SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes defeated Western Conference foe Sporting Kansas City 4-1 on Saturday night at Avaya Stadium. It marked the Quakes’ second consecutive home victory, in which they’ve outscored their opponents 7-1 and allowed no goals from the run of play.
Forward Danny Hoesen scored two goals in the first 12 minutes, giving him three goals in the last three matches. Shea Salinas and Magnus Eriksson also tallied for San Jose, while Anibal Godoy, Jackson Yueill and Eriksson each recorded one assist.
The result was just the fourth loss since last August for Sporting Kansas City, who entered Saturday with an 11-3-5 record in their last 20 MLS matches.
MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 4 – 1 Sporting Kansas City
April 20, 2019 – Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 15,777
Man of the Match: Danny Hoesen
Scoring Summary: SJ – Danny Hoesen (Anibal Godoy) 6; SJ – Danny Hoesen (Jackson Yueill) 12; SJ – Shea Salinas (Magnus Eriksson) 46; SJ – Magnus Eriksson (unassisted) 61; SKC – Felipe Gutiérrez (penalty) 66.
Misconduct Summary: SJ – Cristian Espinoza (caution) 45+2; SJ – Anibal Goody (caution) 45+5; SKC – Ilie Sánchez (caution) 48; SKC – Yohan Croizet (caution) 54; SJ – Tommy Thompson (caution) 54.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel Vega; Nick Lima, Florian Jungwirth, Harold Cummings, Tommy Thompson (Judson 70); Anibal Godoy; Shea Salinas, Jackson Yueill, Magnus Eriksson, Cristian Espinoza (Paul Marie 80); Danny Hoesen (Chris Wondolowski 80).
SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON TARGET: 7; SAVES: 6; FOULS: 9 CORNER KICKS: 4; OFFSIDES: 0
SPORTING KANSAS CITY: Tim Melia; Yohan Croizet, Matt Besler (Abdul Rwatubyaye 15), Botond Baráth, Graham Zusi; Felipe Gutiérrez, Ilie Sánchez (Kelyn Rowe 62), Gianluca Busio (Dániel Sallói 57); Gerso, Krisztian Németh, Johnny Russell.
SHOTS: 17; SHOTS ON TARGET: 7; SAVES: 3; FOULS: 12; CORNER KICKS: 5; OFFSIDES: 0
MATCH NOTES:
- Danny Hoesen scored his second and third goals of the season, the 19th and 20th of his MLS career. Hoesen’s goals came in the sixth and 12th minutes of the match, the second earliest brace in Quakes history (Dwyane De Rosario – 9/27/03; 11 minutes).
- Hoesen’s brace marked his third multi-goal match with the Earthquakes and first since June 13, 2018 (2 goals vs. NE). The last Quakes player to score two or more goals in a single match was Vako vs. FC Dallas on Aug. 29, 2018.
- Shea Salinas scored his second goal of the season and 15th of his MLS career. The last time Salinas scored multiple goals in a single season was 2015 (3).
- Anibal Godoy tallied his second assist of the season and seventh of his MLS career.
- Jackson Yueill tallied his first assist of the season and fifth of his MLS career.
- Only the LA Galaxy (9) and Seattle Sounders FC (7) have earned more points than San Jose’s six over their last three matches.
- The Earthquakes now hold a 25-26-8 all-time record against Sporting Kansas City.
- San Jose is now 17-6-7 all-time against Sporting Kansas City at home.
- The Quakes are now 3-2-1 against SKC all-time at Avaya Stadium.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MATIAS ALMEYDA
On key factors influencing the result against Sporting Kansas City:
“The team is finding the way; they are finding a style. We knew about the opponent we were facing, and the players understood the way they needed to play this match, and I think that’s where the key factors were. The delivery, the sacrifice, the collective play, the determination of every player, and I think that’s why we were able to make a difference.”
On preparing for Sporting Kansas City and getting a fast start:
“The goals were important for the confidence of the players. I think it was an intelligent game knowing we couldn’t give them any advantage, so our players understood what we wanted. We had patience to control the ball and determine the moment and the place when we should pressure to recover the ball and from there start our counter-attacks. But I think the players did a good job understanding the game plan.”
On Danny Hoesen’s performance:
“Danny had an issue with his visa. We weren’t able to have him the entire time. He was travelling to Holland and stayed for 10 days, and 10 days out of training sessions are a lot, especially to adapt to a new style. We had to convince him that he was a complete player, and this is the way that he should play, making sacrifices defensively for the team and being convinced he can score a lot of goals. Today, not only did he play well attacking, but he also helped a lot defensively.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD DANNY HOESEN
On the confidence level of the team:
“I think we played a very good game at home against Portland. I think we also played a decent game at Houston, it just didn’t go our way. I think we had a good training week and the confidence was definitely there.”
On if he felt free on the field tonight:
“It’s easy to say after you score two goals, but I always felt free. The coach has always had confidence in me. It depends on how you feel on the day, how much you can run, how much can you do for the team. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad.”
On being clinical in front of goal tonight:
“If you miss chances, you should forget about it and go for the next one. Against Portland, I got in some good positions and didn’t score and today I did score. So, hopefully I can build on this confidence and keep going.”
On if he and his teammates are having more fun now:
“For sure. If this system works, and the freedom we get to play, then it’s a lot of fun. You see people smiling on the field. You see people working for each other. You see these guys every day. You see these guys maybe more than your own family. You need to work together and like each other. After a win, it’s a lot easier.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER NICK LIMA
On his game performance:
“The team gives me a role, Matias [Almeyda] gives me a role and I am going to work my best to do it. Tonight, it was to shut down Johnny Russell and be on him. Towards the end of the game, Gerso was on my side and not give him any room to breathe either. That was my role and I just wanted to go out there and do it.”
On momentum from tonight’s win and looking forward to Seattle next week:
“Build on tonight. Tonight gives us confidence but we build on it, we go back to the training pitch with not much time but whatever it may be, we continue to work things out communication-wise. That’s a huge part of it and we get a little better for the next game.”
On team communication progressing on field:
“Yeah, guys are bought in. To be able to see that when we are bought in, we work together and it’s working. It's positive reinforcement for the group and I think we need to continue that with our dialogue together and I think it’s showing.”
