KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Sporting Kansas City in a penalty kick shootout Wednesday night in the Semifinal of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup to conclude their run in the tournament.
Danny Hoesen scored his third goal in U.S. Open Cup play, giving the Quakes an early lead in the fourth minute. Making his first start for the Quakes, midfielder Vako provided the assist on Hoesen’s goal. Swiss defender Francois Affolter also made his first appearance with San Jose during the matchup, starting and playing 103 minutes.
Sporting Kansas City equalized the score in the 32nd minute with a Diego Rubio goal. With the final score level at 1-1 at the end of regular and extra time, the game was determined by penalty kicks with Sporting KC securing the victory 5-4.
The game marked just the second time in team history that the Quakes played in a Semifinal of the U.S. Open Cup.
The Earthquakes will now travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo on Saturday, Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcasted on NBC Sports California Plus, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Sporting Kansas City 1 (5) – 1 (4) San Jose Earthquakes
Aug. 9, 2017 – Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, KS.
Attendance: 16,193
Scoring Summary: SJ – Danny Hoesen (Vako) 4; KC – Diego Rubio (Jimmy Medranda) 32.
Penalties: KC – Benny Feilhaber X, SJ – Chris Wondolowski X; KC – Diego Rubio √, SJ – Andres Imperiale √; KC – Llie Sanchez √, SJ – Darwin Ceren √; KC – Jimmy Medranda √, SJ – Vako √; KC – Daniel Salloi √, SJ – Florian Jungwirth √; KC – Matt Besler √, SJ – Victor Bernardez X.
Misconduct Summary: SJ – Darwin Ceren (caution) 74; SJ – Francois Affolter (caution) 92; SJ – Andres Imperiale (caution) 111.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Andrew Tarbell; Florian Jungwirth, Andres Imperiale, Francois Affolter (Victor Bernardez 103); Shea Salinas, Tommy Thompson (Fatai Alashe 70), Darwin Ceren, Jackson Yueill, Nick Lima; Vako, Danny Hoesen (Chris Wondolowski 73).
SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; SAVES: 11; FOULS: 15; CORNER KICKS: 1; OFFSIDES: 6.
SPORTING KANSAS CITY: Tim Melia; Jimmy Medranda, Ike Opara, Matt Besler, Graham Zusi (Saad Abdul-Salaam 119); Roger Espinoza, Llie Sanchez, Benny Feilhaber; Gerso Fernandes (Daniel Salloi 77), Diego Rubio, Latif Blessing.
SHOTS: 31, SHOTS ON GOAL: 12; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 10; CORNER KICKS: 15; OFFSIDES: 2.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH CHRIS LEITCH
On the Quakes’ defensive performance:
“Kansas City is really good team. You know that every time you play these guys, especially at their place, they have got special players and good weapons. At times, as in any game but especially when you play here, you need to defend collectively extremely well and I think that for the majority part of tonight we did that.”
On the shootout:
“That is a shootout. Obviously, we had been practicing it for the Open Cup. You step up and give it your best chance and sometimes the goalkeeper makes one heck of a save. They made two, Tarbell made one and got his finger on the other ones so he was close.”
On the Sporting KC’s pressure:
“It is tough, you score a goal early and it is not an easy place to play. They are a good team and I think we took on too much pressure, but I think that, unfortunately, that is what naturally happens when you score early.”
On Andrew Tarbell’s performance:
“It is always good for a young player to step in and get some experience. These games are really valuable for Andrew. He has been playing some games for Reno, our USL team, but to get a game with a little bit more on the line under the bright lights has got to be big for his career.”
EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER ANDREW TARBELL
On the game:
“We needed to work as a team, which we did. Everyone worked tough and everyone worked hard. We needed to be disciplined and we were solid in the back the whole night. The longer we stayed in it, the better advantage we had. We are proud of our performance.”
On playing Sporting KC:
“We knew coming into this game that they are really good offensive team, especially at home, and they have a high press. We were ready for it and ready to absorb some of that pressure, which we did all night long.”
On the shootout:
“It is always good to get off to a good start like that, so you try to be as strong as you can and hope that you lean the right way, time yourself well and try to keep them out.”
On the importance of this game in his career:
“It was great to get out there. I have not played too many games in the year and a half that I have been a professional. Any chance I get out there I try to enjoy it and do my best.”
