NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The San Jose Earthquakes and Nashville SC played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday evening at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tenn. San Jose prevented Nashville from scoring on their home turf for just the second time since the start of the 2021 season, inclusive of 22 matches.
The Quakes played without several regulars including Francisco Calvo (international duty), Marcos Lopez (international duty), and Jackson Yueill (injury).
Nashville nearly had the match’s opening goal in the ninth minute. Hany Mukhtar played a through ball to Luke Haakenson, who dribbled around goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and put a shot towards the empty net before Paul Marie made a last-ditch slide tackle to put the ball out of play.
Marcinkowski, who wore the captain’s armband in Yueill’s absence, made several critical saves throughout the match to help San Jose record their second shutout of the season.
The Earthquakes will now return to San Jose to prepare for their third consecutive road match when they face Real Salt Lake on Saturday, June 18. The match will kick off from Rio Tinto Stadium at 6:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports California, KNBR 1050 (English), and 1370 KZSF (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes currently hold a 3-6-6 record (15 pts.) during the 2022 MLS regular season.
The Quakes are now 0-0-2 all-time vs. Nashville SC, including a 0-0-1 record on the road.
San Jose is now 3-2-3 in MLS play under interim head coach Alex Covelo.
Midfielder Cristian Espinoza made his 100th MLS appearance, starting and playing 79 minutes.
Goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made five saves to record his second shutout of the season and 12th of his MLS career.
MATCH INFORMATION
2022 MLS Regular Season
Nashville SC 0 – 0 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, June 11, 2022 – GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tenn.
Attendance: 28,672
Man of the Match: JT Marcinkowski
Scoring Summary:
None
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Eric Remedi (caution) 67’
NSH – Brian Anunga (caution) 74’
SJ – Judson (caution) 83’
SJ – Paul Marie (caution) 90+4’
NASHVILLE SC: Joe Willis; Daniel Lovitz, Jack Maher, Eric Miller, Taylor Washington; Dax McCarty (Brian Anunga 69), Hany Mukhtar, Alex Muyl, Luke Haakenson (Ake Loba 60), Sean Davis; CJ Sapong.
Substitutes not used: Ethan Zubak, Ahmed Longmire, Josh Bauer, Elliot Panicco, Meyer.
SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 17; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 6
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Paul Marie, Tanner Beason, Nathan, Tommy Thompson; Eric Remedi (Judson 76), Jan Gregus, Jamiro Monteiro; Cade Cowell (Benji Kikanović 76), Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza (Shea Salinas 79).
Substitutes not used: Matt Bersano (GK), Oskar Ågren, Will Richmond, Jack Skahan, Casey Walls, Jackson Yueill.
SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 7; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 5
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES INTERIM HEAD COACH ALEX COVELO
On takeaways of today’s match and getting a point on the road:
“I think it’s true that we did not create as many chances as we would have wanted. I think we had our opportunities but to play here in Nashville with the humidity that there is here and the effort the team put in was amazing. You’re not always going to score the amount of goals that we have been scoring, like for example today Jeremy [Ebobisse] did not score a goal but he put in a great effort to help us and get the clean sheet.”
On JT Marcinkowski’s performance tonight and his improvement in recent months:
“I spoke with JT [Marcinkowski] a few times and I think it was after the Kansas City [Sporting KC] game, where JT [Marcinkowski] has helped us a lot in some games. Sometimes as a player you have better games than others and today JT [Marcinkowski] put in a great effort to keep that zero in our goal. One of his qualities is being very good and fast under the three posts of the goal. He’s very fast and one of his saves to the left was amazing.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER JT MARCINKOWSKI
On dealing with teams getting in behind the defense:
“Yeah, they definitely got in behind a few times. I think it was definitely more in the first half. We kind of made some changes at halftime to make sure our lines stayed a little bit more compact. Nathan stepped out a few times in the first half as he does really well, but obviously [Hany] Mukhtar and [CJ] Sapong and their other players are really good. And so, they obviously created some chances, but at the end of the day, I just tried to do my best to be there for the team and to make some saves. I think it’s something that we highlight in our training with Matt [Bersano] and Emi [Ochoa] and I. It’s nice to see it fold out during the game.”
On the need to get all three points at Real Salt Lake next weekend:
“I think you go into every away game, whether it’s in a tough environment or an environment in which you’ve won before, you’re always looking for three points. Tonight, it’s a little bit different of a feeling of a draw compared to let’s say Vancouver on the road just because that game was a little bit more in our grasp. I think this game was pretty even, and in this environment, in front of this crowd, I think the defense had a really good performance. Looking ahead to next week, I think RSL has had a really good year so far and they’re a tough team. They’re a team that plays much different at home compared to on the road, and we’ll look at the film and we’ll try to go in there and get three points.”
