SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes fell the New York Red Bulls 3-1 in their 2022 season opener at PayPal Park on Saturday afternoon.
Chofis scored the lone goal for San Jose, while Cristian Espinoza tallied an assist. Midfielders Jamiro Monteiro and Jan Gregus and defender Francisco Calvo all made their Earthquakes debut.
The Earthquakes will remain in San Jose to host the Columbus Crew on Saturday, March 5, presented by Fastmetrics. Kickoff from PayPal Park is set for 2:30 p.m. PT and the match will be broadcast on NBC Sports California, KNBR 1050 and KZSF 1370.
 GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes currently hold a 0-1-0 record (0 pts.) during the 2022 MLS regular season.
The Quakes now hold a 17-15-9 all-time record against the New York Red Bulls.
Midfielder Chofis scored his first goal of the season and 13th of his MLS career.
Midfielder Cristian Espinoza tallied his first assist of the season and 31st of his MLS career.
Goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and forward Jeremy Ebobisse made their 50th and 100th MLS appearance, respectively.
MATCH INFORMATION
MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 1 – 3 New York Red Bulls
Feb. 26, 2022 – PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 16,146
Scoring Summary:
RBNY (1-0) – Patryk Klimala (Lewis Morgan, Omir Fernandez) 45+1’
SJ (1-1) – Chofis (Cristian Espinoza) 69’
RBNY (2-1) – Omir Fernandez (Frankie Amaya) 72’
RBNY (3-1) – Tom Barlow (Caden Clark) 90+2’
Misconduct Summary:
RBNY – Cristian Cásseres Jr. (caution) 56’
RBNY – Dru Yearwood (caution) 65’
RBNY – John Tolkin (caution) 89’
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES:Â JT Marcinkowski; Nathan (Tanner Beason 22), Francisco Calvo; Jackson Yueill, Jan Gregus, Eric Remedi (Tommy Thompson 65), Jamiro Monteiro, Chofis, Cristian Espinoza (Siad Haji 86), Cade Cowell (Benji Kikanovic 65); Jeremy Ebobisse.
Substitutes not used:Â Matt Bersano, Paul Marie, Judson, Marcos Lopez, Jack Skahan.
*Â SHOTS: 12; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 6; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 4*
 NEW YORK RED BULLS: Carlos Coronel; Dylan Nealis, Sean Nealis, Aaron Long, John Tolkin; Frankie Amaya, Lewis Morgan, Dru Yearwood (Daniel Edelman 74), Omir Fernandez (Serge Ngoma 77), Cristian Casseres Jr. (Caden Clark 57); Patryk Klimala (Tom Barlow 77).
Substitutes not used: Anthony Marcucci, Lucan MonzĂłn, Ryan Meara, Zach Ryan
*Â SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; FOULS: 22; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 1*
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MATIAS ALMEYDA
On the goals surrendered against Red Bulls:
“If you watch the three goals, which I just watched, there was no build-up play from the opponent. There wasn’t game control from the opponent to create the goal-scoring chance. What I saw on the opponent is that they pressed us when our players had their back turned. We know that we shouldn’t play through the middle because one of the strong points is Red Bulls’ pressure because we know that with our turnovers, they can break away quickly and they will catch us open – and that’s how two of those goals were scored. Two turnovers, two counters, but it was their virtue where they put away the chances that they had. But I didn’t see that they were able to hurt us through their build-up play, but rather our own mistakes.”
On how long it will take for the three new players to adapt to the rest of the squad:
“Surely that’s going to take some time. There are some people who pick up new systems faster than others. Also get to know their new teammates, some do that faster than others. I think the three new guys looked good today. Surely as time goes on, the better they will look just as well as the rest of the team.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER JAMIRO MONTEIRO
On his Earthquakes debut:
“I had already felt comfortable, the guys welcomed me very well. I am happy that I played my first game for San Jose. Disappointed that we didn’t get the three points, but we have a long season. We learned a lot in this game, but we will move on and make it better.”
On his takeaways from the first match of the season:
“The connections were really good between me and Chofis, Jebo [Jeremy Ebobisse], Cade [Cowell], and [Cristian] Espinoza. Everybody likes to come to the ball, pass in the back. We have a good connection. We train really hard on that. This is our first game, it’s a long season, and we will do better for sure. The idea that the coach has is a very good idea, but it will come for sure. We will do better.”