NYCFC’s second half blitz bury Earthquakes in 3-0 shutout win

The San Jose Earthquakes were shutout by NYCFC at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx Sun May 1, 2022 (photo from San Jose Earthquakes twitter account)

by Marko Ukalovic

NEW YORK — There’s a new version of the Bronx Bombers.

New York City FC scored all three of their goals in the second half in route to a 3-0 shutout victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

NYCFC has won three matches in a row after having a hungover start to their season. San Jose was not able to carry the momentum of its first win of the season into their match in the Big Apple.

In a match that featured a shorter pitch that had the infield dirt covered with turf, the home team used their home field advantage to the best of their ability.

The opening 45 minutes featured an even played match between the two clubs with each team generating scoring chances.

NYCFC (4-3-2) had its best chance in the first half at the 28th minute off a set piece. A corner kick led to a header by Talles Magno hit off the post. The rebound chance by Valentín ‘Taty’ Castellanos was stoned away by Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski with a sliding kick save.

San Jose (1-5-4) had their best chance six minutes earlier in the 22nd minute when a long ball Jackson Yueill found its way to the leg of Cristian Espinoza. The current MLS Player of the Week’s shot from five yards out was saved by NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

In the second half the defending MLS Cup Champions proved to be too much for the Quakes to handle as their counter attacks ended up being too difficult for San Jose to defend.

Magno, who was a thorn in the side of the Quakes all afternoon, helped NYCFC draw first blood in the 74th minute. The Brazilian midfielder set up Keaton Parks inside the box and Parks beat Marcinkowski with a right footed shot from 10 yards out for his second goal of the season.

NYCFC doubled its lead just fourth minutes later when Santiago Rodríguez found Gabriel Pereira, who came off the bench, inside the box and Pereira’s left footed shot beat Marcinkowski to the far-left corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

NYCFC iced the game in the 88th minute with a long ball that found Chris Gloster along the left sideline. Gloster raced in and beat Marcinkowski with a shot to the short side for his first goal of the season.

Johnson finished the match with three saves on three shots for his first clean slate of the season. Marcinkowski made six saves on nine shots on target in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished with six corner kicks. NYCFC had seven.

NYCFC out shot San Jose 23-11.

Magno was named the Man of the Match with his assist and three shots on goal. He registered his fouth assist in his 23rd career MLS match.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host the Colorado Rapids on Saturday 5/7 at 7:00pm at Pay Pal Park.

Whitecaps Penalty Kick Tops Quakes

By Matthew Harrington

The search for road win number two, and a much-needed three points in the standings, continues for the San Jose Earthquakes with only eight games remaining. The Quakes continued their tour of the Pacific Northwest Wednesday night with a 2-0 loss at the hands of Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 at BC Place. San Jose, 10 points back of Vancouver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, went winless on its current three-game road trip. They tied both Real Salt Lake and the Portland Timbers in the previous two contests.

Pedro Morales put Vancouver (8-6-13, 37 points)on the board, converting on a penalty kick in the 39^th minute following a Victor Bernardez infraction, for the Whitecaps first goal in over 450 minutes of play. Bernardez was whistled for delivering an elbow to the back of Kendall Waston in the penalty area on a challenge of a free kick attempt. Waston would head in the Whitecaps second marker in the 56^th minute for the 2-0 result.

The Quakes (6-6-15, 27 points) failed to generate any offensive momentum for large chunks of the night, attempting only four shots on goal to Vancouver’s 17. A lone San Jose attempt found its mark, with another two registering as off target. The other attempt was blocked. The Whitecaps managed six shots on target, thanks in part to a slight edge in possession, controlling play 55.8 percent of the night.

A victory for Mark Watson’s Quakes would have bumped San Jose above Colorado for the seventh spot in the Western Conference table. The loss, however, bumped Vancouver over Portland and into the postseason picture. The Whitecaps entered play Wednesday night a point back of the Timbers in sixth place.

Sunday afternoon, the Quakes desperation push will collide with a familiar face, as Landon Donovan’s Los Angeles Galaxy come to Buck Shaw Stadium for an afternoon match. There will be an air of nostalgia of the Quakes glory days with Sunday marking Donovan’s last appearance in front of the San Jose fans that once rooted him on.

The 32-year-old announced on August 7^th that this would be his last MLS season. In Donovan’s four seasons as a member of the Quakes, the organization won its two MLS Cups (2001 and 2003). The MLS all-time leader in goals and playoff goals earned MLS Cup Most Valuable Player honors in the 2001 iteration.