LOS ANGELES – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to LAFC 6-2 on Saturday night at BMO Stadium in front of 22,146 fans.
In a rematch of the Quakes’ 3-1 win on May 4 at Levi’s Stadium, the hosts would have the upper hand this time around. LAFC opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Mateusz Bogusz finished a Sergi Palencia cross from the right wing. They doubled the advantage in the 26th minute when a Ryan Hollingshead through ball found Denis Bouanga in the box for the finish. Kei Kamara made it 3-0 for LAFC in the 33rd minute with a header. Hollingshead added a fourth from a deflected shot in the 42nd minute. The Quakes got on the board in the third minute of stoppage time when Rodrigues volleyed a Cristian Espinoza cross from the right wing past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to close the first half.
LAFC found paydirt to open the second half when Bogusz was on the receiving end of a Bouanga cross from the left wing to extend the lead to 5-1. The Black and Blue answered when Benji Kikanović finished a feed from Hernán López from the right wing with a pinpoint header. However, Tomas Angel would open his account for LAFC in the 87th minute to close the scoresheet.
The Quakes will now prepare to host LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium on Saturday, June 29, to culminate their 50th Anniversary Week. Kickoff is set for 7:30 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).
Leading up to the game, on Wednesday, June 26, the club will hold a Media Day on the Stanford Stadium field, tentatively scheduled for 12:15 p.m. PT. A portion of practice will be open to the media. Details will be announced shortly.
GAME NOTES
The Quakes moved to 7-9-1 in the MLS regular-season series against LAFC and 1-7-1 on the road.
The only previous time San Jose had won on the road over LAFC prior to tonight was Sept. 27, 2020, when Shea Salinas and current team captain Jackson Yueill scored in a 2-1 victory.
Midfielder Cristian Espinoza and forward Jeremy Ebobisse extended their MLS-leading consecutive games played streaks to 94 and 93 games, respectively.
Espinoza recorded his 10th assist of the season and 12th in 15 career games against LAFC. He is now tied for third among 2024 MLS leaders behind only FC Cincinnati’s Lucho Acosta (15) and Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi (13).
Rodrigues scored his third goal of the season and fourth in his Quakes career.
Hernán López notched his second assist of the season. He has now either scored or assisted in five of his eight career MLS starts since joining the club in May.
Benji Kikanović scored his third goal of the season and 14th career goal for San Jose.
All three top goalscorers in MLS history have now played for San Jose at some point in their careers. In the 33rd minute, current LAFC and former Earthquake forward Kei Kamara (2008) passed fellow former Earthquake Landon Donovan (2001-04) for the No. 2 spot on the MLS all-time goalscoring list with his 146th career goal. San Jose legend Chris Wondolowski (2005, 2009-21) stands atop the list with 171 goals.
Los Angeles FC 6 – 2 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, June 22, 2024 – BMO Stadium; Los Angeles
Weather: 75° Sunny
Attendance: 22,146
Match Officials:
Referee: Sergii Boiko
AR1: Lyes Afra
AR2: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
4th: Servando Berna
VAR: Sorin Stoica
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
Scoring Summary:
LAFC (1-0) – Mateusz Bogusz (Sergi Palencia) 15’
LAFC (2-0) – Denis Bouanga (Ryan Hollingshead) 26’
LAFC (3-0) – Kei Kamara (Mateusz Bogusz) 33’
LAFC (4-0) – Ryan Hollingshead (unassisted) 42’
SJ (4-1) – Rodrigues (Cristian Espinoza) 45+3’
LAFC (5-1) – Mateusz Bogusz (Denis Bouanga) 48’
SJ (5-2) – Benji Kikanović (Hernán López) 57’
LAFC (6-2) – Tomas Angel (Nathan Ordaz) 87’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Luchi Gonzalez (caution) 45+3’
SJ – Vítor Costa (caution) 46’
LOS ANGELES FC: Hugo Lloris; Jesus Murillo, Sergi Palencia (Omar Campos 73’), Ryan Hollingshead, Aaron Long (Eddie Segura 57’); Ilie Sanchez (C), Timothy Tillman, Mateusz Bogusz (Tomas Angel 84’), Eduard Atuesta (Erik Duenas 84’); Kei Kamara (Nathan Ordaz 72’), Denis Bouanga.
Substitutes not used: Abraham Romero (GK), David Martinez, Tommy Musto.
POSS.: 59.3%; SHOTS: 26; SOG: 9; CORNERS: 6; OFFSIDES: 2; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 5; xG: 2.7
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Jacob Jackson; Paul Marie, Daniel Munie, Rodrigues, Vítor Costa (Tanner Beason 54’); Jackson Yueill (C), Hernán López (Jack Skahan 77’), Niko Tsakiris (Alfredo Morales 46’); Amahl Pellegrino (Benji Kikanović 46’), Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse (Preston Judd 46’).
Substitutes not used: William Yarbrough (GK), Michael Baldisimo, Tommy Thompson, Casey Walls.
POSS.: 40.7%; SHOTS: 14; SOG: 4; CORNERS: 6; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 3; FOULS: 4; xG: 1.7
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH LUCHI GONZALEZ
On the team’s performance:
“Obviously a disappointing result. We didn’t compete, especially in the first half in the sense of duels, in the same of defensive recovery runs knowing this is a good team and very dynamic offensively. We did have control of the ball equally as them early in the game that led to getting in their half, but lacked quality to hold it up and build high possession, lacked quality in the final attack, and in transition, and it hurt us. And we conceded multiple goals. We did not compete. It was nowhere near our standard. It feels embarrassing down with that scoreline at half. You can be down and lose, but how you do it is the most important in anything, not just in this sport, but anything in life. We’re disappointed in that. I’m disappointed with us in not showing more in terms of those areas — duels, tackles, recovery runs, quality and just another level of edge and bite to be in a difficult place to play, but get in their face and show that we’re here to compete.”
On responding in the second half:
“I thought we were better second half. We responded. We did a formation change to have references a little bit more clear, build pressure yet still defend and create chances. Who knows if we would have had a chance to come back? But taking it one moment at a time, the goal was to win the second half. Giving up that goal early is a disappointment when we have good defenders, or enough defenders to handle the situation, and we’re one-on-one in the back post. So again, a breakdown where we’re not good enough or aware enough to win the duel. From there, we played more free, we left nothing to lose and created some good chances. ... We competed better second half.”
On building the team’s confidence:
“Look, at the end of the day, confidence is low, and the only way to build confidence, in the way I’ve experienced it in my life as a player of coach, is to act. Not a lack of acting or lack of action. It’s actually acting, and doing more, and doing the things you don’t necessarily want to do. Acting and moving forward and acting more, on the field in terms of playing. Off the field in terms of preparation and mentality. Not being stagnant. We all need to act more, including myself moving forward.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD BENJI KIKANOVIĆ
On coming on in the second half and scoring a goal:
“We were down 4-1 first half. ... Somehow we have to fix it. I don’t have the answers. To the fans, to everyone that supports, watches ... all I can say is sorry from everyone and we have to be better. Obviously we have a game next week, so quick turnaround, and keep going. That’s the only thing to do.”
On recent results:
“It has not been good. You can’t really sugarcoat it. I’m not the guy that’s going to sugarcoat it. Honestly, it’s embarrassing to watch and to even play in it, it’s embarrassing. But we have to take it step by step. We have leaders in the locker room. We have a lot of experienced guys that we have to look towards. Obviously I’ve been here a couple years now, so maybe myself. ... We can’t continue like this. We have to look at each other. We have to keep going. I know it’s hard to be positive in this moment ... but we have to be realistic and we have to work on things that have been bad. We have to make sure that as a team we keep fighting. That’s the only thing I ask is to keep fighting. We can’t give up.”
On fighting for his season, both individually and collectively as a team:
“I had a rough season last year, so I’m just trying to do the best that I can this year. I haven’t been getting much minutes, but the minutes that I get, I try to make the most of them, give it my all. I’m not perfect, but one thing you get from me is hard work. We have to work our ass off more. ... It’s not going to work in this league if you play like that, if you play scared ... nothing good is going to come from it. In terms of the coach and coaching staff, we believe. He’s here for a reason, and we have to keep fighting. He fights for us every day, The coaching staff fights for us every day, and we have to fight for them. Like I said, we can’t just give up, because that’s not the right thing to do, and that’s not something that we want to do in the locker room. We have some dogs in there, but right now, it’s a tough situation to be in. ... We have to keep chipping away little by little, but you have to look at the tape.”
