By: Eric He
Riding a hot streak of five wins in six matches, the San Jose Earthquakes were denied of a victory on Saturday night that would have vaulted them back into the playoff picture.
Instead, with a 1-1 draw against the Seattle Sounders at Avaya Stadium, the Earthquakes settled for a point and remain two points back of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Two second half goals provided the scoring for the match — Fatai Alashe in the 70th minute for San Jose and Obafemi Martins in the 82nd minute for Seattle.
Alashe scored on a header off a free kick from the right of the box by Matias Perez Garcia. Perez Garcia’s chip found Alashe, who headed it past Stefan Frei to give the Earthquakes a temporary lead.
But Martins answered, netting home a rebound after a terrific save by David Bingham off a header by Zach Scott. Martins spoiled Bingham’s effort and evened the score at 1-1.
It would remain that way through stoppage time in a disappointing outing for an Earthquakes team hoping for a pivotal victory.
The Earthquakes held a 10-7 lead in the shot totals and possession was fairly even. San Jose also was awarded more corner kicks (7-2), but weren’t able to capitalize.
Next up for San Jose will be the Montreal Impact on Sept. 16 at Avaya Stadium.
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