The San Jose Earthquakes suffered a 2-0 defeat in the Emerald City on Saturday night, but not without their fair share of scoring opportunities. Despite having numerous looks in front of net, the Quakes 22-game scoring streak was snapped at CenturyLink Field.
Chris Wondolowski, Chad Barrett and Simon Dawkins each came close to getting San Jose on the board, and perhaps on another night tallied two or three goals between them, but luck was not on the club’s side this night.
In the first half, Wondolowski received a through ball and set up a one-on-one with goalkeeper Stefan Frei. However, his feet got tangled in the turf and before he could recover, the net minder pounced on the loose ball.
Dawkins later came inches from his second goal in as many games. A wonderful, curling free kick beat the wall and the keeper, but not the crossbar. As the ball glanced off the woodwork, it fell straight down, bounced off the goal line and was corralled.
San Jose was then denied by the post again, as Wondolowski’s late penalty was pushed narrowly wide.
“I think we can learn from our mistakes,” said Earthquakes captain Chris Wondolowski. “I think that this is not going to impact us. Our goals are still set and we can obtain them. We are going to stay the course and just learn from this.”
The game was not without it positives, however, as the club welcomed back Chad Barrett who was making his Quakes debut. Midfielder Matheus Silva, 19, also made his first career start and could prove to be an asset for the club for years to come.
Head coach Dominic Kinnear knows that while the result is not the one they wanted, a chance for redemption is right around the corner.
“We have to get ready for Houston on Wednesday night. It’s an important game in the Western Conference. You don’t want to forget [the match against Seattle] because you want to remember the things you did well and the things you didn’t do well so the next time out you can rectify all the errors you made. But I think the guys are looking forward to Wednesday – I know I am.”
