The San Jose Earthquakes will take on FC Cincinnati on Saturday, June 15. Kickoff from PayPal Park in San Jose California, will take place at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally here 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).
The Earthquakes return to MLS play following an international break in the regular season. In their last match, the Quakes fell 5-1 to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium after keeping it level at one goal apiece until the 80th minute.
Quakes captain Jackson Yueill spoke toward the team’s mentality amid the recent results.
“Something that is always positive of my time here over the last [eight] years has always been it's a resilient group,” he said. “We've been in tough situations before and we've always found a way to bounce back. We're a group that's going to give it all to the end. That's an important quality to have. There's a lot of games left – a lot of season to play.”
FC Cincinnati is looking to defend their MLS Supporters’ Shield earned last season. Currently, the Ohio side sits in the second overall spot of the league standings with a 10-3-5 record, trailing only Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF by two points.
In their last match, Cincy saw the end of their seven-game winning streak at the hands of Nashville SC in a 2-0 shutout loss at TQL Stadium. The hosts gave up two unanswered first-half goals leading to just their second home defeat of the season.
Reigning MLS Most Valuable Player Luciano Acosta continues to lead Cincinnati in both goals and assists. The Argentine has netted seven goals this season and tallied 10 assists, tying him with Robin Lod for second most assists in the league behind Lionel Messi (13).
Cincinnati assistant coach Dominic Kinnear will also be making his return to San Jose. The former Clash defender and Earthquakes coach won two MLS Cups as an assistant (2001, 2003) as well as the club’s first MLS Supporters’ Shield in 2005. In 2022, he joined FC Cincinnati after four seasons with the Quakes’ rival, the LA Galaxy.
Earthquakes winger Cristian Espinoza is enjoying another All-Star caliber season and is not far behind Acosta with nine assists this season, tying Cristian “Chicho” Arango for the third most in MLS. On the opposite wing, Amahl Pellegrino currently leads the Quakes in goals with five this season, while center forward Jeremy Ebobisse has netted four, placing him one goal away from surpassing Landon Donovan for the third-place spot on the club’s all-time leading goalscorerlist.
Quakes head coach Luchi Gonzalez discussed the team’s thought process returning to action.
“It's more of a mental break than a physical break last week. The guys had some time off to kind of recharge and miss each other, miss training, miss the competition. They're showing hunger, they're showing intensity and excitement as we approach Cincinnati,” he said. “Cincinnati is definitely a top team with top talent. It’s about getting the stadium back to being our fortress. Making teams miserable here and our intensity and our urgency to push the game. We know Cincinnati defend very well. They can hurt you with some individual talent.”
After a week of rest and a refreshed mindset, the Quakes look to defend PayPal Park this Saturday night by upsetting the reigning Supporters’ Shield victors.
