SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes came from behind to defeat the LA Galaxy 2-1 Saturday night at Stanford Stadium in front of 50,617 fans with Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski and midfielder Shea Salinas each tallying goals. With the result, the Quakes are now undefeated in five of the six California Clasicos at Stanford Stadium (4-1-1) and have come back in all four wins.
The Galaxy opened the scoring in the 11th minute through Jelle Van Damme, but Wondolowski equalized the match in the 75th minute from goalkeeper David Bingham’s assist, scoring his ninth career goal against LA. Bingham’s assist was the second of the goalkeeper’s career, having previously assisted another Wondolowski goal in his MLS debut on Oct. 8, 2011 against the New England Revolution.
Salinas secured the victory for the Quakes in the final moments of the match, finding the back of the net in the third minute of stoppage time. This is the second time that Salinas has scored in injury time in a California Clasico at Stanford Stadium, previously scoring in 2013’s 3-2 comeback victory.
Earthquakes midfielder Jackson Yueill earned his first MLS start in tonight’s match, and midfielder Lindo Mfeka made his MLS debut, entering the match as a substitute in stoppage time.
The Earthquakes will now hit the road to face expansion side Atlanta United FC on July 4 at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The match will kick off at 4:45 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR 1050 and KZSF 1370.
MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 2 – 1 LA Galaxy
July 1, 2017 – Stanford Stadium in Stanford, CA.
Attendance: 50,617
Scoring Summary: LA – Jelle Van Damme (Jose Villarreal) 11; SJ – Chris Wondolowski (David Bingham) 75; SJ – Shea Salinas (Danny Hoesen) 90+3.
Misconduct Summary: LA – Jelle Van Damme (caution) 84; LA – Joao Pedro (caution) 90; SJ – Shea Salinas (caution) 90+3; LA – Jelle Van Damme (ejection) 90+4.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: David Bingham; Florian Jungwirth, Andres Imperiale, Victor Bernardez; Jahmir Hyka, Tommy Thompson (Lindo Mfeka 90+4), Anibal Godoy, Jackson Yueill, Cordell Cato (Shea Salinas 65); Danny Hoesen; Chris Wondolowski.
SHOTS: 15, SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 5; CORNER KICKS: 9; OFFSIDES: 2.
LA GALAXY: Clement Diop; Rafael Garcia, Dave Romney, Jelle Van Damme, Hugo Arellano; Jaime Villarreal, João Pedro; Bradford Jamieson IV, Jose Villarreal (Raul Mendiola 70), Emmanuel Boateng (Ariel Lassiter 74); Jack McBean.
SHOTS: 7; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; SAVES: 0; FOULS: 15; CORNER KICKS: 2; OFFSIDES: 3.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH CHRIS LEITCH
On the game:
“It’s the definition of the California Clasico if I’ve ever known one, that’s for sure. Really exciting ending, really happy to see our fans go out of this building on an extremely high note and really proud of the group. In a very short amount of time we’ve had three games, so for these guys to dig deep and never quit and pull it out in the end is something special and speaks to their character.”
On what went through his mind when Shea Salinas scored:
“I think I blacked out for a good minute, minute and a half. I couldn’t even tell you actually how it happened. I know someone slipped him a pretty good ball, he took a touch and he kept it on frame, which is something we didn’t do with our first three or four shots today.”
On David Bingham’s two saves and assist in close succession:
“That’s just David being a fantastic goalie. Going down to his right and making that save, that was a hell of a save. I don’t know what it looked like on TV or with the naked eye but from my vantage point that was a game-saving save. And yeah, to just put it on the money like he did, that ball traveled high and far. And then let’s not forget Chris Wondolowski and what this guy does in the biggest moments without fail. It’s really good when your leaders, when your captains, when your best players show up for the biggest games. That’s what I’m proud of.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI
On how his goal affected the game’s rhythm:
“I think that was just a moment where it kind of injected some belief again. From the first minute we really believed in our game plan and thought that if we executed we could come out and win. It’s always a game of 90 minutes. If you give up a goal early, it kind of dictates the rest of the game in a sense. I think for them as well, scoring that early goal, I think they wanted to defend that goal and took a little bit of a defensive posture. We felt that if we could stay the course and execute our game plan, we could get three points.”
On coach’s message at halftime:
“I think Chris [Leitch] came in and said we need to get on the ball. He said we have a formation now where we really want to spread it wide and we need guys to get on the ball and have that right spacing and movement. And if you do that it can work. I think we weren’t quite on the same page in the first half and started clicking a little bit more in the second. Again, I thought it was great performances all across the board, but especially in our middle, with Jackson [Yueill] and Anibal [Godoy]. I thought those guys were excellent.”
On his goal and whether he knew David Bingham was going to pass him the ball:
“What a ball. I saw him catch it, I saw him look up and, I know this might be shocking to you guys, but I’m not necessarily the fastest. So when it left his foot I just put my head down and just started running as fast as I could and I looked up and the ball was right there.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER SHEA SALINAS
On scoring the game-winner as a sub:
“I think it just goes as an understood statement that when you get subbed into the Cali Clasico you just gotta add a last-minute goal or assist. That’s what this game has seemed to breed and fortunately we answered the call and got the game winner tonight. [Head coach] Chris Leitch just told me to go out there, take the guy on, get the ball in the box and be dangerous. He just gave me a lot of confidence and I’m thankful for that.”
On his emotions of scoring and taking off his shirt:
“You just get so pumped up, scoring in front of this many people. We wanted to win this game really badly, not just because we want to beat LA, but it’s a big game for us in the standings. So just a lot of emotions, really pumped up. It was a little ode to Alan Gordon – obviously his highlight reel with him ripping his shirt off, so it was just a little tribute to him.”
