Team — 5.3
If last game’s 3-2 scoreline was a bit flattering to Minnesota, this 3-2 result was extremely kind to the Quakes. San Jose was beaten, badly, and were lucky not to concede more. With the exception of Florian Jungwirth and Nick Lima, the team could not deal with Sporting Kansas City’s press, and wave after wave of attack had to be weathered. Their opening goal required more than a bit of luck nad was completely against the run of play, and SKC was able to put the match to bed early in the second half. The positives from this match are very limited, and San Jose will have to figure out how to play against teams that press hard and together, or this will be the gameplan against them all season.
Tarbell — 4.7
Did not get particularly close as he cleaned out Johnny Russell to give away a penalty on the opening goal. His distribution on the night was poor, particularly with his feet, making it hard for the Quakes to get a toehold.
Salinas — 4.4
Nightmare game for the left back. Gave the ball away dangerously, ineffective going forward, and was eaten alive by SKC attacker Johnny Russell. To quote the SKC commentator “Johnny Russell is just doing what he wants against Salinas tonight, isn’t he?” It would be surprising not to see Joel Qwiberg next match.
Cummings — 5.0
Did not deal well with the press, seemed fairly immobile, and missed too many interceptions.
Quintana — 4.9
Poor in his first start, and poor again here. Multiple poorly timed steps, poorly timed tackles, and a penchant for sending long balls to no one. Godoy, in particular, seemed frustrated with both his temper and his distribution.
Lima — 5.5
Had a very nice first half on both sides of the ball, getting forward and shutting off the attack on his flank. Tailed off a bit as the game went on.
Vako — 6.0
Got a goal with a bit of luck on the rebound, but otherwise did very little to imprint himself on the game.
Jungwirth — 6.3, MOTM
One of the only bright spots for the Quakes, as he covered lots of ground and was one of the few San Jose players capable of dealing with the SKC press. Somewhat baffling that he was taken off early.
Godoy — 5.0
Not able to move the ball quickly enough to beat the SKC pressure. Further, it was the second straight match that he did not step quickly enough to an attacker and allowed a goal.
Eriksson — 5.8
Played well with the ball at times, and cannot be accused of lack of effort. Still, often not crisp with his passes.
Hoesen — 4.9
Very poor night for the striker. His touch was consistently too big, and when he did get the ball he held on to it too long and allowed additional defenders to come to him.
Wondolowski — 6.2
Played poorly overall, including missing a sitter from about 7 yards out with no one close to him. But, then he goes and finishes perfectly on a half volley to move to second place all time in goals scored.
Image: San Jose Earthquakes Twitter
