The rivalry between LAFC and the San Jose Earthquakes is starting to become just as anticipated a rivalry as that of the Quakes and the LA Galaxy, and one had to look at the location of Saturday’s match to come to that conclusion.
The Quakes always welcome the Galaxy to Stanford Stadium, normally on either the last weekend of June, or the first weekend of July, usually right before July 4. While there is no set time for LAFC-Quakes, San Jose took the opportunity to amplify this up-and-coming in-state battle, as instead of Paypal Park, the Quakes welcomed LAFC to Levi’s Stadium in nearby Santa Clara, home of the San Francisco 49ers, and the fans in Northern California showed out, as 45,112 packed Levi’s Stadium for the occasion.
Cristian Espinoza delighted the home side, as his two goals, including the game winner from the penalty spot late in the second half enabled San Jose to overcome Denis Bouanga’s scoring spree and thus hand LAFC its first loss of the season with the 2-1 result.
“The performance was ok,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “It looked to me a little mentally and physically fatigued to me.”
Having played three days after defeating Philadelphia to secure its spot in the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League, things don’t figure to get any easier for LAFC, as they turn its focus to US Open Cup play. LAFC won’t have to go far for that match, even as they will have two days off to prepare for that match. LAFC will open the tournament against Monterrey Bay FC at Cardinale Stadium on Tuesday, followed by a trip to Utah to face Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
“Having the next opportunity in three days is challenging,” LAFC midfielder Ilie sanchez said.
The Quakes jumped ahead eight minutes into the match. Cade Cowell played a ball to Jeremy Ebobissie inside the penalty area, Ebobissie played a ball backwards to Jamiro Moteiro, who dribbled the ball back into the penalty area, then played a ball to Espinoza and he slotted the shot past Keeper John McCarthy far post to stake San Jose to the lead. LAFC however found the equalizer in the 30th minute, and it came from a familiar source. Timothy Tillman played a ball to Mateusz Bogusz, who dribbled in, then out of the penalty area, fired a shot which was saved by Keeper James Marchinkowski, but he left a juicy rebound inside the six-yard box and Bouanga capitalized, swooping in and firing the one-timer past a scrambling Marchinkowski to level the match.
San Jose however caught the break of the match in the 80th minute. Cowell crossed into the penalty area, Ebobissie looked to get in on the end of the cross, Denil Maldonado tried to defend, Ebobissie got a touch on the ball, Maldonado brought down Ebobissie and referee Rubiel Vazquez signaled the Quakes to the penalty spot. Cristian Espinoza converted the penalty in the 83rd minute to put San Jose back in front, ultimately for good.
