The San Jose Earthquakes return home against Orlando City SC on Saturday, May 18. Kickoff from PayPal Park in San Jose, California, will take place at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, as well as on local radio via AM 810 The Spread (English) and AM 1370 La Kaliente (Spanish). Fans can watch the game live by clicking here.
The Earthquakes looked to extend their four-game unbeaten streak in all competitions against their Western Conference foes, the Portland Timbers, but a victory eluded them. San Jose jumped out to a 2-0 lead through goals from Amahl Pellegrino and Hernán López, but the momentum shifted as Bruno Wilson was given a red card and sent off in the 72nd minute. With the Quakes down to 10 men, the team fought to preserve their lead. Ultimately, Portland went on to complete a 4-2 comeback, led by forward Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodriguez’s two goals.
With their run coming to an end, San Jose eyes a return to form with a win against Orlando City. The Quakes are 1-2-3 against the Lions in MLS regular-season play, holding a 1-0-2 record at home.
In his first few appearances for the Earthquakes, López has hit the ground running. The attacking midfielder has provided a spark to the lineup, scoring in his first two starts in MLS play. Since his debut on May 4 against LAFC, San Jose has won three out of four games in all competitions. Pellegrino has also stayed hot, notching three goals in his last three MLS games, bringing his total to four on the season.
Orlando City travels to Northern California following a scoreless draw at home against Inter Miami CF. Forward Duncan McGuire has gotten off to a strong start in his 2024 campaign with a club-high five goals in 11 games. The young striker is supported in attack by newcomer Luis Muriel. The Colombian joined the Lions ahead of the 2024 MLS season following an extensive career in Europe, mainly in Italy. He most notably scored 103 goals in Serie A.
As the Quakes return to PayPal Park, head coach Luchi Gonzalez looks to get back in the win column and improve the club’s record at home this season. “We're focused on Orlando; the boys showed that in training and we really are looking for the opportunity to make our home stadium our fortress again,” said Gonzalez. “We've dropped points and we hold ourselves responsible in making this the hardest place to play in the league and we’ve got to get that back and we have an opportunity for that tomorrow.”
While these two teams haven’t faced off since 2021, Gonzalez is familiar with the opponent’s strengths. Both Gonzalez and Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja worked together on the FC Dallas coaching staff from 2014-18. “I learned a lot with Oscar in his time in Dallas,” said Gonzalez. “Defensive organization, compactness, shifting, and making sure that you're just a hard team to break down defensively. He still sets his teams up to be good mid-block compact teams, but then they build pressure with certain triggers. And when they go they go, they're aggressive. They're so competitive, and every duel and every second ball phase and they're going to have defense transitions with urgency and speed. His team's been very aggressive when they went in to attack quickly and to hurt you in two, three passes. I see consistency there and we need to be ready for that danger in transition.”
The Quakes received some good news on Friday, as Wilson’s one match suspension from the aforementioned red card has been rescinded, making him available to feature in Saturday’s match.
In this Eastern vs. Western Conference clash, San Jose looks to rebound and start a new unbeaten streak.
