian Espinoza found Akapo off a free kick, with Espinoza tallying his 50th MLS career assist and tying Shea Salinas for most assists in club history.
During the second half, the two teams faced a weather delay that paused the match for two hours and 15 minutes. Houston scored two more goals following the game restart.
The Earthquakes will now return to San Jose to face St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday, June 24, in collaboration with Stanford Medicine. Kickoff from PayPal Park is slated for 7:30 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 7-6-6 record (27 pts.) during the 2023 MLS regular season and currently sit in fifth place in the 14-team Western Conference.
Defender Carlos Akapo scored his second goal of the season and second of his MLS career.
Forward Cristian Espinoza tallied his sixth assist of his season and 50th of his MLS career, tying Shea Salinas for most assists in Quakes history.
MATCH INFORMATION
2023 MLS Regular Season
Houston Dynamo FC 4 – 1 San Jose EarthquakesÂ
Wednesday, June 21, 2023 – Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas
Attendance: 14,249
Scoring Summary:
HOU (1-0) – Amine Bassi (unassisted) 3’
HOU (2-0) – Corey Baird (Nelson Quiñónes, Amine Bassi) 5’
SJ (2-1) – Carlos Akapo (Cristian Espinoza) 41’
HOU (3-1) – Thor Ulfarsson (Hector Herrera) 77’
HOU (4-1) – Thor Ulfarsson (Hector Herrera) 77’
Misconduct Summary:
HOU – Erik Sviatchenko (caution) 37’
SJ – Jeremy Ebobisse (caution) 39’
SJ – Ousseni Bouda (caution) 50’
SJ – Judson (caution) 67’
SJ – Jackson Yueill (caution) 81’
SJ – Jack Skahan (caution) 85’
HOU – Hector Herrera (caution) 89’
HOUSTON DYNAMO FC: Steve Clark; Franco Escobar, Daniel Steres, Erik Sviatchenko (Ethan Bartlow 69’), Micael dos Santos; Artur, Amine Bassi (Griffin Dorsey 82’), Hector Herrera (C); Corey Baird, Ibrahim Aliyu (Thor Ulfarsson 74’), Nelson Quiñónes (Luis Caicedo 69’).Â
Substitutes not used: Andrew Tarbell (GK), Sebastian Ferreira, Ivan Franco, Chase Gasper, Brad Smith.Â
SHOTS: 15; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 11; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 0
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel; Paul Marie, Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo (Tommy Thompson 74’); Niko Tsakiris (Jamiro Monteiro 46’), Judson (Jack Skahan 81’), Jackson Yueill (C); Benji Kikanović (Ousseni Bouda 46’), Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza.
Substitutes not used: JT Marcinkowski (GK), Cam Cilley, Jonathan Mensah, Daniel Munie, Will Richmond.
SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 15; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 1
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH LUCHI GONZALEZ
On bouncing back after tonight’s result:
"It just was not a good night for us, and we know we are better than this. It's about moving forward quickly and showing a response for our fans and families on Saturday against St. Louis CITY SC. They are a very difficult to play, and they beat us last time, and now we want to show our response in multiple ways on Saturday. We have the capacity to do that."
On dealing with the extended delay:
"We certainly felt like we had an opportunity at a second chance going into the last 30 minutes after the delay. The energy of the boys was good in the locker room. They were patient, and we were almost treating it like a second leg. We had the mentality of "Let's go win the second leg." But it didn't happen. I will give full credit to Houston. They were clinical and aggressive. We have to accept that, and we have to move forward quickly."
