Quakes Snap 13 Game Winless Streak

At a sold out Buck Shaw Stadium, the Quakes were finally able to end their 13 game winless streak last night against the Chicago Fire. In the third match against Chicago this season the Quakes triumphed where they had previously fallen short. The Fire beat the Quakes on penalty kicks in a US Open Cup game in June at home and in their first MLS meeting 4 days after the USOC match, the teams drew 2-2. President Dave Kaval was able to make good on his promise to “bury the streak” after last night’s game.

Saturday was a night for a couple of firsts. It was the first win in 13 games, it was the first night the Quakes dominated a team, and it was the first time all season that the Quakes were granted a penalty kick. Luckily, 2 of those 3 events came out positive for the Quakes. The Quakes trotted out a starting lineup with a few changes from last week. The team was without Bobby Convey who was suspended for yellow card accumulation. Steven Beitashour was able to come back from his match suspension for the red card on Landon Donovan in Los Angeles. Sam Cronin made his first start in a few weeks while Khari Stephenson and Chris Wondolowski continued to pair up top. Jon Busch was sporting a face guard as he had surgery for a broken cheekbone during the week. A new look lineup, in all sense of the word.

The Earthquakes started the game pressuring the Fire, an MO they’ve been utilizing the last few weeks. Rafael Baca in the midfield has been a boon to the Quakes. He’s a fast guy who likes to dribble at defenders and is able to get the ball out of tight spaces with a high degree of success. It was Baca who enabled the Quakes to jump onto the scoreboard first. Baca collected a throw in on the left side of the field, dribbled into the final third and sent a beautiful cross to the right foot of Wondolowski. Wondo was able to break away from his defender and even though Fire goalie Sean Johnson got his hand on the ball, it wasn’t enough to deter the ball from going into the net. The next best chance for the Quakes was in the 28th minute as Jason Hernandez sent a grounder 20 yards up field to Stephenson, who diverted the ball to an onrushing Wondolowski, who knocked the ball back for Stephenson. It was a great display of one touch, precision passing. Unfortunately Stephenson couldn’t put his shot from the top of the penalty area on frame.

The Quakes a few more chances by the 30th minute, but the tide of the first half started to turn. The teams started fighting it out in the middle of the field with neither side having much of an advantage over the other. Defender Dan Gargan, who let Wondo loose to score in the 10th minute, had a chance to redeem himself but his shot rebounded off the post. The Fire had two more close calls at the end of the half, which included a corner kick. The attack that led to the first of those two chances was a result of Stephenson losing possession of the ball in San Jose’s half. Stephenson did not have a great night defensively, as he was stripped of the ball several times.

After half time it was the San Jose show. The Quakes pushed to double their lead and the pressure did not let up until late in the second. After some halfway decent chances, the Quakes finally got their first penalty kick of the season. Wondo was able to force a handball off a corner kick and stepped up to take the penalty. Unfortunately his shot was not wide enough to elude Johnson who was able to parry it away. With the Quakes’ best scoring opportunity since the first goal gone, the team pushed to make up for it. Corrales and Wondo, and to a smaller extent Stephenson, linked up to get the Quakes on the board for the second time last night. Corrales flipped a pass to Stephenson, but the ball bumbled under his foot to Wondo, who smartly passed it back to an onrushing Corrales, who went near post and beat Johnson for his second goal of the season. Ironically, Corrales scored his first of the season against the Fire in May, and his second against them in September. The Quakes had several more good chances before the end of the game but ended with the 2-0 win.

The Quakes are not out of the playoff hunt, and this win, coupled with mostly positive results for our run from the rest of the league, has put us in a slightly better position that last week. Unfortunately DC United beat Chivas and moved into 10th place. It would have been better had they tied, but we moved from 6 points behind New York to 5 behind DC United. Another win next week in Houston can move the team to within 3 or 4 points of 10th place depending on other game results.

GO QUAKES!

Category: Chicago Fire, Post-Game, San Jose Earthquakes