Weekly Update: February 15, 2016

The Earthquakes continue to roll towards the 2016 regular season, with four preseason contests between now and opening day on March 6. This week, San Jose faces off against NPSL side Sonoma County Sol on Wednesday in a closed-door scrimmage before heading up to the state’s capital to take on Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday evening at Bonney Field (5 p.m. kickoff).

Last week, the Quakes closed out their trip to Tucson, Arizona with a 1-0 win over Seongnam FC of the South Korean K League. After a quick return back to the Bay Area, the team traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they fell to the LA Galaxy 1-0 on Saturday night in a friendly scrimmage at Cashman Field.

The Quakes also held a press conference on Thursday, February 11 to announce Arsenal FC of the English Premier League would be coming to San Jose to take on the MLS All Stars at Avaya Stadium this summer.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

Earthquakes Drop Preseason Friendly to LA Galaxy 1-0 in Las Vegas
The San Jose Earthquakes fell to the LA Galaxy 1-0 in a preseason friendly at Cashman Field in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was the second consecutive season in which San Jose traveled to Las Vegas for a preseason contest. It also marked just the second time the two California Clasico rivals have met outside of the Golden State, joining the 2001 MLS Cup Final in Columbus, Ohio. San Jose nearly grabbed an early lead in the 11th minute. Defender Shaun Francis whipped in a cross from the left flank and Galaxy defender Jelle Van Damme mistakenly redirected the ball towards his own net, but it was saved by goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. Eight minutes later, Francis created another chance. After dribbling past his marker, he floated a ball to the back post, finding forward Chris Wondolowski unmarked. Wondolowski volleyed the ball goalward, but narrowly missed wide, hitting the outside of the net. In the 27th minute, LA struck first. Forward Robbie Keane lofted a pass to the back post and Gyasi Zardes headed the ball into the back of the net. San Jose did well to thwart chances by LA at the beginning of the second half. Defender Clarence Goodson blocked shot attempts by Keane and Giovani Dos Santos, keeping the Quakes within striking distance. In the 62nd minute, San Jose made nine changes to the lineup, with goalkeeper David Bingham and midfielder Anibal Godoy as the only starters to remain on the field at that time. The Earthquakes continued to press forward, creating several late chances, but couldn’t find the equalizer.

Arsenal FC to Face Best of MLS in 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at Avaya Stadium
Major League Soccer announced that Arsenal FC will play the best of Major League Soccer in the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at Avaya Stadium in San Jose on Thursday, July 28 at 6 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN and UniMás in the United States, TSN and RDS in Canada, and in more than 140 countries around the world, including Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. The full press release can be found here.

Earthquakes Renew Affiliation Agreement with Sacramento Republic FC for 2016 Season
The San Jose Earthquakes announced that the club has renewed its affiliation with Sacramento Republic FC of the United Soccer League for the 2016 season. The two Northern California clubs have been affiliated since Republic FC’s inaugural season in 2014. The affiliation agreement provides development opportunities for both clubs. In 2015, San Jose loaned three players – forward Mark Sherrod and midfielders JJ Koval and Tommy Thompson – to Sacramento for the home stretch of the season, making nine combined appearances and tallying two goals and two assists. The two teams will also meet for the third consecutive preseason on Saturday, February 20, when the Quakes travel to Bonney Field. The match kicks off at 5:00 p.m. and tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.  

Earthquakes Complete Preseason in Arizona with 1-0 Victory over Seongnam FC
The San Jose Earthquakes ended their preseason training camp in Tucson, Arizona with a 1-0 victory over South Korean side Seongnam FC at the Kino Sports Complex on Tuesday afternoon. Second-half substitute Mark Sherrod tallied the late winner, volleying home Tommy Thompson’s cross with three minutes to play. Forward and Designated Player Innocent also made his 2016 debut, entering the match in the 81st minute. San Jose appeared to have taken the lead in the 16th minute when forward Chris Wondolowski volleyed a cross from midfielder Shea Salinas into the bottom corner of the net, only for a linesman to flag offside. Later in the first half, forward Quincy Amarikwa came close to breaking the deadlock when he chested defender Shaun Francis’ cross goalward, which was denied by a fine save from the Seongnam goalkeeper. Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear made 10 changes at the break, with center back Victor Bernardez the lone starter to remain on the pitch at the beginning of the second half. Three minutes after the restart, midfielder Matias Perez Garcia curled a free kick just wide after Thompson was brought down on the edge of the area. In the 70th minute, Perez Garcia came close again when he seized a loose ball, raced forward and hit a shot from distance, which was tipped wide of the post. In the waning moments of the match, Sherrod was able to break the deadlock off a feed by Thompson, giving San Jose a 1-0 advantage in the 87th minute.

Complete Earthquakes 2016 Preseason Schedule
The full slate of scheduled preseason matches can be found below:

ACADEMY NOTES
The Earthquakes U-17s defeated the Sounders U-17s on Friday, February 12, 2-1 with goals by Adolfo Trujillo and Ivan Valencia. The Quakes also defeated the LA Galaxy 2-0 with scores by Valencia and Andrew Paoli on Saturday.

San Jose then used another goal by Valencia to defeat Colorado 1-0 this morning to claim the top spot in the West Region with a 5-1 record. As one of the top two teams in their respective region, the Quakes will now participate against international sides for the Championship Division title in Frisco, Texas from March 18-26.

More details of the tournament can be found here.