Close call, Quakes! At first, Wednesday night’s outing at Avaya Stadium seemed like it should be a cakewalk for San Jose, with the Sounders fielding a team pulled deep from the S2 roster. The visitors even went down a man, with San Jose’s Shea Salinas opening the scoring just six minutes in.
But the Sounders not only managed to stay strong defensively, but also pull things level at the 48th minute, courtesy of Aaron Kovar. That was enough to hold the Quakes steady for a long stretch.
The home side’s Tommy Thompson nearly knocked one in at 75’, but the ball hit the side netting. Luckily, Danny Hoesen came to save the day for the Quakes less than 10 minutes later to net the game-winner.
Now, with a new head coach, Chris Leitch, at the helm, it’s time to turn all of their attention to the year’s second Caifornia Clasico, heading to Stanford Stadium this Saturday (10:30 pm ET, Univision and Facebook in US, MLS LIVE in Canada).
Goals
- 6’ – SJ – Shea Salinas
- 48’ – SEA – Aaron Kovar
- 84' – SJ – Danny Hoesen
Three Things
- LEITCH DEBUT’S DONE: All Quakes-world eyes, naturally, were on Chris Leitch tonight, debuting as head coach after Dominic Kinnear’s sudden departure just days ago. It’s got to feel good, then, that he walked away with a win, especially considering he used a squad that starred several guys lacking regular recent MLS minutes. Will any of this stick tactically? It’s hard to tell considering the Sounders roster tonight – the California Clasico will prove a dramatic testing ground.
- A RARE CHANCE?:Jackson Yueill and Shea Salinas aren’t really getting MLS minutes, but both shone tonight. So did Tommy Thompson, whose hype train seemed stalled in the station for a while. Will this give the whole bunch another good look again, especially with a new gaffer at the helm?
- SEATTLE’S SHOW GOES ON: To be frank, the Sounders fielded a B squad, or maybe even a C squad, heavily representing the S2 roster. It proved an important opportunity for them to get minutes on the senior squad, but it’s not super-likely that anyone is crying over the Open Cup loss. No doubt morale will bounce back tomorrow as the squad rotates back to the usuals before the next match.
Lineups
San Jose Earthquakes lineup (3-5-2, right to left): #28 Andrew Tarbell (GK) – #24 Nick Lima, #15 Andres Imperiale, #2 Kofi Sarkodie – #6 Shea Salinas, #14 Jackson Yueill, #30 Anibal Godoy, #10 Jamir Hyka, $18 Kip Colvey – #22 Tommy Thompson, #8 Chris Wondolowski
Substitutes: #1 David Bingham (GK), #2 Matt Bersano, #5 Victor Bernardez, #20 Shaun Francis, #36 Thomas Janjigian, #7 Cordell Cato, #9 Danny Hoesen
Seattle Sounders lineup (4-4-2, right to left): #1 Tyler Miller (GK) – #33 Joevin Jones, #15 Tony Alfaro, #5 Nouhou Tolo, #53 Samuel Rogers – #19 Harry Shipp, #23 Henry Wingo, #88 Ray Saari, #77 Francisco Narbon – #11 Aaron Kovar, #38 Irvin Parra
Substitutes: #35 Bryan Meredith (GK), #34 Brian Nana-Sinkam, #91 Oniel Fisher, #92 Rodrigue Ele, #32 Zach Mathers, #17 Will Bruin, #71 David Olsen
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