CARSON, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes fell to the LA Galaxy 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Dignity Health Sports Park. Defender Tommy Thompson, who made his 150th career appearance for San Jose, became the first Homegrown Player in club history to wear the captain's armband.
After a scoreless first half, LA got on the board in the 70th minute after a cross from Samuel Grandsir bounced off Tanner Beason and rolled passed JT Marcinkowski's goal. San Jose would respond with nine shots but could not find the equalizer.
The Earthquakes are now off for two weeks before traveling to face Austin FC in the first-ever match at Q2 Stadium on Saturday, June 19. The match kicks off at 6:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast nationally on UniMás, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes now hold a 3-5-0 record (9 pts.) during the 2021 MLS regular season and are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference.
San Jose now holds a 6-3-2 record in their last 11 matches vs. the LA Galaxy.
Earthquakes defender Tommy Thompson made his 150th career appearance for San Jose, becoming the ninth player in club history to reach that milestone. Thompson also wore the captain's armband for the first time with the Quakes, becoming the first Homegrown Player in club history to earn the opportunity.
Earthquakes midfielder Shea Salinas made his 300th career appearance for San Jose, entering as a substitute in the 51st minute. Salinas becomes the second player in club history to reach that mark.
Midfielder Judson made his first start of the 2021 season, playing 90 minutes. It also marked his first regular season start since Nov. 8, 2020.
MLS Regular Season
LA Galaxy 1 - 0 San Jose Earthquakes
May 29, 2021 - Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.
Scoring Summary: LA - Tanner Beason (own goal) 70.
Misconduct Summary: SJ - Judson (caution) 29; LA - Jonathan Dos Santos (caution) 43; LA - Julian Araujo (caution) 49; LA - Sacha Kljestan (caution) 84.
LA GALAXY: Jonathan Bond; Julian Araujo, Daniel Steres, Jorge Villafana, Nick DePuy; Jonathan Dos Santos (Adam Saldaña 53), Sacha Kljestan, Efrain Alvarez (Victor Vasquez 63); Kevin Cabral (Ethan Zubak 81), Javier Hernandez, Cameron Dunbar (Samuel Grandsir 63).
Substitutes not used: Danilo Acosta, Oniel Fisher, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Carlos Harvey, Jonathan Klinsmann.
SHOTS: 21, SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; FOULS: 16; CORNER KICKS: 4.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Marcos Lopez (Paul Marie 62), Tanner Beason, Florian Jungwirth, Tommy Thompson; Eric Remedi, Judson, Cristian Espinoza (Siad Haji 74), Carlos Fierro (Andy Rios 67), Chofis (Shea Salinas 62), Cade Cowell (Chris Wondolowski 62).
Substitutes not used: Luciano Abecasis, Eric Calvillo, Benji Kikanovic, Daniel Vega.
SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 12; FOULS: 11; CORNER KICKS: 4.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MATIAS ALMEYDA
On making modifications to future lineups and substitutions:
"I'm the person responsible for deciding which players will start. That is how I like to kick off our matches. They've all had the chance to play, and they've had every chance to convert, even with penalties. There are moments when matches go a certain way. The games are close, and the ball won't go in. We need to keep working. We have to give the players calmness because this also becomes a question of confidence. We dedicate one day per week to finishing, and we play games centered around finishing. I will look to see if there is any more work that can be done to improve our finishing. I even have the number of shots a player takes in a week, and I need to conform to the fact that sometimes they will score and other times they won't."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI
On the team's shortcomings in the match:
"We went wrong by letting the game be open. At times that can suit us, but we knew coming into this game that was not our game plan. I think the game got structured a little bit too much and a little bit too open. That being said, we created a lot of opportunities, and we should have and could have capitalized and that's something that we kind of have been [weak] on these last couple of games and also a correlation of why I think we've been struggling these last couple of games."
On what the team can work on during the upcoming break:
"Executing the game plan is something that we need to work on. I think right now, we've gotten a little too much into a hero ball. Guys take it upon themselves and try to do something special and I think [those are] the times we have been dangerous to be honest. I think that the things that we've been missing are a lot of movement off the ball and connecting those passes. We've been missing a lot of easy passes, and when we connect those passes and use the outside the way that we should, then we are able to get a lot more crosses, be able to create more chances. That also opens up the middle where you can slide passes in and create room for Chofis and he can do his magic as well. I think right now we're a little too stagnant all over and I think a touch or two too many as well."
