The San Jose Earthquakes have found every possible way to lose this season and Saturday night’s roller-coaster 4-3 loss to LAFC was just about the club’s cruelest defeat yet. The Quakes thought they had secured a 3-2 comeback victory courtesy of two goals from Chris Wondolowski, but LAFC’s Adama Diomande and João Moutinho scored two stoppage-time goals to flip the match on its head and deal a devastating blow to Mikael Stahre’s men.
Defensive errors haunted the Quakes all night, with blunders from debutant Kevin Partida, Jimmy Ockford, and goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell nullifying Wondolowski’s impressive offensive performance. San Jose desperately missed the leadership of World Cup absentees Anibal Godoy and Harold Cummings at the back, and rumors of Georgian centerback Guram Kashia’s impending arrival promise much-needed relief.
LAFC were also without star players in Carlos Vela and Marco Ureña, but replacements Lee Nguyen and Adama Diomande rose to the occasion. Nguyen wrought havoc in behind San Jose’s back-line and nearly gave LA an early go-ahead goal, curling wide from the edge of the area. San Jose attempted to press LAFC at the halfway line but their somewhat lopsided midfield was easily bypassed by LAFC’s incisive passing and, as such, the Quakes were forced to sit deeper and deeper.
San Jose were, however, dangerous on the counter, particularly Danny Hoesen. The Dutch forward, San Jose’s leading scorer this season, curled over from distance in the fifth minute and set-up Vako’s opener with a delicate cross shortly thereafter. Hoesen curled a delicious ball in behind LAFC’s centerbacks and Vako ghosted in to cushion a neat finish into the back of the net.
It was San Jose’s first lead in nearly four-hundred minutes of match play, yet it didn’t last long as Partida’s whiffed clearance gifted Diomande an equalizer. Four minutes later, Steven Beitashour capitalized on Ockford’s poor block to convert a simple tap-in and complete the turnaround. LAFC threatened to bury the match as João Moutinho blazed a shot wide and Nguyen curled narrowly outside of the post.
Yet San Jose held on into the break and Wondolowski led an inspiring second-half turnaround. The captain’s energy infused pace and purpose to the home side’s breakaways and, shortly after testing Tyler Miller from a low cross, converted a gorgeous curling finish to draw San Jose level. Wondolowski completed the comeback ten minutes later, dispossessing Miller with a high press and coolly converting into an open net.
Amidst a historically bad season for the Quakes, it was refreshing to see Wondolowski’s verve. But the captain was forced off with a stomach illness and San Jose utterly collapsed. Substitute Tommy Thompson should have buried the match on a late-breakaway, but confirmed straight at the goalkeeper. Immediately after, LAFC went up the other end of the pitch and equalized as Tarbell flubbed and Diomande beat Ockford to the ball for a simple-tap in.
Then, deep into stoppage-time, Partida was called for a foul near the touch line, and as if by fate, Moutinho scored from the resulting set piece to compound San Jose’s misery.
