SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Real Salt Lake 1-0 on Saturday night at PayPal Park to close their 2024 Major League Soccer home schedule.
After a scoreless first half, the visitors appeared to score first in the 56th minute, but substitute Chicho Arango was ruled offside. At the hour mark, Rodrigues almost propelled San Jose into the lead, but his header was just wide. Five minutes later, Arango stayed dangerous, launching a deep attempt that was parried away at the last moment by Quakes goalkeeper Daniel. In the 70th minute, Dominik Marczuk’s header at the far post hit the crossbar and bounced out of harm’s way.
However, in minute 78, RSL midfielder Diego Luna’s left-footed shot at the edge of the box found the back of the net to give the visitors the lead. Preston Judd nearly had an equalizer in minute 90 but goalkeeper Zac MacMath batted it away.
The Quakes complete their 2024 MLS season on Saturday, Oct. 19, when they travel to Los Angeles to face Los Angeles Football Club. Kickoff from BMO Stadium will take place at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as on local radio via AM 810 The Spread (English) and AM 1370 La Kaliente (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The Quakes moved to 16-15-12 (57 GF, 62 GA) against Real Salt Lake in MLS regular-season competition, including a 10-7-5 (36 GF, 28 GA) record at home.
San Jose split the season series with Real Salt Lake after defeating them 2-0 in Utah on Aug. 24. The Quakes also saw their two-game unbeaten home streak against RSL snapped after drawing 2-2 with them in 2022 and beating them 2-1 last year.
The Quakes celebrated 50 years with Krazy George, who has been leading cheers since the club’s first match in 1974. The first 5,000 fans through the gates received a Krazy George wig courtesy of Habbas Law.
Cristian Espinoza extended his run of consecutive MLS regular-season games played to a current league-high of 108 (Oct. 2, 2021 – present). The streak is not only a Quakes record but tied for fifth longest in MLS history. He now stands equal with Darlington Nagbe (May 1, 2021 – Apr. 6, 2024) in the all-time annals and second among all field players. Espinoza can pass Nagbe in the season finale on Oct. 19 in a road contest vs. LAFC. Goalkeeper Luis Robles holds the league record with 183 straight appearances (Sept. 29, 2012 – May 12, 2018).
San Jose Earthquakes 0 – 1 Real Salt Lake
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024 – PayPal Park, San Jose, Calif.
Weather: 84°F Clear
Attendance: 16,322
Match Officials:
Referee: Mark Allatin
AR1: Matthew Nelson
AR2: Kevin Lock
4th: Malik Badawi
VAR: Luis Guardia
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson
Scoring Summary:
RSL (0-1) – Diego Luna (Braian Ojeda) 78’
Misconduct Summary:
RSL – Alexandros Katranis (caution) 45’
RSL – Anderson Julio (caution) 53’
RSL – Zac MacMath (caution) 85’
RSL – Justen Glad (caution) 90+5’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel; Oscar Verhoeven (Vítor Costa 75’), Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo; Niko Tsakiris (Preston Judd 81’), Jackson Yueill (Alfredo Morales 75’), Hernán López; Paul Marie (Amahl Pellegrino 63’), Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse (Jack Skahan 63’).
Substitutes not used: William Yarbrough (GK), Daniel Munie, Tommy Thompson, Bruno Wilson.
POSS.: 45.6%; SHOTS: 5; SOG: 1; CORNERS: 2; OFFSIDES: 2; SAVES: 5; FOULS: 9; xG: 0.5
REAL SALT LAKE: Zac MacMath; Alexandros Katranis, Philip Quinton, Justen Glad (C), Javain Brown; Braian Ojeda, Nelson Palacio (Emeka Eneli 71’), Diogo Gonçalves; Diego Luna, Dominik Marczuk (Matt Crooks 71’), Anderson Julio (Chicho Arango 55’). (Andrew Brody 87’) (Lachlan Brook 87’)
Substitutes not used: Gavin Beavers (GK), Noel Caliskan, Maikel Chang, Erik Holt.
POSS.: 54.4%; SHOTS: 14; SOG: 6; CORNERS: 9; OFFSIDES: 2; SAVES: 1; FOULS: 20; xG: 1.1
NOTE: All stats are unofficial.
EARTHQUAKES INTERIM HEAD COACH IAN RUSSELL
On the team’s attack against RSL:
“Niko [Tsakiris] and Jackson [Yueill] broke the lines decently well, but I felt like after that, we didn't have a lot of tempo change to get in behind them. I think Salt Lake does a pretty good job. They press pretty well, but I actually liked some of the combination plays with Niko, Hernán [López] and Jackson. But I think we were missing that next step to create a big chance.”
On the lone goal of the game:
“It was a really good strike by [Diego] Luna. Good player. They had some chances early on, and then most of their chances came from outside the box. Unfortunately, that one went in. They did hit the crossbar and one back post header. But if you look at the chances, we didn't have a lot, but we had two really big chances. One with Rodrigues’ header that normally, he can put those away, six yards out, seven yards out, and then Preston Judd had a late one. So that's a little frustrating. I thought Salt Lake was pretty good tonight. But chance-wise, most of them were outside the box. They did have some really early on in the game. For six minutes they were on this, but I thought we dealt with it pretty well, and it was a good strike.”
On looking ahead to the season finale vs. LAFC:
“Sometimes you're going to win; sometimes you're going to lose. What really gets me is if a player is not working hard enough, and for the most part, this group works hard, that's going to be a big test. LAFC is very good, and they're still playing for positions in the standings. We do match up pretty well against them. We beat them already this season. so just go down there, play good football, defend well, look at their chances and try to hurt them.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD PAUL MARIE
On areas of improvement for next season:
“We are going into the offseason after the next game. I think there's always areas of the game to improve. Individually, everybody will be able to do their thing. I'll do my thing. I’ll like to work on the physicality, on being more fit, on being more sharp on the ball. I’ll do all of this, and I'll work with the coaches on it.”
On transitioning from defender to the forward position late in the season:
“I see myself competing for that position. I think I've shown defensively that I can help a lot. You have someone who's completely acting on the job of doing his defensive part and helping the team. I can definitely get sharper in the final third and help a lot more, but I see myself competing in that.”
On the fans sticking with the team throughout the campaign:
“We have a lot of respect for the people who stayed with us the whole season. We've been very lucky to have the support we've been having with the stadium and all the fans coming to see us. They pay to come see us, so we have a lot of respect for that. We would love to give them a lot more than what we have been giving them. But we just love their support all year long, and hopefully next year we can give them a little bit more.”
