SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes earned their first road point of the season with a 2-2 draw against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday night. Shea Salinas scored two goals to give the Quakes a 2-0 lead, but Seattle rebounded with a pair of goals in quick succession to level the score.
Salinas is currently tied with Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA), Carlos Vela (LAFC) and Nani (ORL) for the most goals in Major League Soccer this calendar month (4).
Seattle has been Major League Soccer’s hottest team dating back to last season, holding a 20-3-3 record over their previous 26 matches entering Wednesday. The Cascadia side had dropped points at home just once since last June, a span of 13 matches (12-1-0).
After starting the season with four consecutive losses, the Quakes have now dropped just one of their last four (2-1-1), while facing some of the league’s most competitive sides.
MLS Regular Season
Seattle Sounders FC 2 – 2 San Jose Earthquakes
April 24, 2019 – CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash.
Attendance: 37,722
Man of the Match: Shea Salinas
Scoring Summary: SJ – Shea Salinas (Magnus Eriksson) 34; SJ – Shea Salinas (Cristian Espinoza) 53; SEA – Kelvin Leerdam (Kim Kee-hee, Nicolas Lodeiro) 65; SEA – Harry Shipp (Nicolas Lodeiro, Brad Smith) 66.
Misconduct Summary: SEA – Handwalla Bwana (caution) 37; SJ – Danny Hoesen (caution) 70; SEA – Nicolas Lodeiro (caution) 77; SJ – Luis Felipe (caution) 87; SJ – Chris Wondolowski (caution) 90+5.
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC: Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam, Kim Kee-hee, Chad Marshall, Nouhou (Brad Smith 55); Gustav Svensson (Harry Shipp 56), Cristian Roldan, Handwalla Bwana, Nicolas Lodeiro, Victor Rodriguez (Henry Wingo 63); Jordan Morris.
SHOTS: 21; SHOTS ON TARGET: 8; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 11; CORNERS: 12; OFFSIDES: 0
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel Vega; Nick Lima, Florian Jungwirth, Harold Cummings, Paul Marie; Judson (Luis Felipe 79), Jackson Yueill; Shea Salinas, Magnus Eriksson (Vako 75), Cristian Espinoza; Danny Hoesen (Chris Wondolowski 86).
SHOTS: 17; SHOTS ON TARGET: 6; SAVES: 6; FOULS: 17 CORNERS: 3; OFFSIDES: 0
MATCH NOTES:
- San Jose became just the second road team to earn at least one point at CenturyLink Field since last June.
- The draw snaps a seven-game home winning streak for Sounders FC.
- Shea Salinas scored his third and fourth goals of the season and 16th and 17th of his MLS career, setting a new single-season career-high in goals.
- Wednesday night marked the first multi-goal game of Salinas’ MLS career, which has spanned 290 appearances.
- Salinas has scored twice as many goals through six appearances in 2019 as he did across 83 appearances from 2016-18 (2).
- Salinas has scored in back-to-back matches for the second time in his career and first time since August of 2015. His four goals in April also marks the first time that he has tallied more than two goals in a single calendar month.
- Salinas is currently tied with Ibrahimovic (LA), Vela (LAFC) and Nani (ORL) for the most goals in Major League Soccer this calendar month (4).
- Salinas is the only player in MLS to score on more than half his shots this season (min. 2 shots).
- Magnus Eriksson was credited with the assist on Salinas’ first goal. It marked his third of the season, equaling last season’s total, and sixth of his MLS career. Eriksson has now tallied two assists and a goal in the last two matches.
- Cristian Espinoza was credited with the assist on Salinas’ second goal. It marked his second of the season and his MLS career.
- Paul Marie made his first MLS start in tonight’s match. Marie made his MLS debut last week against SKC as a second-half substitute.
- The Earthquakes now hold a 10-10-6 all-time record against Seattle Sounders FC.
- San Jose is now 5-8-2 all-time against Seattle Sounders FC on the road.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MATIAS ALMEYDA
On the match:
“I feel we performed well. We’re inside of a project and transcending a new path with a style of play we’re looking for and are now finding. We knew that this team in Seattle at home was very strong. I had the chance to be here when I was with Chivas so we know what the turf is about and how many fans they have. They have a good coach and very good players. I believe that we had a great game.”
On his team pushing on even after Seattle tied it 2-2:
“That makes me very happy the way every player acted. They’re really putting their souls in there, which is what I ask of them. This team has not given up looking for victories. Surely playing this way we’ll have more of a chance of winning than things going badly.”
On what he learned about his team tonight:
“Well I’ve been studying them for three months now and this was a demonstration of their character, especially keeping in mind that the first 10 minutes we were playing like we were asleep. Then for a while we were in control of the game against a difficult team. It was a spectacle.”
On how the team will prepare for a quick turnaround at Dallas on Saturday:
“First thing is go to the hotel and have the players eat, have them rest and tomorrow we have another trip. We know that we’re facing another tough opponent.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER SHEA SALINAS
On tonight’s game:
“I think we don’t want to change our game plan no matter who we are playing, where we are or the circumstances. We were disappointed to go down 2-2. We thought we could come in and win the game. We kept pushing, they were pushing as well so it made for an entertaining second half.”
On the team’s confidence and spirit tonight:
“I think we played well. We had confidence. I mean the first 10 minutes we struggled a bit, just getting used to how we were going to play against their system. We settled in. We played a great team effort, a great team game. Everyone was fighting so hard that second half. It was fun to be a part of, and fun to watch.”
On what he learned about his team and where the team is at:
“I think we are learning the tactical side of things, but our guys have so much heart. Guys are flying around. Paul Marie was awesome at right back, it was his first start. Guys in the middle, Judson, Jackson [Yueill] as well, they are running all over the place. It is cool to see guys sacrificing for the team and that to pay off in points is nice.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER JACKSON YUEILL
On what is working for him:
“I think the way we play really suits my style of play. A lot of box to box, a lot of work. Getting on the ball a lot when we have it and keeping it well. So being a part of it and getting my chances on the field is very good, and I hope we can keep up these performances.”
On hitting the woodwork tonight:
“You can never be too sad over a chance - there will always be more to come, but I was a little hurt it didn’t go in. I think we scored right after it so I wasn’t too angry.”
On playing more physical on defense and what has changed:
“Extra work in the gym and in the trainings. We work extra hard every day of the week and I think you can see the results paying off in the games.”
