HOUSTON, Texas – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Houston Dynamo FC 4-3 on Saturday evening at PNC Stadium in Houston, Texas. Jeremy Ebobisse and Tommy Thompson scored for San Jose, with Ebobisse scoring a pair of goals just three minutes apart in the first half.
Houston Dynamo FC opened the scoring before the Earthquakes took the lead with two goals in quick succession from Ebobisse. Houston scored their second goal in the 43rd minute to tie the match heading into halftime. Dynamo FC later tallied two goals in the second half to lead 4-2, before Tommy Thompson reduced the Quakes deficit to one goal in the 77th minute. San Jose wasn’t able to find the late equalizer.
The Earthquakes will now return to San Jose for their first-ever matchup against Nashville SC on Saturday, April 16. Kickoff from PayPal Park is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. PT and the match will be broadcast nationally on Univision and TUDN, Twitter (English), and via radio on KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes currently hold a 0-4-2 record (2 pts.) during the 2022 MLS regular season.
The Quakes now hold a 9-15-4 overall record against Houston Dynamo FC.
Forward Jeremy Ebobisse scored two goals, his second and third goal of the season and 29th and 30th of his MLS career. He has now scored three goals in the last two matches. His brace marks the third of his MLS career and first since Oct. 7, 2020 (vs. LA).
Forward Cade Cowell tallied an assist on Ebobisse’s first goal. It marked his first assist of the season and eighth of his MLS career.
Midfielder Cristian Espinoza tallied an assist on Ebobisse’s first goal. It marked his second assist of the season and 32nd of his MLS career. Espinoza is now tied with Ramiro Corrales for the sixth most assists in club history.
Midfielder Jan Gregus tallied an assist on Ebobisse’s second goal. It marks his fourth assist of the season and 23rd of his MLS career. He has now tallied one assist in each of the last two matches.
Defender Tommy Thompson scored his first goal of the season and fifth of his MLS career. Thompson also made his 163rd appearance for the Quakes, tying Richard Mulrooney for sixth most appearances in club history.
MATCH INFORMATION
2022 MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 3 – 4 Houston Dynamo FC
Saturday, April 9, 2022 – PNC Stadium in Houston, Texas
Attendance: 15,414
Scoring Summary:
HOU (1-0) – Sebastian Ferreira (Adam Lundqvist) 8’
SJ (1-1) – Jeremy Ebobisse (Cade Cowell, Cristian Espinoza) 25’
SJ (2-1) – Jeremy Ebobisse (Jan Gregus) 28’
HOU (2-2) – Darwin Quintero (unassisted) 43’
HOU (3-2) – Teenage Hadebe (unassisted) 58’
HOU (4-2) – Sebastian Ferreira (Fafa Picault, Griffin Dorsey) 68’
SJ (4-3) – Tommy Thompson (unassisted) 77’
Misconduct Summary:
HOU – Darwin Quintero (caution) 18’
SJ – Paul Marie (caution) 20’
SJ – Marcos Lopez (caution) 22’
HOU – Sebastian Ferreira (caution) 27’
HOU – Teenage Hadebe (caution) 58’
HOU – Fafa Picault (caution) 63’
HOU – Darwin Ceren (caution) 89’
SJ – Jackson Yueill (caution) 90+1’
HOU – Ethan Bartlow (caution) 90+2’
HOUSTON DYNAMO FC: Steve Clark; Adam Lundqvist, Ethan Bartlow, Teenage Hadebe (Tim Parker 88), Griffin Dorsey, Adalberto Carrasquilla (Darwin Ceren 88), Matias Vera, Sebastian Ferreira (ThorUlfarsson_ 71_), Fafa Picault, Tyler Pasher (Corey Baird 76), Darwin Quintero (Memo Rodriguez 71)
Substitutes not used: Sam Junqua, Michael Nelson, Zeca.
* SHOTS: 12; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 15; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 1*
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski, Marcos Lopez (Tommy Thompson 64), Francisco Calvo, Tanner Beason (Siad Haji 82), Paul Marie (Eric Remedi 64), Jan Gregus, Jackson Yueill (C), Cade Cowell (Ousseni Bouda 69), Jamiro Monteiro, Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse.
Substitutes not used: Oskar Ågren, Matt Bersano, Will Richmond, Jack Skahan, Niko Tsakiris.
* SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; FOULS: 10; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 0*
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD JEREMY EBOBISEE
On what the difference was in the attacking phase:
“There’s been a concerted effort over the last three weeks or so. We started encountering these difficulties in games to diversify the manner of service into the box for our front three and establish spacing so that we can be in more dominant positions relative to defenders. Today, what we noticed with Houston’s backline was that the positions they took made it possible for certain spaces to pop up. I credit the guys who executed on the wide play to get the ball into good spots. They’re not always going to be goals or shots on target, but thankfully today, I think there was a conviction from everyone on those plays to finish off and set ourselves up into a decent position. There were a lot of good moments, but it feels like a refrain at this point to continue to sync the positivity in some difficult results. Being in a position to see out the first half up 2-1 is definitely a positive, but then not being able to close out those final minutes put us a little on the back foot in the second half. Disappointingly, there were some set-piece goals we conceded. If we can put together bit by bit of the positivity in which there we a lot of positives tonight, then results should start coming our way. Although it’s tough right now, I firmly believe that.”
On his two goals:
“I think it’s tough to get too high on scoring in a defeat because ultimately it’s a defeat. It doesn’t advance the team’s goals. If the team’s goals aren’t advancing, then my individual goals aren’t either. Hopefully, when we score three goals, that means we’re going to win more games than not. If our offense can continue to produce multiple-goal games, then as a collective, because defense starts at the top, if we’re able to better manage games defensively, then there will be other days where these goals mean a lot more to me. Other people’s goals mean a lot more to me than they did tonight.”
On how attacking players can take advantage of opponents:
“I think there have been moments where we’ve been able to execute and leverage those advantages. Generally speaking, the ability to execute on those advantages will be dependent on finding key passes as soon as we win the ball, which means for me being a good spot to be a release outlet and for the wingers to push on and use their speed. I think the way teams approach and defend us, oftentimes they're dropping back as soon as they’re on the counter-attack. It is a testament to the pedigree and the success that the various players, both in the front three tonight and then on the field throughout the last six to 12 months. I think it’s a testament to what has been done. Now they see this as a weapon that they want to nullify as quickly as possible. It’s on us to get creative and find ways to not be one-dimensional. I have no doubt that we will as we showed tonight in the attack. I thought against Austin FC, we were on the right track, though not quite scoring from open play as much as we would have liked but created some good chances. Nashville SC presents a tough task. They are a solid team defensively, but we’ll approach it with the confidence that we should have given the players that we have and the ability that we can show.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER TOMMY THOMPSON
On the positives that can be taken away:
“Yeah, it’s a difficult loss. Any time you concede four goals, you’re not going to be happy about it. It’s been a difficult start to the season. There’s no hiding from that. This is not how we planned it. It’s just something that we’re going to have to correct. We’re going to have to correct it going into the week and we’re going to have to clean up the mistakes we made. The good news is we’re going back to San Jose, we’ll be playing at home, so we’ve got to focus on turning things around there.”
On what he believes the team is capable of:
“It’s a good question. It’s a difficult moment for us. I’m not going to lie to you, there’s a lot for us to think about right now. There’s a lot for us to reevaluate. There’s still plenty of time this year. There’s plenty of soccer to be played, so it’s way too early to give up and it’s way too early to feel sad or sorry for ourselves. We have to start getting angry and we have to start motivating ourselves even more to fix this because it takes courage to flip the situation like we’re in right now.”
