San Jose Earthquakes 2–1 LAFC: Big Win Against the Defending Champions
The home of the San Francisco 49ers and future venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Levi’s Stadium was the setting as San Jose Earthquakes took on LAFC. Coming off of their 2022 MLS Cup victory, LAFC are off to a strong start to this league campaign as well and recently clinched a spot in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League final against Club Leon. San Jose Earthquakes have endured further road woes this season only picking up 1 point out of a possible 6 since their last PayPal Park fixture, but remain 5th in the Western Conference to LAFC’s 3rd entering this matchweek. Despite an early season schedule that saw them travel to surprise package expansion side St. Louis City and Eastern Conference powerhouse Atlanta United, this was the toughest test yet for the Bay Area’s soccer club.
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara: San Jose Earthquakes vs LAFC
The injury Carlos Akapo sustained at the end of the last game forces the only starting XI change for the San Jose Earthquakes, with Miguel Trauco coming in at left back and moving Paul Marie to right back.
LAFC’s midweek obligations prompted some reshuffling of defenders and midfielders, most notably Ryan Hollingshead and Kellyn Acosta going to the bench. Ilie Sánchez and Denis Bouanga started again after playing 90 minutes in the CCL, along with Carlos Vela who recorded 87 minutes on that night.
Cristian Espinoza’s goal celebration (photo by Dario Cruz @dariodoes)
If you told most Earthquakes fans the first goal in this game came within the first 10 minutes, they would fear that Carlos Vela would be on a tear. Instead, it was San Jose’s number 10 continuing his goal contribution streak. Cristian Espinoza is in his best form wearing the Black and Blue and he had a cool finish with service provided by Jamiro Monteiro after some brilliant team passing. Aaron Long is the one weak link in an otherwise strong LAFC lineup, and Espinoza exploited that mismatch.
LAFC would not go quietly though, making the Quakes sweat with a free kick that hit top netting from a dangerous position in the 15th minute. Carlos Gruezo also helped put out a fire as Carlos Vela dribbled his way into the box. San Jose Earthquakes are known for being stubborn about playing it out of the back and Rodrigues has been among the biggest culprits but if LAFC can cause turnovers with regularity, hanging on for the win would be a tough task.
JT Marcinkowski benefited from Daniel’s injury to reclaim the starting goalkeeper spot but his inability to safely grab the ball allowed a golden chance to fall to Denis Bouanga, who equalized at the 30th minute. Earthquakes had a chance to retake the lead but Monteiro couldn’t make contact in a quickly moving cross to an empty net. Mateusz Bogusz however is having a rough game picking up an early yellow card and then making another strong challenge on Jonathan Mensah. Bouanga got another chance soon after with massive power into his shot, but this time Marcinkowski was able to claim that. In a big turning point in the match, the Quakes goalkeeper put the mistake behind him and remained locked in.
In the closing stages of the half, LAFC had a corner where multiple players collided and Denil Maldonado got the brunt of a challenge, but was able to continue. Fans were treated to a very entertaining first half, but San Jose Earthquakes slowly ceded sovereignty back to the visitors. They have to keep up the intensity and the security when in possession to maintain a positive result.
First real opportunity for either team in the second half came 10 minutes in where LAFC opened up the Quakes defense 4 vs 3, flexing their passing muscle but San Jose contained the danger. On the ensuing counter attack, Jeremy Ebobisse narrowly missed a top right corner with a shot from outside the box. Paul Marie got hit hard and received medical attention around the 78’ minute which caused a brief stoppage of play.
Earthquakes got the breakthrough they were looking for as Jeremy Ebobisse earned a penalty. However he passed the baton to Cristian Espinoza who sent John McCarthy the wrong way in the 83’ minute to put Quakes ahead for the second time this match and prompting colorful celebrations from the Quakes supporters groups.
LAFC upped the pressure for the remainder of the match, with Judson subbed on to relieve some of that pressure. Paul Marie continued to marshal the right side with poise including a big clearance. LAFC had their chances from a free kick and a corner kick and while the latter made contact with Tillman, it only went up and over the bar. Buik brought it up for one more attack but Espinoza tracked back to make a defensive intervention and seal the win.
The official attendance for this game came in at 45,112. That number represents 66% of Levi’s Stadium’s total attendance, with the majority of the lower two bowls filled. Buoyed in part by a large contingent of LAFC supporters both traveling from Southern California and locally, it is a sizable turnout compared to the 32,549 that attended a friendly between Manchester United and San Jose Earthquakes back in 2018.
Quotes from the Postgame Press Conference
Head Coach Luchi Gonzalez
On the game’s atmosphere: “I want to thank the front office and everyone involved in connecting to the community to reach out to the fans that came to support.”
On the quality of the squad: “We have a team that can compete with anyone. We still have a lot of work to do. I want to see us getting better every day. I never felt the guys stop being open to feedback or stop believing, they’re always finding a way to respond.”
On Cristian Espinoza’s potential after earning April Player of the Month: “You know he’s gonna get crosses and assists, but if you get him closer to the goal, he can score them too.”
On JT Marcinkowski: “I’m proud of JT’s ability to be able to respond to the next action (following the first goal). He showed maturity and resilience and helped manage the game.”
On playing fearlessly against the defending champions: “LAFC threw a lot at us, but our guys like to attack too.”
Player of the Match Cristian Espinoza
On this club’s journey this season so far: “We are very excited. We prepared from the beginning of the year with a new coach and staff. This was a new beginning for everyone and it comes with a lot of energy.”
On his partnership with Jeremy Ebobisse: “The partnership we’ve built has grown step by step. We understand each other very well on and off the field and we are happy to help the team.”
On facing tough opposition: “We have to be prepared to face the likes of Vela and Bouanga whenever we have the opportunity and we showed that today.”
On taking the penalty: “We decide in the moment, to be honest. Whoever feels more confident in that moment is the person who should take the penalty. I asked for the ball immediately.”
Next Up
At the time of writing (noting FC Dallas and St. Louis City SC’s fixture postponed due to weather and ahead of Seattle Sounders vs Sporting Kansas City’s matchup later on Sunday), LAFC and San Jose Earthquakes are now level on points with 18 on the season. LAFC has two games to make up later in the season while San Jose have played at least one game more than any of the other teams in Western Conference’s top 8.
These two sides will meet again at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 20. Prior to that, LAFC’s busy fixture list continues traveling to Monterey Bay for the US Open Cup, Salt Lake City next weekend, and hosting Sporting Kansas City in the following midweek.
Prior to the LAFC rematch, San Jose Earthquakes will participate in the first California Clasico of the season taking on LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday, May 14. San Jose’s next home game will be on Saturday, May 27 hosting Luchi Gonzalez’s former club FC Dallas.
If the San Jose Earthquakes can keep up the form and pick up more points in their upcoming two weeks in Los Angeles, hopefully that translates to sustained home support when FC Dallas come to PayPal Park. Consistency is the key to success and it helps that they play an exciting brand of soccer for Bay Area fans to cherish. While LAFC will brush their first MLS loss of the season off and chalk it up to exhaustion, it remains the biggest win so far for San Jose Earthquakes’ campaign.
