SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes defeated D.C. United 4-1 at PayPal Park on Saturday night, marking their second consecutive multi-goal victory. The Quakes have outscored their last two opponents 7-2 and are now in first place in the Western Conference with a 2-1-0 record and +4 goal-differential.
San Jose would take the lead just 51 seconds into the match when Chofis took a pass from Cade Cowell and curled his left-footed shot just inside the far post (highlight). It marked his first career MLS goal and the fifth fastest goal in club history.
The Quakes would double their lead 25 minutes later when Cowell sprinted past D.C. United's defense and took a low shot that beat goalkeeper Chris Seitz (highlight).
D.C. United would pull one back in the 31st minute through Tony Alfaro, but the Quakes would regain the two-goal advantage om stunning fashion. A lofting ball found Jackson Yueill at the top of the penalty area and his first-timed volley flew into the back of the net (highlight).
San Jose added a fourth goal in the 85th minute, also by Yueill. Cowell dribbled in the box from the right wing before floating a cross to the back post where Yueill headed it past Seitz (highlight). It marked the first multi-goal game of Yueill's career.
The Earthquakes will now travel to Utah to face Real Salt Lake on Friday, May 7. Kickoff from Rio Tinto Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. PT and the match will be broadcast live on the NBC Sports app, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF. The match will also air on NBC Sports via tape delay.
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GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes now hold a 2-1-0 record (6 pts.) during the 2021 MLS regular season, moving them to first place in the Western Conference.
Midfielder Chofis scored his first career MLS goal. It also marked the fifth-fastest goal in club history (51 seconds).
Forward Cade Cowell scored his second goal of the season and third of his MLS career. It also marked the first game-winning goal of his career. Additionally, Cowell tallied an assist on Chofis' goal and Yueill's second goal, marking his second and third assists of the season and third and fourth assists of his MLS career. Cowell is the youngest player in MLS history to tally a goal and an assist in consecutive matches.
Cowell now leads the league in assists (3) and is tied with the LA Galaxy's Chicharito for most goals + assists (5).
Midfielder Jackson Yueill scored his first and second goals of the season and fifth and sixth goals of his MLS career. It marked the first multi-goal game of Yueill's career.
Midfielder Cristian Espinoza tallied an assist on Cowell's goal, marking his first assist of the season and 23rd of his MLS career.
Defender Tanner Beason was credited with the assist on Yueill's first goal, marking his first career assist in MLS. Saturday marked his first appearance in 2021.
Midfielder Judson made his 50th MLS appearance.
The Earthquakes scored three goals in the first half of a match for the first time since defeating Orlando City SC 3-0 at home on August 31, 2019. The last time the Quakes recorded three goals in any half was in a 4-0 road win versus the LA Galaxy on October 14, 2020.
The Quakes tallied seven goals over two matches for the first time since 2015 (5-0 vs. Sporting Kansas City, 8/19/2015; 2-0 vs. D.C. United, 8/22/2015).
MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 4 - 1 D.C. United
May 1, 2021 - PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
Michelob Ultra Man of the Match: Jackson Yueill
Scoring Summary: SJ - Chofis (Cade Cowell) 1; SJ - Cade Cowell (Cristian Espinoza) 26; DC - Tony Alfaro (Yamil Asad) 31; SJ - Jackson Yueill (Tanner Beason) 43; SJ - Jackson Yueill (Cade Cowell) 85.
Misconduct Summary: DC - Tony Alfaro (caution) 18; SJ - Paul Marie (caution) 35; DC - Moses Nyeman (caution) 68; SJ - Chofis (caution) 69; SJ - Eric Remedi (caution) 88.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Paul Marie (Marcos Lopez 72), Tanner Beason, Florian Jungwirth, Tommy Thompson (Luciano Abecasis 72); Carlos Fierro (Andy Rios 72), Eric Remedi, Jackson Yueill, Cristian Espinoza (Shea Salinas 80), Chofis (Judson 73); Cade Cowell.
Substitutes not used: Siad Haji, Benji Kikanovic, Jack Skahan, Daniel Vega.
SHOTS: 12, SHOTS ON GOAL: 9; FOULS: 13; CORNER KICKS: 4.
D.C. UNITED: Chris Seitz; Brendan Hines-Ike, Frederic Brilliant, Joseph Mora, Tony Alfaro (Andy Najar 60); Junior Moreno (Felipe 46), Edison Flores, Yamil Asad (Adrien Perez 46), Moses Nyeman (Kimarni Smith 86), Julian Gressel; Erik Sorga.
Substitutes not used: Jon Kempin.
SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 13; CORNER KICKS: 5.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MATIAS ALMEYDA
On the result:
"I think all victories are nice and they bring happiness. It makes me happy when we reflect what we've been practicing throughout the week in a match. It brings me joy to see the team growing, always keeping in mind that there are things that can be corrected. This is only one victory and there is still much more ahead, but I am really happy for everybody."
On forward Cade Cowell's performance:
"Firstly, I am happy for him. If he is playing, it's because he deserves it. I repeat what I said last week: he listens. He is humble. He knows he has to keep growing and this is the way. He is capitalizing on his performances with goals and assists. The most difficult thing in soccer is to maintain that level of performance. We will have a calm approach to him as we have been doing so far. He is defending his position, which he has earned."
On the team's approach to building on early leads:
"We welcome early goals. I value our early goal because we showed that our counter attacks are made to create danger. We knew we would steal the ball in that zone, and we were prepared to hurt the opponent. There are thousands of similar plays that do not result in a goal, but I think Chofis has that quality in which he will not forgive. After the early goal, our mentality was that the match was still 0-0, and that's why we kept going and went for more. We achieved what we were looking for."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CADE COWELL
On his thoughts on tonight's performance:
"Matias [Almeyda] always gives me so much confidence to go out there and just be myself and make mistakes so that's always a plus. I felt pretty tired towards the end, but it was all good to play the full 90 minutes."
On his decision-making process when playing tonight:
"My main focus is always to beat my defender one-on-one. Then next is to look up and see where the keeper is, and I saw that he was off his first post, so I kicked it as soon as I saw he was off. It ended very well so I was very happy with that. I just try to beat the defenders and see where the keeper is at."
On whether the game has slowed down for him:
"I definitely feel a lot more comfortable on the ball and I feel more freedom to make mistakes and not try to be so perfect. That definitely helps, but up top is pretty fast. I try and play as quick as possible. I'm still learning how to do one-touch passes, checking in, and all that. But I definitely am more comfortable the more I play so that helps a lot."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER CHOFIS
On his feeling of earning victories at a new club:
"Firstly, I feel very happy for the win and happy for the team on earning another victory. In regard to how I feel here at my present team in comparison to a former club, they have different circumstances. I am here and I am enjoying this moment with my club. I'd like to reiterate that we were able to get another win, thanks to God. I enjoy our preparation throughout the week."
On Cade Cowell's potential:
"Cade is a great player. We should go step by step with him. He has the best possible coach he can have at this moment. I think Matias [Almeyda] will be able to help him immensely. He knows how he will guide Cade. He is honestly a great player and I have no doubts that he will have a great career. We just need to go step by step with him because some players have excellent starts but will slow down. He has great potential."
On his first goal in MLS and what has attributed to his recent success:
"I am working at getting back to full strength. I am not sure I can fully perform for all 90 minutes. I had a stretch of a year and three months in which I didn't have any participation. As Matias has mentioned, he will take me step by step. There is still a long road ahead. The most important thing is to get back to being at my best. I want to get back to being able to make more sacrifices and help the defense, as I had in the past under Matias. I am slowly getting there. It has not been easy, but the most important thing is to show the work I have been putting in."
