The San Jose Earthquakes made history with Major League Soccer’s first-ever four-man substitution in their scintillating 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night.
Down 3-1 in the sixty-third minute, Quakes head coach Matias Almeyda introduced four offensive players at once to revive his team, and they propelled the Quakes to an incredible victory with three late goals.
“It was crazy, what a team effort tonight,” said Shea Salinas, who scored the winner in stoppage time. “We never quit, it was incredible, an awesome night, something we’ll remember for a long time.”
It was San Jose’s first win since August 31, 2019, and an early candidate for the match of the tournament. Since the Quakes struggled in big games last season, narrowly missing the playoffs after losing their last six matches, it was also sweet vindication for head coach Matias Almeyda.
“What happened there was a team that maintained their identity when facing adversity,” the coach said, triumphantly.
The Quakes needed a result after their scoreless draw against the Seattle Sounders in their first match of the MLS is Back tournament last weekend. That match was defined by each team’s defensive caution but this game was the opposite: a rollicking affair, riddled with defensive errors, with more twists and turns than one of Vako’s dribbles.
Vancouver adopted the same approach that Seattle used to combat San Jose’s unique man-marking system: sitting deep, absorbing pressure, and looking to launch on the counter-attack. It worked a charm as Ali Adnan opened the scoring in eight minutes. The forward ran at Guram Kashia down the left flank, cut inside, and whipped a gorgeous curler into the far post to put the Whitecaps in front.
San Jose were also culpable in their own unraveling. For all the defensive competence they displayed against Seattle, they took too many risks and had too many turnovers on this occasion. For one corner in the twenty-second, they had all of their outfielders in the final third. Judson then gave the ball away at the top of Seattle’s penalty area, which allowed Yordy Renya to launch a blistering counter-attack. Judson miraculously recovered to get even with Renya, but, in his haste to put in a challenge, accidentally deflected the ball into the back of his own net.
Although the Quakes looked in danger of crashing out of the tournament, Almeyda stuck to his guns and maintained their possession-based attacking approach. San Jose successfully worked the ball down the wings and got into the half-spaces between Vancouver’s full-backs and center-backs, but didn’t know how to capitalize from those positions. Instead, they settled for lots and lots of corners — twenty-two, to be exact, the highest total in MLS history. Right on the stroke of halftime, they finally pulled back a goal through Andy Rios, who flicked Espinoza’s cross into the back of the net at the near post.
The Quakes were primed for a comeback heading into the second half but promptly shot themselves in the foot once again. Goalkeeper Daniel Vega was the culprit this time, passing lamely to David Milinkovic, who squared the ball for Cristian Dajome to convert an easy tap-in.
It was at this point that the television cameras turned toward Matias Almeyda, who was in deep thought on the touchline. With a keen sense of timing, lots of courage, and a smidge of desperation, he then made one of the most inspired managerial decisions of the tournament, introducing Salinas, Chris Wondolowski, Carlos Fierro, and Danny Hoesen.
The four substitutes gave the Quakes a burst of energy and sewed chaos in behind, kickstarting a classic comeback. Vancouver simply weren’t capable of defending so many attacking players.
“We know that in this tournament, the substitutions are fundamental for our team,” said Almeyda. “As a coach, I don’t want to depend on one or two single players. I look for equality, they have to be even.”
In this case, San Jose’s substitutes were even better than their starters.
Wondolowski, Major League Soccer’s all-time top goalscorer, struck first, scuffing a header into the back of the net from close distance. Alanis then brought the Quakes even with a towering header from Magnus Eriksson’s corner, and Salinas won it with a magnificent solo effort in the dying seconds of the game.
Salinas has previously contributed to unforgettable comebacks in the California Clasico, but this turnaround was even more surreal, a cathartic explosion of joy in these tense times.
Photo by Matthew Stith and Jared Martinez, courtesy of Major League Soccer
