SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes defeated the New York Cosmos 1-0 at Avaya Stadium on Saturday night thanks to a volley from defender Clarence Goodson. The match marked the end of the team’s preseason preparations ahead of their 2016 MLS campaign.
San Jose came close to opening the scoring in the 13th minute when right-back Marvell Wynne’s surging run ended with a pass to midfielder Simon Dawkins, whose low shot flashed wide of the near post.
Jamaica international Dawkins and his compatriot, left-back Shaun Francis, both drilled efforts from the edge of the box wide as the home side looked to break the deadlock before the interval to no avail.
In the 51st minute, the Quakes did take the lead when defender Goodson volleyed home after winger Shea Salinas’ corner triggered a goalmouth scramble.
After Dawkins and central defender Victor Bernardez both had further chances, Juan Arrango almost leveled for the New York club when he shot wide in the 82nd minute.
Forward Innocent stepped up his return from injury when he came off the bench for Quincy Amarikwa for the final nine minutes while new signing Alberto Quintero made his debut for the Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium, playing 81 minutes following his midweek loan move from Mexican club Lobos BUAP.
San Jose kick off the 2016 MLS season when they host the Colorado Rapids at Avaya Stadium on March 6 (12 p.m. kickoff), presented by Avaya. Tickets are available at sjearthquakes.com, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.
Preseason
San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 New York Cosmos
February 27, 2016 – Avaya Stadium
Scoring Summary: SJ – Clarence Goodson (unassisted) 51.
Misconduct Summary: SJ – Chris Wondolowski (caution) 31; SJ – Quincy Amarikwa (caution) 42; NY – Ayoze (caution) 54; SJ – Anibal Godoy (caution) 67.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: David Bingham; Shaun Francis, Clarence Goodson, Victor Bernardez, Marvell Wynne; Shea Salinas (Tommy Thompson 72), Simon Dawkins, Anibal Godoy, Alberto Quintero (Matias Perez Garcia 81); Quincy Amarikwa (Innocent 81), Chris Wondolowski (Adam Jahn 86).
SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; SAVES: 6; FOULS: 19; CORNER KICKS: 2; OFFSIDES: 4.
NEW YORK COSMOS: Jimmy Maurer; Hunter Freeman, Carlos Mendes (Mike Lahoud 45), Gabe Farfan, Ayoze (David Diosa 78), Yohandry Orozco (Andres Flores 65), Danny Szetela (Niko Kranjcar 59), Ruben Bover (Eric Calvillo 72), Seba Guenzatti (Yasmani Duk 86), Juan Arango; Jairo Arrteta (Lucky Mkosana 56).
SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 16; CORNER KICKS: 2; OFFSIDES: 0.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the match:
“We did some good things. I don’t think it was intense. There was a lot of fouls and it wasn’t high-tempo. I thought the first half we could have done ourselves a favor by getting a goal. It was a good goal, a good finish. We’re happy to get the win, happy nobody got hurt and happy to end preseason with a win.”
On knowing his best XI should all the players be healthy:
“No, I don’t, because it’s never real – it’s never the case that everyone is healthy. I deal with reality rather than fantasy football. I think the one thing I like is we are versatile – we have guys who can play a number of positions.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER CLARENCE GOODSON
Thoughts on the game:
“I think it’s good to put up a zero and to have to work hard. I thought we played OK, not great and there are certainly things we need to improve on and that’s what we will do.”
On the standard of the opposition:
“This was a good team we played against. They are by far the best team in the league they are in. They have a lot of MLS players. We want to play better and score goals but as much as we’d like to do that sometimes it’s good to have a game like this.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER ALBERTO QUINTERO
On making Avaya Stadium debut:
“I’m honestly happy with my first performance here in front of the fans. I’ve been getting to know my teammates better. It’s a process since I just recently joined the club, but it’s going well so far and we played well as a unit tonight.”
On playing with Panama teammate Anibal Godoy:
“He has helped me advance in my relationship with my coaches and teammates. He’s helped me arrive to San Jose as fast as I could because he knows it was important for me to play here. We genuinely care for each other after playing together for so long on the (Panama) national team. We both came here to leave our marks on the league and to help our club win as much as we can.”
