The San Jose Earthquakes fell to the Philadelphia Union 2-0 on a frigid Saturday night at Subaru Park in Chester, Penn. Rookie midfielders Ousseni Bouda, Will Richmond and 16-year-old Niko Tsakiris made their MLS debuts in the match.
Philadelphia took the lead in the 23rd minute through Cory Burke before doubling their advantage in the 58th minute on a penalty kick by Daniel Gazdag.
The Earthquakes will now return to San Jose for a week of training before hitting the road to face Minnesota United FC on Saturday, March 19. Kickoff from Allianz Field is set for 5 p.m. PT and the match will be broadcast on NBC Sports California, KNBR 1050, and 1370 KZSF.
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes currently hold a 0-2-1 record (1 pts.) during the 2022 MLS regular season.
The Quakes now hold a 4-5-4 all-time record against the Philadelphia Union, including a 2-3-2 record on the road.
Three Quakes rookies made their MLS debuts in the match: Ousseni Bouda (SuperDraft), Will Richmond (Homegrown), and 16-year-old Niko Tsakiris (Homegrown). All three entered the match as second-half substitutions.
Niko Tsakiris became the third youngest player to appear in an MLS match for San Jose (16 years, 267 days).
MATCH INFORMATION
MLS Regular Season
Philadelphia Union 2 – 0 San Jose Earthquakes
March 12, 2022 – Subaru Park in Chester, Penn.
Scoring Summary:
PHI (1-0) – Cory Burke (Sergio Santos) 23’
PHI (2-0) – Daniel Gazdag (penalty) 58’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Cristian Espinoza (caution) 11’
SJ – Eric Remedi (caution) 26’
PHI – Sergio Santos (caution) 27’
PHI – Daniel Gazdag (caution) 43’
PHI – Nathan Harriel (caution) 62’
SJ – Ousseni Bouda (caution) 90+2’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MATIAS ALMEYDA
On no goals from open play yet so far:
“We tried to create goal-scoring opportunities. We knew that if we attacked through the right flank, our intention was to finish the play through the left flank because they all slide over quite a bit leaving the other side open. From what I’ve seen, there was a lot of pressure on our half. But when you press like that that you leave the opposite side open. We tried to move the ball from side to side quickly. That way, we could attack and combine with Paul Marie and Cristian Espinoza on one side and then Benji Kikanovic and Marcos Lopez on the other side. We had control of the match. In the second half, that’s when we had clear goalscoring opportunities. But today, we were lacking the depth to be able to hurt Philadelphia. Philadelphia beat us out wide and we lost them in the box. In our best phase, the referee called a penalty kick against us. And after the penalty kick, they defended a bit more and we were trying to push forward and look for the attack which created opportunities and we weren’t able to put them away.”
On rookies making professional debuts:
“I like it when youngsters play. I think there are moments when youngsters play. There are moments where the team is winning, and that’s the time to play the youngsters. It makes me happy for them because they reached their dream, but I really would prefer for them to carry out their careers and for them to come in when the team is winning. We had to play them because of the absences of Cade Cowell and Jamiro Monteiro.”
On Jackson Yueill playing center back:
“When I arrived, Jackson was one of the players that had played very few minutes. And when a coach plays a player as a center back, a full back, a number 10 and a holding midfielder, that’s because he likes that player. When one plays their entire life in the middle of the field, they’re ready to resolve situations in milliseconds. When the midfielder goes on to play as a center back, that player then has all the time in the world and a panoramic view and he can drive onto the opposition’s half. That’s why I put Jackson there knowing his original position is a different one. I spoke about it with him. With Nathan’s absence, I asked him to fulfill that spot. Jackson’s going to turn 25. The day that he’s 31, he’s going to thank me for playing him in different positions.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER JT MARCINKOWSKI
On how the elements affected the match:
“Elements-wise, obviously it’s cold but it’s cold for both teams. I don’t think there was that much in it that made a difference. I think the wind plays a factor but both teams have to deal with it so we shouldn’t use that as an excuse or anything like that. I think attacking and defending-wise, I think we had really good moments in the game. I think we controlled a lot of the match through our possession. I think we had a good game plan going in. I think we utilized that well, especially in the second half. In the first half, we didn’t finish actions as well as we could have. We got in some good spaces but kind of fizzled out towards their box. I think in the second half, especially when Niko [Tsakiris] and [Ousseni] Bouda and Will [Richmond] came on, they provided a great spark for us and really happy that they could make their debuts.”
On what he saw from the rookies making their debuts:
“Yeah, it’s not even just tonight. It’s been the last few weeks. Even yesterday during our pregame session, Will and Bouda and Niko, all three of them, they were flying up there. I’m not really surprised that they got the opportunity tonight and I think it will be the first of many for them. Your head’s kind of spinning, I’ve been there before. You come into a match and it feels like you’re going a hundred miles per hour. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the pace and the rhythm of the match, but I was really happy for them, just because they work really hard, they’re really good guys, and they add a great element to our locker room.”
