SANDY, Utah — The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Real Salt Lake 2-1 on Saturday night at America First Field in front of 19,238 fans.
The hosts almost scored first in the third minute when Zavier Gozo broke free and was one on one with Daniel, but the Quakes’ goalkeeper came off his line and got enough of the ball to cause it to bounce off the crossbar and off the goal line. In minute 27, Diego Luna charged down the left side with Daniel once again the last line of defense, but the Brazilian shotstopper cut off the angle and forced the RSL playmaker into an inaccurate shot toward the near post. Meanwhile, the vaunted San Jose attack managed only one shot on goal from Josef Martínez and the initial 45 minutes were scoreless.
After intermission, San Jose achieved the breakthrough in the 51st minute. Former RSL star Cristian “Chicho” Arango caused a turnover and the ball ended up with Cristian Espinoza. Espinoza gave it back to Arango, who floated a perfect ball in from the right wing for Martínez to head home to give the Quakes a 1-0 lead. Six minutes later, the Claret and Cobalt would answer, as an unmarked Diogo Goncalves’ low cross from the left wing resulted in an own goal by Quakes defender Jamar Ricketts to tie it 1-1.
However, controversy ensued in the 79th minute when it was ruled that Espinoza took too long to come off the field after passing the captain’s armband to Arango and being replaced by Ousseni Bouda. As a result, the Quakes were forced to play with a man down. During this temporary span in the 81st minute, RSL second-half substitute Braian Ojeda took a long-range shot from behind the edge of the box, which deflected off Daniel into the net for a 2-1 lead and the game-winner.
The Black and Blue will now travel home to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, Aug. 9. Kickoff from PayPal Park will take place at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as via local radio on KSFO 810 AM (English) and KZSF 1370 AM La Kaliente (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The San Jose Earthquakes moved to 17-16-12 (62 GF, 64 GA) all-time against Real Salt Lake with a 6-9-7 (22 GF, 36 GA) road record.
As of the final whistle, the Earthquakes are now 7-10-8 and 10th in the MLS Western Conference (29 pts), while Real Salt Lake hold the eighth-place spot at 9-11-4 (31 pts) in the West.
Tonight’s match marked the return of Chicho Arango to Utah to face his former club, with whom he scored 23 goals in 45 MLS regular-season matches (2023-24).
Chicho Arango’s 51st-minute assist was his sixth of the season and 27th of his MLS career.
Josef Martínez’s 51st-minute goal was his 10th goal of the season and 126th of his MLS career, good for sixth on the all-time list.
Cristian Espinoza’s 51st-minute assist was his 12th of the season (elevating him into a tie for second in MLS) and 83rd of his MLS career, extending his club record.
Cristian Espinoza had three key passes to extend his league-leading total to 80.
Cristian Espinoza is coming off a stellar performance in the 2025 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday in Austin’s Q2 Stadium as the MLS All-Stars defeated their LIGA MX counterparts, 3-1. Appearing in his second All-Star Game, the Quakes’ team captain wore the captain’s armband the entire second half, playing both right back and right winger while tallying an assist in the 80th minute on Brian White’s game-sealing goal.
Cristian Espinoza has now tallied seven assists and scored three goals against RSL in 14 regular-season meetings.
With a 33rd-minute caution tonight, Ian Harkes will serve a one-game suspension on Aug. 9 when the Quakes face the Vancouver Whitecaps FC due to yellow card accumulation.
First-year defender Reid Roberts was sent off for the first time in his MLS career after getting a second yellow card in the 83rd minute. He will miss the team’s next match Aug. 9 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
With 46 goals in 25 regular-season matches, San Jose is currently tied for third in the league in scoring with Orlando City SC. Only Inter Miami CF (49) and San Diego FC (48) have scored more than the Quakes.
The Earthquakes are currently second in the league in expected goals (50.46). Only the Philadelphia Union holds a narrow lead (50.82) over the Black and Blue.
Counting a second-half caution issued to Quakes head coach Bruce Arena, tonight’s match tied for the most yellow cards in one game this season with 10. The other such contest took place March 8 between D.C. United and Sporting Kansas City.
Real Salt Lake 2 – 1 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, July 26, 2025 — America First Field; Sandy, Utah
Weather: 90°F Sunny
Attendance: 19,238
*all stats unofficial
Match Officials:
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
AR1: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt
AR2: Eric Weisbrod
4th Official: JC Griggs
VAR: Ekaterina (Katja) Koroleva
AVAR: Claudiu Badea
Scoring Summary:
SJ (0-1) – Josef Martínez (Cristian "Chicho" Arango, Cristian Espinoza) 51’
RSL (1-1) – Jamar Ricketts (own goal) 57’
RSL (2-1) – Braian Ojeda (unassisted) 81’
Misconduct Summary:
RSL – Noel Caliskan (caution) 9’
RSL – Zavier Gozo (caution) 24’
SJ – Ian Harkes (caution) 33’
SJ – Bruno Wilson (caution) 42’
RSL – Diego Luna (caution) 42’
SJ – Reid Roberts (caution) 45+4’
SJ – Max Floriani (caution) 54’
SJ – Reid Roberts (caution, ejection) 83’
RSL – Dominik Marczuk (caution) 84’
REAL SALT LAKE: Rafael Cabral (GK) (C); Justen Glad, Philip Quinton, Sam Junqua, Noel Caliskan; Pablo Ruiz, Diego Luna (Bode Hidalgo 89’), Diogo Goncalves, Emeka Eneli (Braian Ojeda 78’); William Agada (Ariath Piol 78’), Zavier Gozo (Dominik Marczuk 78’).
Substitutes not used: Max Kerkvliet (GK), Jesus Barea, Kobi Joseph Henry, Johnny Russell.
POSS.: 59.6%; SHOTS: 9; SOG: 3; CORNERS: 4; OFFSIDES: 4; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 12; xG: 1.1
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Daniel (GK); Reid Roberts, Bruno Wilson, Max Floriani (Rodrigues 58’); Jamar Ricketts (Dave Romney 68’), Ian Harkes (Mark-Anthony Kaye 68’), Beau Leroux (Niko Tsakiris 79’), DeJuan Jones; Chicho Arango, Cristian Espinoza (Ousseni Bouda 79’), Josef Martínez.
Substitutes not used: Earl Edwards Jr. (GK), Preston Judd, Nick Lima, Paul Marie.
POSS.: 40.4%; SHOTS: 10; SOG: 3; CORNERS: 3; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 13; xG: 1.3
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On whether the final score accurately reflected the match:
“I don't know how you answer that question. Our guys played a good game.”
On the officiating having a pivotal role in the second half:
“I wouldn’t describe it like that, but the Professional Referee Organization should look at the game and let them critique it. What bothered us was on the second goal, they didn’t allow our substitute to come on the field while three other players went on and they scored a goal with us playing with 10 men. ... I’ll let PRO analyze the game. I’d be interested to hear their comments.”
On what the 4th Official told him regarding Cristian Espinoza’s substitution, which led to the Quakes being forced to play with 10 men during the game-winning goal:
“He didn’t say anything. He was too afraid to make any kind of decisions. He had no comment on everything on the night.”
On regrouping for next match vs. Vancouver:
“No emotions are boiling over. These are professional athletes and coaches competing in a game. This is what we do for a living, and we know how to deal with it.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD/TEAM CAPTAIN CRISTIAN ESPINOZA
On what transpired during his substitution that caused the Quakes to be down to 10 men during the final goal:
“I don’t know what had happened, to be honest. I gave the [captain’s] armband to Chicho [Arango], so I had to waste a little bit more time just to go off a few meters away, to give it to him. Then I just jogged out of the field. I didn’t understand why they gave us, I don’t know if it was a minute or two minutes with a man down.”
On the team unsuccessfully pushing for a late equalizer after conceding in the final 10 minutes:
“I think we tried to react in the game, but it was too late. We need to keep pushing the game from the beginning. We need to improve in so many things as a team. We need to take this break to rest, recharge our minds and come back to work stronger.”
On another frustrating result:
“It’s really frustrating, to be honest. We’re working really hard, but it’s not enough. Everyone has to step up a little bit more in the team, including myself. We have to try to do things better and go back to the basics, and go back to how we played at the beginning of the season with that intensity. It’s very clear. When everybody is engaged in the same way, with the same intensity, it’s a different team.”
On if having a two-week break before the next match will bring some relief after several weeks with multiple games:
“Yes, definitely. We’re going to have so much more time to recover and keep working on the team, and keep working on the things that we need to improve. That’s it. As I said before, just put all the focus on the nine games that we have ahead and try to do our best."
