The San Jose Earthquakes drew 2-2 against the LA Galaxy in the most recent edition of the Cali Clasico at Stanford Stadium.
Fireworks painted the sky above Stanford Stadium and the crowd watched in awe. The pyrotechnics complemented the show over 40 thousand fans watched on the field just moments prior.
“These are awesome games to be a part of,” said Quakes captain Jackson Yueill in a post-game interview.
In the annual Cali Clasico at Stanford, the San Jose Earthquakes drew 2-2 against SoCal rivals LA Galaxy. The Galaxy, 13th in the West, have not won since their encounter with Real Salt Lake back in late May. Meanwhile, the Quakes find themselves in a playoff position.
However, under the expectations of rivalry matches, form goes out the window, and in its place goes pure will– which both teams displayed up until the final whistle.
Under Luchi Gonzalez, the Quakes accustomed themselves to having much of the ball throughout the match. This time, the Galaxy kept it roughly equal with 53% of the ball in their favor.
San Jose generated the most, however. They registered 1.7 xG (expected goals) compared to LA’s 0.6 xG and attempted more shots.
“I am proud of our response,” said Gonzalez after the game. “We did not give up and we pushed until the end.”
Starting XI
San Jose Earthquakes 4-3-3: Daniel; Miguel Trauco, Jonathan Mensah, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo; Carlos Gruezo, Jackson Yueill, Niko Tsakiris; Jack Skahan, Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse (Head Coach: Luchi Gonzalez)
LA Galaxy 4-3-3: Jonathan Bond; Lucas Calegari, Chris Mavinga, Kelvin Leerdam, Raheem Edwards; Gaston Brugman, Riqui Puiq, Mark Delgado; Tyler Boyd, Douglas Costa, Preston Judd (Head coach: Greg Vanney)
First Half
With Jamiro Monteiro missing the game due to an injury, the young Niko Tsakiris took his spot in the starting lineup.
Another change to the lineup that Luchi Gonzalez made for the Earthquakes was flipping Cristian Espinoza’s and Jack Skahan’s positions. Espinoza moved to the left wing from the right wing while Skahan, in his second-straight start, moved from left to right.
However, the Quakes attack was flexible in switching wingers back and forth. Later on in the game, Espinoza went back to his natural position on the right.
The game lacked clear opportunities, though both teams pushed for the opening goal. Quakes left-back Miguel Trauco attempted a shot around the 18th minute that just went over goalkeeper Jonathan Bond’s goal.
Up to this point, San Jose tilted the game slightly in their favor by keeping the ball. They attempted five shots, wanting to lead before the half was over.
On the Galaxy side, though, Douglas Costa dominated his side of the field. His one-on-ones generated opportunities for the away side.
These plays helped LA keep a solid foundation in the game. By locking down San Jose’s attack and limiting Jeremy Ebobisse’s movement inside the box.
Minutes later, in the 31st, the Galaxy struck first with a header from Raheem Edwards. Costa delivered the corner kick right to the front post, where Edwards flicked the ball away from goalkeeper Daniel.
San Jose earned some set pieces in the opposition’s half but failed to convert any of them. Still, they pressed the Galaxy’s defense deeper into their own territory.
On one occasion, San Jose finally broke through. After a scramble in the box, Carlos Akapo crossed the ball Jack Sakahan. The latter only had to push the ball in as he stood in front of Bond to tie the game right before the half ended.
Skahan replaced Benji Kikanovic in the starting line-up against St. Louis City SC last week. His goal against LA Galaxy is only his second-ever professional goal.
“I am really proud of Jack [Skahan],” said Gonzalez. “He is a player that has been in the team for a few seasons. He has been in and out of opportunities but has always kept an amazing attitude.”
Second Half
The Galaxy eyed an early lead– which they achieved through the foot of Preston Judd. A clean, defense-breaking ball (again from Douglas Costa), put Judd face-to-face with Daniel and rocketed the ball into the top corner in the 47th minute.
The goal proved to elevate LA in the game. For the next ten minutes, it was hell for San Jose, whose players almost distractedly gave away balls in the midfield. The leading team sat comfortably in the game.
Signs of life for San Jose returned when Niko Tsakiris built up a play in the Galaxy box. His shot went wide, but the Quakes found a way back into the game.
A game-changer for San Jose was the changes that they made. Players like Tommy Thompson and Benji Kikanovic coming in at the 65th and 72nd minute respectively brought much-needed energy to the team who hunted down another equalizer.
Cristian Espinoza took it upon himself to drive the ball up to Los Angeles’s half-circle. From there, he ripped a shot that, with a lucky deflection, found its way into the goal. At the 81st minute, it was 2-2 and the atmosphere was at its purest Cali Clasico-vibes.
Of course, a Cali Clasico is not complete without drama.
Jonathan Mensah attempted a tackle on substitute Dejan Joveljic to prevent a goal, bringing him down. The referee called for a penalty in the 88th minute.
The referee was called to VAR (video assistant referee) and after a review of the play, he determined that Mensah made a challenge for the ball and overturned the call.
It didn’t end there. Stopping a build-up in midfield from LA, Jackson Yueill committed a tactical foul on Costa which resulted in a yellow card.
VAR called on the ref once more for a review. This time, it was to judge Yueill’s challenge, which came from behind, to see if it was worthy of a red card rather than a yellow one.
No red card was issued, and the final whistle blew just moments after, ending the game 2-2.
“The last minutes are exciting, and you never know what happens,” said Yueill. “I’ve been a part of a lot of games here, where you score late and you win and we were hoping to win, but we’ll take it and move on.”
The San Jose Earthquakes will face LAFC on July 8 at BMO Stadium.
*Photo by Dario Cruz*
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