WASHINGTON, D.C. – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to D.C. United 4-0 in the penultimate match at the historic RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. Four second-half goals by D.C. United forward Patrick Mullins was the difference in the match.
Despite the loss, San Jose remains above the playoff line with the Houston Dynamo (D 1-1 at NYC) and FC Dallas (L 3-1 at MIN) both also dropping points.
The Quakes return home to play two matches at Avaya Stadium next week. San Jose first takes on the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night at 7:15 p.m., presented by Cheez-It and Pringles, before battling the Portland Timbers on Saturday night at 7:15 p.m., presented by Gyft.
MLS Regular Season
D.C. United 4 – 0 San Jose Earthquakes
Sept. 23, 2017 – RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.
Attendance: 25,229
Scoring Summary: DC – Patrick Mullins (Paul Arriola, Luciano Acosta) 57; DC – Patrick Mullins (Paul Arriola); DC – Patrick Mullins (unassisted) 68; DC – Patrick Mullins (unassisted) 88.
Misconduct Summary: SJ – Florian Jungwirth (caution) 50; SJ – Andres Imperiale (caution) 67.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Andrew Tarbell; Shea Salinas, Andres Imperiale, Francois Affolter, Kofi Sarkodie; Florian Jungwirth (Anibal Godoy 61), Jackson Yueill; Vako (Jahmir Hyka 81), Chris Wondolowski, Danny Hoesen; Marco Ureña (Tommy Thompson 61),
SHOTS: 10,SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; SAVES: 4; FOULS: 8; CORNER KICKS: 2, OFFSIDES: 2.
D.C. UNITED: Steve Clark; Chris Korb, Steve Birnbaum, Kofi Opare, Nick DeLeon (Sean Franklin 81); Paul Arriola, Russell Canouse, Marcelo Sarvas, Luciano Acosta (Lloyd Sam 74), Zoltan Stieber (Ian Harkes 85); Patrick Mullins.
SHOTS: 14;SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; SAVES: 1; FOULS: 17; CORNER KICKS: 2; OFFSIDES: 3.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH CHRIS LEITCH
On the result:
"We started off decent, but if I'm honest, they had better chances even in the first half as well. So we started off okay and I think we gave away a ball or two and lost a little bit of confidence and that, combined with the fact I think we got a little bit too stretched defensively, became problematic for us."
On if they took D.C. lightly:
"I knew where they sit in the East, but I also know what they've done throughout the year, with the guys they've brought in and how they've been playing, especially as of late. They've beat some really good teams this year and they've just played overall a lot better. It's a tough team to break down defensively to put a lot of numbers behind the ball and then offensively they've gotten to the point now in this part of the season where I think they have a pretty good understanding of kind of how they move the ball. For me, it wasn't a trap game. I told the boys yesterday and reminded them today that this team isn't commensurate with a team that's bottom in the East, but with that being said, we've got to do better than 4-0 on the road."
On the stretch ahead:
"This is the part of the season where every single point is extremely valuable. I think this team knows that though, so that's the most disappointing part. That's disappointing that we don't take anything out of this game. I just addressed the team and said we're in this thing, we're not satisfied at all by how we played tonight and it's unacceptable. At the same token, we still have a lot to play for, so all of our focus has to be on Wednesday and it's going to be an important game for us at home against a good team in Chicago."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER TOMMY THOMPSON
On the result:
"I think you have to give D.C. credit. They have some great players and they came to play tonight. We were hoping to continue our momentum, but they were the better team."
On the intensity in tonight's game:
"It's a high level. MLS just keeps getting better and better and D.C.'s made a couple of moves to get some great players on their team and you could tell they played well tonight. We have to have a short memory and we've got to bounce back against Chicago on Wednesday."
On coming up empty-handed in tonight's game:
"It hurts, but there's a lot of home games left for us and we've been great at home, so we're going to have a short memory about this and maximize points and hopefully this will be a distant memory when we make the playoffs at the end of the year."
