SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes and FC Dallas played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at PayPal Park. The Quakes extend their home unbeaten streak to seven (5-0-2), while forward Benji Kikanović scored his first goal of the season.
After a scoreless first half, The Quakes took a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute by a goal from Benji Kikanović. Tanner Beason headed a ball off a free kick from Cristian Espinoza, before making contact with Benji Kikanović’s head and crossing Jimmy Maurer’s goal line.
San Jose maintained the lead until the final moments of the game when FC Dallas found the equalizer through Nkosi Tafari in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
The Earthquakes will now prepare for two road matches next week, first facing Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday, May 31. Kickoff from Lumen Field is slated at 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 5-5-4 record (19 pts.) during the 2023 MLS regular season and currently sit in fifth place in the 14-team Western Conference.
San Jose extend their home unbeaten streak to seven (5-0-2), becoming one of five MLS clubs with a home undefeated streak this season. It is also the club’s longest home unbeaten streak since July 2022.
The Quakes are now 29-21-21 all-time against FC Dallas, including a 17-8-12 record at home. San Jose also extended their home unbeaten streak against Dallas to seven, a streak dating back to July 8, 2016.
Forward Benji Kikanović scored his first goal of the season and 11th of his MLS career.
Defender Tanner Beason tallied an assist on Kikanović’s goal, marking his first assist of the season and second of his MLS career.
Goalkeeper Daniel was active for the first time since March 4, 2023 after working his way back from a knee injury.
MATCH INFORMATION
2023 MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 1 – 1 FC Dallas
Saturday, May 27, 2023 – PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 13,409
Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Benji Kikanović (Tanner Beason) 70’
DAL (1-1) – Nkosi Tafari (Alan Velasco, José Martínez) 90+4’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Jackson Yueill (caution) 25’
SJ – Paul Marie (caution) 49’
DAL – Marco Farfan (caution) 69’
DAL – Alan Velasco (caution) 90’
SJ – Judson (caution) 90’
SJ – Carlos Gruezo (caution) 90+9’
SJ – Judson (ejection) 90+10’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel; Paul Marie (Tommy Thompson 57’), Rodrigues, Tanner Beason, Miguel Trauco; Jamiro Monteiro, Carlos Gruezo, Jackson Yueill (C) (Judson 75’); Benji Kikanović, Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza.
Substitutes not used: Michael Baldisimo, Ousseni Bouda, JT Marcinkowski, Daniel Munie, Will Richmond, Jack Skahan.
SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 11; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
FC DALLAS: Jimmy Maurer; José Martínez, Marco Farfan, Nkosi Tafari, Ema Twumasi (Herbert Endeley 84’); Facundo Quignon (Bernard Kamungo 83’), Edwin Cerrillo, Katlego Ntsabeleng (Sam Junqua 10’, Jesús Jiménez 76’); Jáder Obrian, Jesus Ferreira (C), Alan Velasco.
Substitutes not used: Sebastien Ibeagha, Amet Korça, José Mulato, Nolan Norris, Michael Webber.
SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 11; CORNER KICKS: 0; SAVES: 1
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH LUCHI GONZALEZ
On tonight’s performance against FC Dallas:
“FC Dallas are a good team. [Dallas’ head coach] Nico [Estevez] has a similar background to me in terms of what we’ve experienced in the last few years about the game, about identity, and about attacking/defending mentality. You have to give Dallas their credit. They’re a good team. They’ve won games away, they’re well coached, and they’re competitive. It was a tough game. We weren’t happy with some of the losses of possession in the first half where we could have connected with more passes. We could’ve had more sequences and patience to find numbers to then attract and break lines. I thought we did that better in the second half. I think weathering is a mentality we have to have sometimes, home or away, and I think we did that better in the second half. We did better to stay organized defensively, to get pressure on the ball, and we earned our goal on a set piece, which we’ve been working hard to do that. Jebo [Jeremy Ebobisse] was strong physically to hold the ball up and we improved our buildup because of that. I thought Tanner Beason had a really good night in terms of controlling the back line, his physicality, his communication, and his build up. The team adapted and adjusted, and we almost won tonight.”
On goalkeeper Daniel’s return:
“Having a good performance across 90 minutes and then to concede is heartbreaking for Daniel. He’s worked hard to rehabilitate injuries that have kept him away from the competition, but I thought overall he had a pretty good night. I know he is disappointed, and team is disappointed for him, but he’s a soldier. He’s adapting to the league. He has great competition with JT [Marcinkowski] and they support each other a lot. I know that just like JT has this season, I expect Daniel to bounce back.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER TANNER BEASON
On tonight’s analysis:
“We certainly believe in ourselves, believe in our ability to close. I think we have to continue to have that belief because you have to go into these games and these situations with self-belief and team belief. We’ll continue to go into and attack those kinds of situations with confidence. Of course, it’s a good thing to be in the situation where you’re winning first instead of chasing the game.”
On staying prepared to play in any moment:
“There’s no singular answer to all these situations, especially being someone who’s come on in a number of those games when we’re winning, whether we finish the game winning or not, the tactics are different because different people enter in different positions. The situation is different whether we’re home or on the road. There are certainly things we can do better, there’s no doubt about that and that has to be our approach and our focus. There are things we can do better, and we’ll look at that. The staff does a great job of putting together things succinctly that we can look at to improve and we’ll certainly do that to try to improve this facet of the game just like every other facet of the game.”
