SAN JOSE, Calif. — For Jordan Morris, the third time was a charm, as the Seattle Sounders forward, who had two previous shots saved by Daniel Vega, finally put one past the San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper to earn a 1-0 victory.
Both teams were playing with 10 men by the final whistle, as first Tommy Thompson for the Quakes and then Xavier Arreaga for the Sounders were shown red cards. San Jose played with more possession in the game and outshot their opponents 23-9, but the only number that mattered was on the scoreboard, where Seattle enjoyed the advantage.
“I thought we had good control of the game,” midfielder Shea Salinas said. “There were times we didn’t, but you could see every guy left everything they had out there. We had our chances, we weren’t able to put them away.”
The Quakes hit the post more than once, and Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei made some spectacular saves. The result was not so much due to San Jose getting outplayed by Seattle as it was the breaks simply didn’t go their way.
“The effort is there, the belief is there,” forward Danny Hoesen said. “We’ve been a little bit unlucky, but we have a second chance. We will keep the same belief and just be a little bit better in the final third.”
The loss by San Jose, its fifth in a row, kept the playoff hopefuls in eighth place with one game remaining in the Major League Soccer regular season. And even with expectations at a minimum entering the campaign, the Earthquakes can guarantee themselves a spot in the postseason with a win against the Portland Timbers next weekend.
“I was talking with the players, and I told them if on the first day of the preseason, they had brought in a contract where it said we would have a chance to make the playoffs in the last game, we all would have signed that contract,” head coach Matias Almeyda said. “This team has changed a lot. … There’s the reality that some teams play better than us and are better than us, but there’s another reality you cannot hide, which is the improvement of this team.”
The Quakes have transformed from the start of the season, when they lost their first four games, to a successful summer string of results that captured the attention of everyone else in MLS, to their current losing streak that has many doubting they have the mental strength to finish the season with a win. That attitude is nowhere to be found in the San Jose locker room.
“We wanted more,” midfielder Magnus Eriksson said. “We played a great game, and I think we deserve more. We didn’t get it today, so hopefully we will get it next weekend.”
Even a draw against the Timbers could be enough for the Quakes to make the playoffs. A loss by FC Dallas, the team directly ahead of the Earthquakes in the table, in its season finale at home to Sporting Kansas City would open the door for San Jose to finish seventh with a tie at Portland.
“I’m not afraid that anybody is going to drop his head down,” Hoesen said. “It’s a big chance, it’s a final, and, yeah, it’s going to be very exciting.”
As for Seattle, the late goal pushed the Sounders record to 15-10-8, tied on points with Minnesota United for second in the conference. The Loons have the first tiebreaker in hand, as they boast a better goal differential. Seattle and Minnesota face off during the regular-season finale.
The Sounders were playing without their offensive talisman, midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro, who was held out due to injury. His replacement, Victor Rodriguez, provided the first highlight of the afternoon for the visitors, as his cross from the endline in the 10th minute was intercepted by a sliding Florian Jungwirth before it could reach the goal.
Morris could have done better with a one-on-one opportunity in the 13th minute, as he escaped his defensive marker and had only Daniel Vega to beat. But the Quakes goalkeeper stood his ground, and the shot from Morris was kicked out for a corner kick.
The timely save breathed some life into a San Jose side that, with its full complement of attacking players on the field, was having trouble unlocking the Seattle back line. Eriksson took a short corner and carried the ball to the top of the area before unleashing a shot destined for the target that was parried away by Frei in the 15th minute. The Sounders goalkeeper was again called into action three minutes later, making a comfortable save on a Hoesen effort inside the box.
The offensive outbursts from both sides then vanished, as the game was fought out mostly in the midfield, with the Quakes having a slight edge in possession. San Jose was missing the suspended Judson in the center of the formation, as Jackson Yueill had to take on more defensive responsibilities, preventing him from having a bigger influence on the host’s attack.
With five minutes left in the half, the Earthquakes began to assert themselves more in the attacking third, forcing the Sounders to retreat into a nearly impenetrable block of defenders. Attempts to get the ball into the area, either directly off the dribble or through crosses from the wings, were thwarted time and again by the visitors. This was Seattle’s blueprint, and they were following it to perfection.
The game reached halftime with the teams still scoreless. Games throughout the Western Conference had kicked off at the same time, and the games that mattered to San Jose the most were carefully monitored. The Earthquakes entered the day in eighth place, one spot below the qualification line, and at intermission, had the games ended then, they would have leapfrogged FC Dallas into seventh place.
But there were still 45 minutes of soccer left to be played at Avaya Stadium and around the league, and with their playoff fate still in their hands, the Quakes opened the second half on the front foot, as head coach Matias Almeyda subbed out Chris Wondolowski and inserted Andy Rios.
In the 51st minute, the Earthquakes nearly made the breakthrough they seeked, as Hoesen danced along the endline with the ball before striking a ball towards Valeri “Vako” Qazaishvili at the near post. The Georgian attacker got a foot to ball, but he couldn’t sneak it by Frei.
The Sounders executed a near flawless counterattack seconds later, as Morris skipped by two defenders and had only Vega to beat. But much like his shot attempt in the first half, Morris failed to find an opening, and Vega once again denied the U.S. international.
The game took a turn for the worse in the 56th minute, as Thompson was shown a straight red card for dangerous play on a Sounders defender Arreaga. After the two had scrambled for a loose ball deep in the corner, it appeared Thompson stomped on the prone Arreaga as the Quakes defender tried to regain possession. Referee Ismail Elfath took a minute to make his decision, sending Thomposn off without the need to review the video replay.
Even though the visitors were up a man, it was the Quakes that looked the brighter side. They nearly had a breakaway in the 60th minute, but Arreaga took a yellow card to stop Hoesen from taking a shot. In the 62nd minute, with most of the team up for a set piece, Jungwirth nearly scored with a spectacular bicycle kick attempt that forced an equally impressive save from Frei.
The two teams were back on level turns when Arreaga earned his second yellow of the game in the 71st minute for another foul on Hoesen at the edge of the area. It was originally signaled a penalty kick by Elfath, but after a VAR review, the contact was adjudged to have occurred just outside the box.
Hoesen stepped up to take the free kick, and he rifled a shot off the far post that had Frei planted in place. The rebound came to Salinas, who headed it back on target, but it went right to Frei for an easy save.
The Quakes already playing better even when a man down, stepped up their game even more with the teams playing with 10 men each. Almeyda, not playing it safe with his substitutions as he had all season and looking to turn the scoreless game into a win, brought in another attacking player in Carlos Fierro to spell midfielder Cristian Espinoza. The fresh legs gave San Jose much more energy on the right side of the formation.
It wasn’t all offense by the Earthquakes, however, as the Sounders bided their time and looked to hit on the counter. In the 86th minute, a run from Brad Smith out of the midfield but him past Jungwirth and on goal against Vega. The Quakes ‘keeper again was up to the challenge, coming right to the edge of the area to disrupt Smith enough that he lost possession.
The Earthquakes were undone in stoppage time, as a ball skipped off the head of Eriksson and into the path of Morris. The Sounders forward made no mistake this time, expertly chipping Vega inside the area and providing Seattle with the game winning goal in the 94th minute.
The loss was the Quakes fifth in a row, and with other results around the league, they will likely need a win at Portland next Sunday to ensure passage into the postseason.