SAN JOSE Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes and Nashville SC played to a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon at PayPal Park. It marked the first-ever match between the two teams. Jeremy Ebobisse scored twice for San Jose and now ranks tied for first in MLS with five goals this season, all of which have come in the last three matches.
After conceding the match’s opening goal to Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar late in the first half, San Jose equalized on a curling free kick from Ebobisse seven minutes into the second half.
Nashville regained the lead in the 63rd minute but the Earthquakes equalized again just nine minutes later. A corner kick by Jamiro Monteiro was headed away before being played back into the six-yard box by Jan Gregus. Ebobisse beat his defender to the ball for the close-range finish.
The Earthquakes will remain in San Jose to host Bay Cities FC in the third round of the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, April 19. Kickoff from PayPal Park is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT.
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GAME NOTES*
The Earthquakes currently hold a 0-4-3 record (3 pts.) during the 2022 MLS regular season.
The Quakes now hold a 0-0-1 all-time record against Nashville SC, including a 0-0-1 record at PayPal Park.
San Jose has now come from behind to secure draws in three consecutive home matches.
Forward Jeremy Ebobisse scored two goals, his fourth and fifth of the season and 31st and 32nd of his MLS career. He has scored five goals in the last three matches and is now tied for the MLS lead with five goals this season. Ebobisse has now scored two goals in consecutive matches. Three Earthquakes have accomplished that feat since 2019 (Ebobisse, Chofis, Wondolowski), the most in MLS over that span.
Midfielder Jan Gregus tallied an assist on Ebobisse’s second goal. It marks his fifth assist of the season and 24th of his MLS career. He has now tallied one assist in each of the last three matches, and his five assists this season rank tied for first in MLS.
Earthquakes defender Nathan made his first appearance since the season opener on Feb. 26, starting and playing 90 minutes. Nathan underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee on March 1.
Nashville SC midfielder Anibal Godoy made his first return to San Jose since being traded by the Quakes back in 2019. Godoy made 101 appearances for San Jose between 2015-19.
MATCH INFORMATION
2022 MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 2 – 2 Nashville SC
Saturday, April 16, 2022 – PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 10,394
Man of the Match: Jeremy Ebobisse
Scoring Summary:
NSH (1-0) – Hany Mukhtar (Anibal Godoy) 38’
SJ (1-1) – Jeremy Ebobisse (free kick) 52’
NSH (2-1) – Hany Mukhtar (CJ Sapong, Dave Romney) 63’
SJ (2-2) – Jeremy Ebobisse (Jan Gregus) 71’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Cade Cowell (caution) 21’
NSH – Daniel Lovitz (caution) 51’
Luke Haakenson (caution) 90+5’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Tanner Beason (Tommy Thompson 68), Nathan, Francisco Calvo, Paul Marie; Jackson Yueill, Jan Gregus, Jamiro Monteiro, Cristian Espinoza (Ousseni Bouda 83), Cade Cowell, Jeremy Ebobisse.
Substitutes not used: Eric Remedi, Matt Bersano, Jack Skahan, Siad Haji, Will Richmond, Oskar Ågren, Niko Tsakiris.
SHOTS: 17; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 11; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 2
NASHVILLE SC: Joe Willis; Daniel Lovitz (Taylor Washington 73), Dave Romney, Jack Maher, Walker Zimmerman (C); Hany Mukhtar, Alex Muyl, Anibal Godoy (Dax McCarty 80), Sean Davis (Brian Anunga 88); Randall Leal (Luke Haakenson 88), CJ Sapong (Ake Loba 80).
Substitutes not used: Ethan Zubak, Eric Miller, Ahmed Longmire, Bryan Meredith.
SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 15; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 3
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD JEREMY EBOBISSE
On his thoughts on scoring his free kick goal:
“Well for starters, Jackson [Yueill] came over to me as soon as the foul happened, and he saw me move towards the ball and he told me to take it. He insisted and told the other guys that were coming up that Jeremy should take it. To get confidence from a friend and our captain, that he trusted me to step up in that moment, I wanted to repay that and also validate some of the work that I have been putting in as it related to certain free kicks. As I was looking at the wall and the goalie’s positioning, I felt that it was more advantageous to go back post based on where the goalie was aligned, where some of my teammates placed themselves to block his line of sight and understanding the difficulty and the angle that was needed to get up and over the wall at that moment. I felt pretty strongly about going back post, taking my time, being patient, and it came off. It wasn’t perfectly in the corner, but at the end of the day the guys that were blocking the goalie’s line of sight did as good of a job as I did striking the ball.”
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On how to carry this momentum into the next match vs. Seattle:*
“I think it’s about taking it one day at a time and understanding that yes, results, in this case personal results, are important and are a sign of validation but they’re not the be-all, end-all. You want to help your team in more ways than just finding the back of the net because the last thing I want to do as a striker is to be that guy that is useless in everything that our team does but scores a goal every now and then. I want to be in the fight with my teammates all the time and finding ways to make myself and them better, put them in better situations where they can score goals too because we need everyone. When I was down, a guy would pick me up, and if guys are down now then it’s my job to be picking them up as well. Day by day, I think we are understanding each other better in the attacking third, and it’s on us to be clinical when we do get chances because as tight as this league and these games are, we know that missing a chance often comes back and hurts you. We’re going to be ready for whoever is in front of us.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER TOMMY THOMPSON
On what the identity of the Quakes is and could be:
“I think it’s clear this team has weapons that are worth getting excited about. I think we have some dangerous players that can create chances and score goals. I think we need to continue to put those guys in positions to succeed without jeopardizing our defensive structure. Moving forward, I think we’re going to have to clean up the mistakes we’ve made. We’ve done a good job of keeping the ball and we’ve had our fair share of chances, but we’ve given up too many goals and we’ve given up too many opportunities.”
On having a three-game unbeaten streak at home and building momentum at PayPal Park:
“Yeah, I think we’ve come back in just about every game here at PayPal as well. The crowd is amazing, and the energy can be felt on the field for the players. Every time I’ve subbed in, I’ve felt the momentum from the crowd, and I think it really pushes us onward to make things happen. That’s something to build on is being unbeaten in three games, but there’s no doubt that in order to make playoffs you have to get wins. That’s what we’re going to be focused on doing vs. Seattle next week.”
