The twelfth time was the charm for the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday, as they grabbed their first road win of the 2016 MLS regular season by a 2-1 margin over the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place.
The Quakes controlled the run of play throughout the night, and the win was entirely deserved. They did get a fortunate bounce to open the scoring, but never looked back after taking the lead.
San Jose nearly opened the scoring in the 12th minute, as Fatai Alashe's header from close range clanged off the crossbar. But they took the lead three minutes later, as Quincy Amarikwa's header attempt off Anibal Godoy's corner kick flummoxed Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted, who backed up into the goal as he made the save and ended up bringing the ball behind the line.
The visitors doubled their lead at the hour mark, as Alberto Quintero sent a pass into the channel to Simon Dawkins, who made a couple of good moves to elude a defender before shooting and beating Ousted.
Vancouver substitute Blas Perez had a chance to narrow the deficit in the 78th minute, but his headed attempt bounced off the top of the crossbar and harmlessly out of play. But Nicolas Mezquida managed a consolation tally for the Whitecaps deep in second-half stoppage time, as he headed Kendall Waston's header off a corner kick past David Bingham at the far post.
Box Score
- 15' -- SJ -- Quincy Amarikwa (Anibal Godoy)
- 60' -- SJ -- Simon Dawkins (Alberto Quintero)
- 94' -- VAN -- Nicolas Mezquida (Kendall Waston, Christian Bolanos)
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Three Things
1. NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT: The main story for San Jose coming into the game will be winning their first road game of the season, of course, and rightly so. But perhaps as important is the fact that the result pushes the Quakes to just under the red line in the Western Conference standings. Will they make a real run for an MLS Cup playoff spot? If they do, this will no doubt be an important result for their hopes.
2. WHAT'S HAPPENING IN BC? The Whitecaps are now on a three-game losing streak and are winless in five in league play. They may have the CONCACAF Champions League campaign to provide a boost, but they continue to sink in MLS. They're only two points out of a playoff spot at the moment, pending the rest of the weekend's results, but their performance on Friday was pretty worrisome heading into the final weeks of the regular season.
3. STEPPING UP: Much has been made of San Jose Designated PlayerSimon Dawkins' struggles to contribute consistently so far this season. But the game against Vancouver was a highlight for him. In addition to a spirited effort all night, his goal was well-taken and proved to be the decisive tally in the game.
