SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to the LA Galaxy 3-1 on Saturday evening at PayPal Park. The match was the Quakes’ first with no capacity restrictions since March 2020 and was attended by a sold-out crowd of 18,000 fans.The match also featured a number of festivities, including skydivers pregame and a halftime ceremony honoring frontline workers.
The LA Galaxy jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Samuel Grandsir sent a cross to Chicharito, who redirected the ball goalward. LA would then add two more goals in second half.
San Jose created a number of chances before finding the breakthrough in the 82nd minute. Seventeen-year-old Cade Cowell received a pass, turned onto his left foot and sent a low shot just inside the far post. The Quakes pushed forward to cut the deficit in half, even hitting the post on two occasions, but couldn’t add to their tally.
The Earthquakes will now prepare to travel to the Midwest to face Minnesota United FC next Saturday, July 3. The match kicks off from Allianz Field at 5:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on NBC Sports California, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
GAME NOTES
Saturday’s match marked the first with no capacity restrictions since March 7, 2020.
The Earthquakes now hold a 3-7-1 record (10 pts.) during the 2021 MLS regular season and are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference.
The Quakes are now 26-34-16 all-time vs. the LA Galaxy.
Forward Cade Cowell scored his third goal of the season and fourth of his MLS career.
Midfielder Chofis tallied an assist on Cowell’s goal, marking his first assist in MLS.
MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 1 – 3 LA Galaxy
June 26, 2021 – PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 18,000 (sellout)
Scoring Summary: LA – Chicharito (Samuel Grandsir) 9; LA – Chicharito (Kevin Cabral) 50; LA – Florian Jungwirth (own goal) 70; SJ – Cade Cowell (Chofis) 82.
Misconduct Summary: SJ – Judson (caution) 6; LA – Jonathan Bond (caution) 59; SJ – Eric Remedi (caution) 66; SJ – Chofis (caution) 90.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski, Paul Marie (Benji Kikanovic 85), Oswaldo Alanis, Florian Jungwirth (Andy Rios 85); Eric Remedi, Jackson Yueill, Judson (Cade Cowell 54), Shea Salinas, Cristian Espinoza, Chofis; Chris Wondolowski.
Substitutes not used: Tanner Beason, Said Haji, Nathan, Jack Skahan, Tommy Thompson, Daniel Vega.
SHOTS: 13, SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 10; CORNER KICKS: 10.
LA GALAXY: Jonathan Bond, Julian Araujo, Sega Coulibaly, Jorge Villafana, Nick DePuy; Jonathan Dos Santos, Sebastian Lletget (Sacha Kljestan 63), Efrain Alvarez (Victor Vazquez 64); Kevin Cabral, Samuel Grandsir (Cameron Dunbar 64), Chicharito (Ethan Zubak 72).
Substitutes not used: Oniel Fisher, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Jonathan Klinsmann, Jonathan Perez, Adam Saldana.
SHOTS: 13, SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 15; CORNER KICKS: 22.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MATIAS ALMEYDA
On moving forward from this result:
“When you lose, I try to see the negatives, which I have obviously seen, but I also need to look at the positives. Obviously, it’s better to win derbies. I thought the team looked different today from the previous match. They recovered their identity, and we keep repeating the same mistakes and resetting in the middle. We hit the post four times, we had goal-scoring chances. When a winning team such as the LA Galaxy sits back, it will be normal for them to have dangerous counter-attacking moments.”
On fans being back in attendance:
“It brings happiness. Having our supporters present feels nice. Today was a special moment for me. My mother was present for the match and got to know the stadium. She is visiting me here. My wish was for my father to also be present. Everyone knows what took place with my father, but I was happy because I told my mother what the club means to me. I obviously wanted a victory. In life, we have to accept when things get twisted. We will double down on our bet to get ahead. If there is one thing that has characterized me, it’s that I never let my arms drop.”
On how the addition of Nathan can reinforce the roster:
“I think the addition of Nathan will reinforce the defense. Having competition and substitutions is always good. I have spoken with Jesse Fioranelli and the owner quite a bit and have given them my opinions regarding vision for this team soon. Every coach wants a deep roster. Our roster has many young players. Our project and process is clearly different from the LA Galaxy’s. Our idea is always to compete, but we know our young players still need time to learn.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER JACKSON YUEILL
On what went wrong tonight:
“Yeah, it was an important game for us, and we were hoping to come out and get a good result. I think we still are playing our style of football and we’re still trying to do things. I think what’s hurting us at the moment is our mistakes and our turnovers that lead to really good chances for the opposition and they’re putting away the chances that we give them and the mistakes that we make. We’re having a hard time recovering and scoring goals on the offensive end. It’s just about limiting those mistakes and working on ways to try and create more chances because I think we do have good moments in the games, and I think we do have opportunities to be in the lead and stay ahead but we’re kind of shooting ourselves in the foot early on in the game and having a hard time recovering.”
On having a full crowd for the first time since Covid began:
“Yeah, it was awesome. Love having everyone back. It definitely felt different. Of course, it was a Cali Clasico but just seeing everyone when you’re coming into the stadium, when you’re warming up, when you’re in the game is different. We loved having everyone back and we’re excited to have them all the rest of the season and hopefully they can continue their support and their cheers throughout the rest of the year and we turn it around and make something of this year.”
