Quakes lose in must-win game against Kansas City

The San Jose Earthquakes were back home on Saturday night against Sporting Kansas City after snatching a point in Colorado last week. 

In a crucial game against 6th place Kansas City, the Earthquakes were in dire need of a victory with just six games to go in the season before playoffs begin in October.

Although the Earthquakes dominated most of the game, the team fell short, losing 2-1 after conceding a late goal in the 80th minute.

“ It’s killer to be honest,” said San Jose Earthquakes Head Coach Dominic Kinnear. “ With them [Sporting KC] now being nine points ahead of us … we have to put together a run of wins that we haven’t done this year so it’s going to take a monumental effort.”

The game began quickly when the Earthquakes drove the ball down the middle of the field and had an opportunity in front of goal in the first 20 seconds.

The right footed shot from San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski  was saved by Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia in the bottom right corner of the goal, denying the team a goal.

After the play, San Jose Earthquakes forward Quincy Amarikwa was taken off the field in a stretcher following a leg injury.

In the 7th minute of the game Sporting Kansas City struck first off of a header from Kansas City leading goal scorer, Dominic Dwyer.

After several missed opportunities early in the first half, Quakes midfielder Simon Dawkins found the equalizer with an open netter in the 42nd minute.

The goal came from a ball that was chipped into the box by Marvell Wynne that met the feet of Henok Goitom, who back heeled it to Dawkins.

After 45 minutes the Earthquakes outshot Sporting Kansas City with eight shots to Kansas City’s one shot, however both teams went into the locker room for halftime level 1-1.

Much of the game was a back and forth battle, with both sides attacking on either side of the field.

In the 60th minute, Melia made a crucial save off of a power shot from Quakes midfielder Alberto Quintero from outside of the box. This was the first real chance for the earthquakes in the second half.

Five minutes later the Quakes came back knocking on the door in the 65th minute, when Chris Wondolowski headed a ball that went over the goal off a cross from Cordell Cato.

The game winning goal came in the 80th minute when an unlikely hero, Kevin Ellis, stepped up for Kansas City. 

Ellis flicked home the deciding goal off a corner kick from Benny Feilhaber, marking his 5th goal in his MLS career.

“ I think he [Kevin Ellis] is almost the new prototypical one of the central defenders of the future … he scored a couple set piece goals for us because he has great instincts in the box,” said Sporting Kansas City Head Coach Peter Vermes.

Despite conceding late in the game the Quakes did however outshoot Kansas City when the dust settled, 16-6, with 16 shots split between the first and second half.

“Credit to the team we fought pretty hard for 90 minutes, obviously we all knew we needed to win the game but clearly sometimes things just don’t go your way and that’s kind of been the way things have gone for us so far this year…,” said San Jose Earthquakes Midfielder Fatai Alashe.

The Earthquakes also maintained most of possession with 63.2 percent, while Kansas City could only hold on to counter attack when given the opportunity.

However that wouldn’t be enough for the home team as they ended the night losing to Kansas City in a game that could determine the Quakes’ chance of making it into the playoffs this season.

“We had the game yet they scored so easy, especially when we know we have to win to get closer to playoffs, so I think that’s the most frustrating for the whole team,” Goitman said.

What’s Next?

The Earthquakes entered the match against Sporting KC sitting in 9th place with 34 points, six points shy of the final ticket into the playoffs.

Now the team is seven points shy of that final position and are battling against the Houston Dynamo, Vancouver Whitecaps, Seattle Sounders and defending champions, the Portland Timbers, for the final spot.

The team is still sitting in the same position it had entered with, however with the defeat, Sporting Kansas City now moves up one spot into 5th place in the Western Conference standings.

The Earthquakes will still have five games left to play, something most teams do not have in hand with the majority of teams only having three games left to play in the regular season.

If the Earthquakes can win-out, the team will accumulate 15 points, which would be enough to help them get into a playoff position.

However, the team will still need help with losses coming from Portland and Kansas City. The Earthquakes’ next game will be against the Montreal Impact on Sept. 28 at 4:30 p.m. The Impact sit in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 38 points.

After the road game, the Earthquakes will return to Avaya Stadium on Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. to face-off against 4th place Real Salt Lake, who are close to clinching a playoff berth in the Western Conference.

The Quakes are mathematically still in the race for a playoff spot, however winning out this season will be an uphill battle. 

The team has not had a five game win streak at all this season, but it will be the only chance the team has in order to make it into the playoffs.