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MLS San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose drops midweek road contest

July 3, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


ST. LOUIS - The San Jose Earthquakes fell 2-0 to St. Louis CITY SC on Wednesday night at CITYPARK.

The hosts struck first in the 28th minute when Indiana Vassilev found Eduard Löwen, who promptly curled a shot from the left wing past Quakes goalkeeper William Yarbrough. St. Louis CITY doubled the lead in the 41st minute when a Vassilev free kick connected with Hosei Kijima for the finish. The Quakes picked up the pressure and created more chances in attack in the second half but could not find the back of the net before the final whistle.

The Quakes will now head home to face Chicago Fire FC on Sunday, July 7. Kickoff from PayPal Park is set for 5:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, as well as on local radio AM 810 The Spread (English) and AM 1370 La Kaliente (Spanish).

GAME NOTES

As of tonight's final whistle, San Jose's record now stands at 3-16-2 (14th in West; 11 pts), while St. Louis moves to 4-7-10 (11th in West; 22 pts).

The Quakes are now 0-3-0 (1 GF, 7 GA) in the all-time series against St. Louis CITY SC and 0-2-0 on the road (0 GF, 5 GA).

Quakes forwards Cristian Espinoza and Jeremy Ebobisse appeared in Saturday's match, extending their MLS-leading active consecutive games played streaks to 95 and 94, respectively.

Forward Jeremy Ebobisse made his 100th appearance with San Jose when he entered the game in the 62nd minute.

Both defender Daniel Munie and assistant coach Steve Ralston returned to their roots, having been born and raised in St. Louis County. Munie hails from Maryland Heights, Mo., about 30 minutes west of St. Louis by car. He played his youth soccer for St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC, and later, the Saint Louis FC Academy.

Meanwhile, Ralston grew up in Oakville, Mo., an approximate 25-minute drive south of the big city. Before retiring in 2010 as MLS' all-time career leader in assists (135), games played (378), starts (372) and minutes (33,143), the midfielder also played two games and served as an assistant coach for AC St. Louis in the now-defunct USSF Division 2 Pro League.

MATCH INFORMATION

St. Louis CITY SC 2-0 San Jose Earthquakes

Wednesday, July 3, 2024 - CITYPARK; St. Louis, Mo.

Weather: 84°F Partly Cloudy

Attendance: 22,500

Match Officials:

Referee: Malik Badawi

AR1: Ryan Graves

AR2: Walt Heatherly

4th Official: Jon Freeman

VAR: Alejandro Mariscal

AVAR: Craig Lowry

Scoring Summary:

STL (1-0) - Eduard Löwen (Indiana Vassilev) 28'

STL (2-0) - Hosei Kijima (Indiana Vassilev) 41'

Misconduct Summary:

STL - Jayden Reid (caution) 56'

STL - Indiana Vassilev (caution) 61'

SJ - Hernán López (caution) 66'

SJ - Vítor Costa (caution) 72'

ST. LOUIS CITY SC: Roman Bürki (C); Jayden Reid, Chris Durkin, Tim Parker, Tomas Totland (Akil Watts 80'); Njabulo Blom, Eduard Löwen (Michael Wentzel 85'), John Klein, Hosei Kijima (Jake Nerwinski 80'); Indiana Vassilev (Anthony Markanic 85'), Nokkvi Thorisson (Sam Adeniran 64').

Substitutes not used: Ben Lundt (GK), Christian Olivares (GK), Caden Glover, Brendan McSorley.

POSS.: 55.7%; SHOTS: 23 ; SOG: 8; CORNERS: 7; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 1; FOULS: 15; xG: 3.5

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: William Yarbrough; Vítor Costa, Tanner Beason, Rodrigues (Paul Marie 63'), Daniel Munie; Jackson Yueill, Niko Tsakiris (Alfredo Morales 63'), Jack Skahan; Benji Kikanović (Amahl Pellegrino 78'), Cristian Espinoza (Hernán López 63'), Preston Judd (Jeremy Ebobisse 63').

Substitutes not used: Jacob Jackson (GK), Michael Baldisimo, Will Richmond, Tommy Thompson.

POSS.: 44.3%; SHOTS: 7 ; SOG: 1; CORNERS: 5; OFFSIDES: 3; SAVES: 6; FOULS: 12; xG: 1.0

EARTHQUAKES INTERIM HEAD COACH IAN RUSSELL

On the team's performance:

"The first half was poor. We came out flat. Against St. Louis, against any of these teams that play this high-pressing style, if you do that you'll be punished really early. I thought the second half was better. Much better. There was a response, but you can't go on the road and go down two goals and expect to get a result."

On playing through the conditions:

"No excuses for me, but it was very hot and humid. I don't like that excuse because I felt like they were flying around, the other team. I think it hurt us a little bit. Maybe our loads are too high during the week in terms of what we're doing, especially on weeks where we have three games in a week, so I'll get with the physical department and look at our numbers and see if there's anything there."

On roster rotations with three games in nine days:

"We had a week before the [California] Clásico. In that week, we're trying to change things, trying to get more pressure on the ball. Then we have this week of three games in a week. So it's hard to actually do any tactical stuff. You're trying to just keep everybody fresh. That's been a challenge. I haven't had a lot of time to implement tactics. There's still some things I want to look at in terms of formation. I think once the Chicago game is done, we'll be able to really dial down some tactics a little bit better so everybody's on the same page."

On looking ahead to the upcoming three-match homestand at PayPal Park:

"We have three home games in a row. We need to take care of business at home. We need this. We need to get a result at home. That can be a catalyst for these next couple games. This first half was a setback. I told the guys that I felt like the second half was much better so there was a response. I think we made some progress there."

EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER JACK SKAHAN

On the team's first-half performance:

"I don't think it's anything the coaching staff did or didn't do. It's just the players and effort is probably a piece of it once it got to a certain point in that half. I don't think we started the game that way. It was just so weird how we couldn't get the ball in their half at all."

On playing a more even second half and using that momentum for the next game:

"I think that we just kind of collected ourselves in that half. We got to know each other, which is good. We have to do it. We just couldn't get the ball anywhere past the third of the field. I think we'll carry on from the second half. The second half we could have scored."

On looking ahead to Sunday's home match vs. Chicago Fire FC:

"We're going to respond. I think we're going to have a good game on Sunday. ... I think it has to come from the players. I mean, the coaches are doing what they can. The players need to bring the energy and I think we will on Sunday."

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