SAN JOSE, Calif. — For the first time in 57 days, the San Jose Earthquakes won a match.
On Sunday at PayPal Park, the Quakes (4-16-2, 14 points) snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over Chicago Fire FC (5-11-6, 21 points) thanks to a second-half goal from midfielder Hernán López and a defensive effort that held Chicago scoreless.
Goalkeeper William Yarbrough only needed to stop one shot and earned San Jose’s first clean sheet of the league year. In addition to the victory being the Quakes’ first in nearly two months, it was also the team’s first at home since May 4 and interim head coach Ian Russell’s first at the helm.
Russell implemented a new formation on the pitch, utilizing three center-backs and two wing-backs, with Benji Kikanović and Vitor Costa on the wings.
“I would say [the formation] is kind of a hybrid,” said Russell postgame. “Just a way we could still get good pressure without conceding space in behind … We’d been conceding a lot of goals so we had to change something.”
While Chicago had multiple dangerous opportunities to score, San Jose’s defense did its job shutting them down and clearing them accordingly, as the updated formation forced the Fire up the middle and effectively prevented goal production.
The Quakes were also fortunate to have midfielder Carlos Gruezo return to the lineup. The 29-year-old had suited up for Ecuador in the Copa América, which was eliminated in the quarter-final round on Thursday.
The first half ended in a scoreless deadlock, but after the break, it didn’t take López long to put the Earthquakes on the board. In the 49th minute, midfielder Cristian Espinoza sent a bullseye pass from the middle to attacking third to his fellow Argentine, a streaking López. From there, López fired a shot toward the right post and into the net, giving San Jose the eventual game-winning goal.
Espinoza tallied his 11th assist of the season thanks to the highlight reel-worthy pass, placing him tied for fourth on the MLS leaderboard. López’s goal was his fourth of the campaign.
“At halftime, I actually told [López], ‘Hey, you need to run in behind more,’” Russell said. “Great ball by Cristian, played him through.”
In the 70th minute, the Fire initially thought that they had found the equalizer. Following a missed shot off the crossbar, forward Hugo Cuypers headed in the rebound while the referees kept the offside flags down. But upon further review, it was evident that forward Thomas Barlow was narrowly in an offside position, cutting San Jose a huge break in the waning moments of the match.
“We got a bit lucky,” Yarbrough said. “We needed this clean sheet so we knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.”
As the clock ticked away, Russell used a platoon of substitutes to hold down the fort and prevent the Quakes from blowing another match from a winning position. When the final whistle was blown, San Jose’s lone goal was all it needed to capture three points in front of its home fans, who — although didn’t show up in droves — still roared when the seven-minute stoppage period ended and the win was secured.
Yarbrough addressed the fans’ concerns regarding the team’s lack of commitment amid a rough season in 2024.
“I talk to guys in the locker room and I know they’re just as frustrated as I am, and I wouldn’t be surprised if our fans are frustrated,” Yarbrough said. “We’ve had a very poor season. We can’t hide away from that. You know what [soccer] means to me, it’s my life.”
Next, the Quakes will host Sporting Kansas City (5-13-5, 20 points). SKC holds the second-worst record in the Western Conference table, only leading the Quakes. Both teams squared off back on Mar. 17, when San Jose took an early first-half lead but conceded two goals over the next 18 minutes to eventually fall 2-1.
“Today’s victory was really important. And you can be sure that we will continue to put in the work in training and for next week,” defender Rodrigues said. “Next week will also be a tough one but we’re prepared and we’re looking forward for the victory.”
The Earthquakes will also prepare for the midseason tournament between MLS and Liga MX teams, Leagues Cup. San Jose will have both of its group-stage matches in the Bay Area, facing Chivas de Guadalajara at Levi’s Stadium on July 27 and the LA Galaxy at PayPal Park on July 31.
“It gives us a lot of confidence moving forward with Leagues Cup,” said Russell, regarding the win and the polished defensive performance. “It’s a tournament we really want to do well in, obviously. We just need to build momentum from this game and carry on.”
The upcoming match against Sporting Kansas City will be the second of the Earthquakes’ three-game homestand and will kick off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Kasey Kazliner is an undergraduate sports broadcaster at USC. He covers a variety of sports, but particularly loves analyzing the Quakes’ prospect pipeline. He is The Town FC’s official beat writer and covers every match for the club. You can follow him on Twitter here.
