The San Jose Earthquakes kept Columbus Crew SC on the back foot for most of the match, winning 2-1 on Saturday night to keep the Quakes in the hunt for one of the final Western Conference MLS Cup Playoff spots.
Both starting forwards came through with goals for the Quakes, Marco Urena in the first half and Chris Wondolowski in the second. Urena set up his goal himself, staying with the ball in traffic inside the penalty area long enough to poke the ball past Zack Steffen. Wondolowski celebrated his goal in the arms of Tommy Thompson and rightfully so. The youngster hustled through the penalty area then sent back a diagonal ball that Wondolowski smashed home.
Crew SC got one back late in the match when Adam Jahn finished a pinball series of passes in front of the Quakes goal.
Goals
Three Things
- TOMMY HUSTLE: The progress the Quakes are making as Tommy Thompson finds his voice under head coach Chris Leitch has been noticed by the media, but it's also paying off in the form of results. In the first half it was his quick dribbling that gave Crew SC backline fits, and in the second he got his assist with a hustle play to find space and send a diagonal ball through traffic.
- NEARLY 10-GOAL CITY: Chris Wondolowski's residency in double-digit-goals city goes back to 2010, having scored at least 10 goals in every MLS season since. His classic poacher's goal on Saturday has him within one of the mark, another year of consistency for the Quakes' most reliable goalscorer.
- HARD JOB FOR ROAD CREW: Like the Quakes in the West, Crew SC find themselves right in the middle of the pack of the Eastern Conference as teams begin to make playoff pushes. Their -12 goal differential on the road and lack of road draws (while tied for most road losses with D.C. United), could come to haunt them on the road to the knockout rounds.
Next Up
- SJ: Wednesday, Aug. 9th - at Sporting Kansas City (8:30 pm ET | US Open Cup)
- CLB: Saturday, Aug. 12th - vs. Chicago Fire (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE)
