MONTREAL – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to CF Montréal 3-0 on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 19,619 fans.
The first half was marked by the brilliance of Earthquakes goalkeeper Daniel who made six saves, with two in particular on Montreal striker Josef Martínez from point-blank range. Late in the half, Quakes midfielder Hernán López drew a foul on the left wing outside the box and forward Cristian Espinoza’s free kick attempt ricocheted off the post. The game remained scoreless at the break.
After intermission, the hosts broke through when Martínez headed home a Bryce Duke corner kick in the 51st minute. Four minutes later, Martínez would add a second when he slotted a Caden Clark low cross from the right wing into the net. Clark scored a third for Montreal in the 72nd minute from a second Duke assist to close the night.
The Quakes now travel back to San Jose for their final homestand of the season, which starts Wednesday, Oct. 2, when they face FC Dallas. Kickoff from PayPal Park 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 1-6-2 (7 GF, 16 GA) against CF Montréal in MLS regular-season competition, including a 0-5-0 (2 GF, 11 GA) record away.
Cristian Espinoza extended his run of consecutive MLS regular-season games played to a current league-high of 106 (Oct. 2, 2021 – present). The streak is not only a Quakes record but sixth longest in MLS history, surpassing Bobby Boswell’s 103 (June 19, 2013 – June 18, 2016). Luis Robles holds the league record with 183 straight appearances (Sept. 29, 2012 – May 12, 2018).
Espinoza also moved into third on the all-time consecutive games played list among field players.
MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES PLAYED - FIELD PLAYERS, MLS REGULAR-SEASON HISTORY
141 Chris Klein 06/11/2005 -- 09/19/2009
108 Darlington Nagbe 05/01/2021 -- 04/06/2024
106 Cristian Espinoza 10/02/2021 -- present
103 Bobby Boswell 06/19/2013 -- 06/18/2016
101 Jakob Glesnes 10/19/2020 -- 09/20/2023
Espinoza also paced the team with four successful crosses, running his season total to 75, where he is currently third in MLS and just three behind Atlanta United FC’s Brooks Lennon for the league lead.
Daniel sparkled in goal in the first half to keep San Jose in the game. The goalkeeper faced seven shots on goal, saving six of them to keep the match scoreless at the break.
Alfredo Morales led San Jose with 94% passing accuracy, flanked by Carlos Gruezo at 93% and Espinoza at 89%.
CF Montréal 3 – 0 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 – Stade Saputo, Montréal
Weather: 64°F Clear
Attendance: 19,691
Match Officials:
Referee: Armando Villarreal
AR1: Lyes Arfa
AR2: Jeffrey Greeson
4th: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
VAR: Alejandro Mariscal
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
Scoring Summary:
MTL (1-0) – Josef Martínez (Bryce Duke) 51’
MTL (2-0) – Josef Martínez (Caden Clark, George Campbell) 55’
MTL (3-0) – Caden Clark (Bryce Duke, Dawid Bugaj) 72’
Misconduct Summary:
MTL – Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (caution) 48’
MTL – Raheem Edwards (caution) 52’
SJ – Carlos Gruezo (caution) 60’
SJ – Jackson Yueill (caution) 66’
SJ – Alfredo Morales (caution) 86’
MTL – Tom Pearce (caution) 90+1’
CF MONTRÉAL: Jonathan Sirois; Fernando Alvarez, Joel Waterman, George Campbell, Raheem Edwards (Tom Pearce 71’); Samuel Piette (C), Bryce Duke, Nathan Saliba (Gabriele Corbo 78’), Caden Clark (Kwadwo Opoku 78’); Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (Dawid Bugaj 71’), Josef Martínez (Matias Coccaro 71’).
Substitutes not used: Sebastian Breza (GK), Dominic Iankov, Sunusi Ibrahim, Joaquin Sosa.
POSS.: 57.6%; SHOTS: 17; SOG: 11; CORNERS: 7; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 1; FOULS: 13; xG: 3.6
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel; Daniel Munie, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo, Vítor Costa; Carlos Gruezo (Alfredo Morales 73’), Hernán López (Jack Skahan 57’), Niko Tsakiris (Jackson Yueill 57’); Amahl Pellegrino (Paul Marie 57’), Cristian Espinoza (C), Jeremy Ebobisse (Tommy Thompson 78’).
Substitutes not used: William Yarbrough (GK), Tanner Beason, Oscar Verhoeven, Bruno Wilson.
POSS.: 42.4%; SHOTS: 11; SOG: 2; CORNERS: 3; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 7; FOULS: 11; xG: 1.9
NOTE: All stats are unofficial.
EARTHQUAKES INTERIM HEAD COACH IAN RUSSELL
On overall thoughts about the match:
"The first half, we didn’t have a lot of the ball. Daniel made some big saves. Montreal’s a good team. They play these little combos centrally. They overload that middle area and make it difficult. I thought there were times when did break their press, we had to be more clinical. Whether it’s a ball over the top that we underhit, or we had a really good chance with [Amahl] Pellegrino on a header that we have to finish. That puts us up 1-0. So those will come back and haunt you. But at the end of the day, we have to be better on the ball. Because if you defend like that, eventually they’re going to create chances and get a goal. I thought we started the second half pretty well, but then we give up a set-piece goal and our heads went down.”
On making second-half substitutions:
“Tommy [Thompson] is a player that will give everything he has every time he steps on the field for the San Jose Earthquakes. I want to reward him for that. Alfredo [Morales] came on. Good experienced player. [Carlos] Gruezo was on a yellow card. Almost got a second yellow, so I wanted to change that. Going forward, we have three games left, two at home and one away. We’re going to freshen up the team a little bit.”
On Cristian Espinoza’s streak of 106 consecutive games played, currently most among active players and third all-time among all field players in MLS history:
“Cristian’s a great pro. He’s been so good for the club. He’s a guy that comes to work every day. Works extremely hard. Good footballer. Good in the locker room. Good leadership. He’s a player where if you get 11 of those guys on the field at the same time, you’re going to win most games. Off the field, he takes care of his body really well. A true professional.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CRISTIAN ESPINOZA
On the team's performance tonight and moving forward to the final stretch of the season (translated from Spanish):
“I thought the effort was there, but we needed it to be constant. When the game starts, you have to be consistent with your effort and not just for moments, or you won't reach [your objective]. In this era of soccer, if we want to perform at a high level, we need to improve that, especially with the season ending with three games left and two of them at home. I hope we can do that.”
On closing the season strong:
“I need to be ready in every moment. I need to be ready for these last three games, and then my mind will be on resting with my family and coming back next year with better energy.”
On his league-leading consecutive games streak and what it means to him:
“I think it’s a good achievement. I have to be thankful, first of all to my body because it’s in good shape. I try to do my best in every training session and prepare myself, not just before every single [regular-season] game, but also starting in the preseason. I try to do my best possible to be able to play all the games I’ll have in a single season. I’m happy to be healthy, and hopefully this summer, prepare to [extend the streak] in the future.”
