Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

San Jose Earthquakes

2019 US Open Cup Round 4: Vako Qazaishvili’s late goals give San Jose Earthquakes third straight win over Sacramento Republic

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Photo: San Jose Earthquakes
Photo: San Jose Earthquakes

Vako Qazaishvili was the difference maker for the San Jose Earthquakes in the Fourth Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in a topsy-tuvy affair with the Sacramento Republic (USL Championship) at San Jose’s Avaya’s Stadium. Qazaishvili scored two late goals in the second half to give the Earthquakes a lead they would not give up, and to give them a third straight tournament win over the Republic.

With a 4-3 win, the Earthquakes, who have never won the US Open Cup, advance to the Round of 16 for the second time in the last three years

With close to 90 degree temperatures at kickoff, both sides took it to one another in the opening 45 minutes.

Sacramento Republic started brighter and in the 2nd minute were able to capitalize as the Quakes failed to clear after a cross by Villyan Bijev. Stanford University men’s soccer alum, Sam Werner was able to slot home after the mixup giving the Republic a 1-0 lead. It was the fastest US Open Cup goal in Sacramento history and Werner’s second of the tournament.

Soon after the quick strike, the home side responded. Magnus Eriksson picked up the ball in the Sacramento half, moved onto his left foot at the top of the 18 and smashed a shot low, which beat Josh Cohen to the left tying the match in the 10th minute.

On the 15th minute mark, the visitors won a free kick just outside the area. Villyan Bijev showed some class, quality and true marksmanship to knock one over the wall to restore the advantage for Sacramento at 2-1. Bijev’s probing runs and ability to unlock were key to Republic FC’s success in the first half.

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Support TheCup.us and its coverage of the US Open Cup by purchasing a “We Want The Cup” shirt in your team’s colors. Visit THECUP.US SHOP

As San Jose searched for its own equalizer, Tommy Thompson had acres of space down the right about eight minutes from the halftime whistle. On the right back’s run, he stopped, turned, beat his defender Bijev and continued towards goal. However, Thompson was then brought down by Bijev seconds later as the referee pointed to the spot. After a quick consultation and summit by the Quakes attacking players, Cristian Espinoza took charge of the penalty and dispatched it nicely to level the match at 2-2. On the halftime break, the match had a proper cup tie feel.

The second half started far better for the home side, their movement was free flowing and they took charge. Vako was inserted in the 55th minute and San Jose changed personnel to allow the Georgian to play in the attacking midfield position. Vako had space, time on the ball to think, question and create.

A buildup in the 62nd minute led to a Tommy Thompson shot that sprung Cohen into life, in what would have been another lovely strike during the evening. However in the 78th minute, Vako popped up outside the 18 on the left slotting away the go ahead goal, which took a deflection off of a Sacramento Republic defender on it’s way in.

He didn’t quit either.

In stoppage time, Vako made space for himself inside the 18 on the right and scored a wonderful individual goal, which would end up being the match winner.

Moments later, Sacramento answered with a Drew Skundrich goal deep into stoppage time as Tarbell parried the ball right into his pathway. With about 45 seconds left, the referee blew for full time as it was, too little too late for the Sacramento Republic.

The Earthquakes move onto the Fifth Round for the third time in five years and await their next opponent which they’ll find out Thursday. They earn their third win a row vs Sacramento Republic in U.S. Open Cup play after Sacramento has had leads in every cup match the two sides have ever played.

San Jose is treating the Open Cup like a major trophy this year under first-year head coach Matias Almeyda. They’ve turned a corner in the league and have put together a very nice run of form over the last couple of months after a nervy start to the year.

On the U.S. Open Cup, Almeyda said: “We need to be serious about every match we play,” said Almeyda about the US Open Cup. “We need to do that out of respect for the fans who paid for tickets. This coaching staff lives this sport through passion, and we respect the team directors who gave us this opportunity.”

“It felt good,” said Espinoza. “It’s similar to what happens in the Copa de Argentina. It’s the same thing. You always go with teams in a lower division, and sometimes it’s the hardest game to prepare for. These games are probably harder, but we knew that if we were focused and we concentrated, we can win.”

2018 US Open Cup Round 4: Young Portland Timbers feature in 2-0 win over San Jose Earthquakes

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Jeremy Ebobisse scores the first goal of the game for the Portland Timbers in their 2018 US Open Cup match against the San Jose Earthquakes. Photo: Allison Andrews | SoccerCityUSA.com
Jeremy Ebobisse scores the first goal of the game for the Portland Timbers in their 2018 US Open Cup match against the San Jose Earthquakes. Photo: Allison Andrews | SoccerCityUSA.com

The Portland Timbers defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 in front of 12,769 fan at Providence Park in Portland, Ore. With the victory, the Timbers advance to the Fifth Round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

The Earthquakes featured a primarily first choice lineup which included star striker Chris Wondolowski, while the Timbers called up several players from their reserve side, Portland Timbers 2, to start in the match, which only featured Diego Chara from the first choice lineup.

“I was very pleased with the performance all around from everyone who stepped on the field and they got the job done,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said following the match. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. They had a lot of starters. They had a lot of players, important players, and we knew we had to battle. I was very pleased not only because we were able to score the two goals and win the match, but we showed some maturity with a lot of the young guys and we kept the ball, we knew when to move it, when to go forward and all around I thought it was a great performance by the guys. I’m very proud of the way they played today.”

While the Earthquakes started out on the front foot for the first few minutes of the match, the Timbers quickly took control of the match, with call ups Renzo Zambrano and Marvin Loria providing much of the early spark for the Timbers.

After several minutes of trading chances, the Timbers would finally get their breakthrough in the 28th minute, as Jeremy Ebobisse found himself with space in the 18, a quick cut-back and left footed shot floated past San Jose goalkeeper Andy Tarbell, giving the Timbers the lead.

“I knew was going to turn out. I was lucky to get that first touch toward goal. From there, I saw Marvin making a good run in the box so my first thought was to feed him. I didn’t trust my right foot in that instance, so I cut it back and luckily had some time and took a good goal.” Ebobisse said following the match.

Feeling pressure to level the match before the break, the Earthquakes pushed higher in the attack and saw chances from Jahmir Hyka and Jackson Yueill blocked and saved, respectively, and the teams went in to the locker room with the Timbers ahead 1-0.

Coming out of the break, the Earthquakes continued to push for an equalizer, but it was the Timbers who once again found the back of the net.

On the counterattack, Chara sped down the center of the pitch toward the San Jose goal. With defenders collapsing on him, he found an unmarked Dairon Asprilla, who slotted the ball past the feet of Tarbell to double the Timbers lead in the 66th minute.

With the match in hand and the Earthquakes making attacking substitutions, the Timbers were happy to take a more defensive posture, absorbing the pressure from the San Jose attack to ensure their victory and advancement on to the next round.

With the victory, the Timbers will face the LA Galaxy in the Round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup at Providence Park.

2017 US Open Cup Quarterfinals: Wondolowski’s brace gives Earthquakes first USOC win over rival Galaxy

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Chris Wondolowski scored two goals in the San Jose Earthquakes' 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy in the 2017 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: ISI Photos | San Jose Earthquakes
Chris Wondolowski scored two goals in the San Jose Earthquakes’ 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy in the 2017 US Open Cup Quarterfinals. Photo: ISI Photos | San Jose Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes were able to overcome an early one-goal deficit to the Los Angeles Galaxy to win 3-2 and advance to the US Open Cup Semifinals for just the second time in club history. They were led by captain Chris Wondolowski who scored two of San Jose’s three goals to give them their first-ever win over their California Clasico rivals.

With the win, the Earthquakes advance to the Semifinals for the first time since 2004 as the club seeks its first US Open Cup title. They will play the winner of Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas. The home team will be determined after the Quarterfinals are complete.

The Galaxy opened the scoring in the 3rd minute of the match when Jaime Villarreal played in a corner kick and found the rising head of Jelle Van Damme, who powered it home to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead.

“You know the guy is one of the best in the league at what he does on set pieces,” said Earthquakes’ head coach Chris Leitch about the goal.

After going down early, the Quakes seemed to wake up and really start taking the game to their opponent. It wasn’t long before they were creating chances of their own and were able to find the equalizer.

Wondolowski, who has scored numerous goals against the Galaxy over the years, found the back of the net for the first time in the 16th minute to draw the scores level at one a piece. He received a pass at the top of the box, just outside the penalty area, he put the ball to his left foot and fired a shot toward goal. The strike wasn’t the hardest shot of his career, but it was just enough to beat Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe who dove to his right unsuccessfully. It wasn’t the most spectacular finish, but he did what he needed to do. “He puts on frame which he does every single time goes in,” said Leitch about the goal. San Jose continued to take the game to their rivals, creating several more dangerous opportunities in the first half. Jahmir Hyka hit the cross bar off a clever back heel attempt, before Nick Lima turned and fired his shot just wide minutes later. The best chance for San Jose to take the lead in the first half came when Nick Lima played in a perfect cross to Hyka who missed the target somehow from point blank range as the half finished 1-1.

The Earthquakes would come out of the locker room with a fast start. Six minutes into the second half, Tommy Thompson found Wondolowski for the second time as he drove a cross into the box that found the head of the US international who beat the keeper to give San Jose the lead. It was Wondo’s sixth career US Open Cup goal, and his fourth for the Earthquakes, which ties him with Ronald Cerritos for the club record.

Danny Hoesen of the San Jose Earthquakes strikes a pose after scoring the third goal of the game (his second of the tournament) against the LA Galaxy in the Quarterfinals of the 2017 US Open Cup. Photo: ISI Photos | San Jose Earthquakes
Danny Hoesen of the San Jose Earthquakes strikes a pose after scoring the third goal of the game (his second of the tournament) against the LA Galaxy in the Quarterfinals of the 2017 US Open Cup. Photo: ISI Photos | San Jose Earthquakes

“Two goals is what the guy does,” said Leitch about his captain. “It’s really good to see your club captain be the leader on the field and get it done, but then in the locker room, in the community and for the organization, you can’t ask for a thing more out of what Wondolowski brings.”

Wondolowski, who normally wears the No. 8 shirt for the Quakes, was wearing No. 38, in honor of teammate Mathias Silva, who is recovering from an incident where he nearly drowned during a Fourth of July gathering. Silva recently emerged from a coma and is on the path to recovery.

The San Jose head coach was also happy with the play of Thompson who provided the assist on each of the first two goals.

“He’s in a creative attacking role. I hope he’s loose. I hope he’s creative, and he’s picking his times to take risks. That is what we want,” said Leitch.

The Earthquakes would add an insurance goal when Danny Hoesen found himself on the breakaway on the right wing in the 62nd minute and beat Rowe, to make the score 3-1. It was the 50th US Open Cup goal in Earthquakes history.

The Galaxy pushed hard to get themselves back into the match after going down a second goal. They were able to get one goal back in the 84th minute when Ariel Lassiter’s shot rebounded off Jackson Yueill before bouncing off goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell and into the net for an own goal. However, this would not be enough as the San Jose Earthquakes were able to beat their rivals for the first time ever in this competition. (1-4-1, 0-1 PK)

“We’ve won a couple of these US Open Cup games. They are important. It’s an opportunity to win a trophy for this organization. It’s an opportunity to play Champions League,” said Leitch about the importance of the Open Cup. “I don’t know a single guy in that locker room that doesn’t enjoy winning and doesn’t enjoy the idea of winning a trophy, and we are two games away from that.”

With the victory, the Quakes move to 14-10-6 (3-3 PK) all time in US Open Cup Play and 7-5-2 (1-1 PK) at home. With just one more victory, they can reach the final of the Cup for the first time in the club’s history. They also broke the Club’s attendance record for the tournament with 14,056 at Avaya on Monday night. The Quakes will play the winner of the FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City match for the right to go to the final.

2017 US Open Cup Round 4: Early goals lift San Jose Earthquakes to Bay Area win over San Francisco Deltas

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The San Jose Earthquakes won their first US Open Cup meeting with the San Francisco Deltas with a 2-0 win in the Fourth Round. Photo: San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes won their first US Open Cup meeting with the San Francisco Deltas with a 2-0 win in the Fourth Round. Photo: San Jose Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes scored twice early to knock out local NASL rivals, the San Francisco Deltas, and advance to the Round of 16 in the US Open Cup. Jackson Yueill and Cordell Cato scored within six minutes of kick-off before San Francisco found any footing in the game.

Jackson Yueill found the back of the net in the fourth minute for the Earthquakes, scoring his first ever goal for the club since being drafted sixthoverall in 2017. “I thought had a good game. He moved the ball. He’s a smart player,” said Earthquakes Head Coach, Dominic Kinnear. “This is a good step for him. You can see the guys are happy for him. When he scored, they all ran over to him.”

The lead was doubled less than two minutes later when Cordell Cato cleaned up his own rebound to make the score 2-0. “We went with a 3-5-2. We just wanted to start out the game aggressive. We wanted this game to end in 90 minutes, so we wanted to come out and get an early goal,” Kinnear said following the match.

The Deltas did not let this get them down however, as they built their way back into the match. Their momentum began when defending NASL player of the week Kyle Bekker forced a big save out of Earthquakes keeper Andrew Tarbell in the 21st minute. “Their keeper was very good tonight. I think a defining moment is when Bekker has the chance to go 2-1, and the ball doesn’t go in,” said Deltas’ Head Coach, Marc Dos Santos.

The Deltas created a few more chances, as did the San Jose Earthquakes. Both sides looked very balanced after the initial six minutes of the game. “I remember some very good chances. We had free kicks. We had corners. We pushed, but unfortunately we couldn’t find the goal tonight,” said Dos Santos. “We didn’t come in with the intentions that we wanted to come in with, and then we were surprised by two goals that they took well. But I think that is the only part in the game that we actually felt inferior. All of the other 83 minutes of the game, we created as many opportunities as they did.”

The man of the match was San Jose goal keeper Andrew Tarbell, who came up with a couple of outstanding saves to maintain his clean sheet as the Deltas tried to claw their way back. Tarbell as well had several powerful punched clearances late to help clear his lines.

“I thought we relaxed at 2-0,” said Kinnear. “I think that at 2-0 we took our foot off the pedal. They stepped their game up because they are behind 2-0. They were creating chances. We were fouling close to goal, which wasn’t a great idea. But Andrew Tarbell, I thought, made some real good saves for us, and he commanded his box well too.”

The San Jose Earthquakes will now proceed into the Round of 16 final 16-team bracket portion of the tournament with the next round taking place in two weeks.

2016 US Open Cup Round 4: Portland Timbers’ youth movement blanks San Jose Earthquakes, 2-0

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The Portland Timbers celebrate a goal against the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2016 US Open Cup. Photo: Jeff Wong | Prost Amerika
The Portland Timbers celebrate a goal against the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2016 US Open Cup. Photo: Jeff Wong | Prost Amerika

Let’s get this out of the way: Timbers Open Cup matches have a history of being weird. Entertaining, but weird. One need only look as far back as last season’s match against the Seattle Sounders, a game fans of both sides refer to as the Red Card Wedding, the result of which may be a six-year suspension of USMNT player Clint Dempsey.

But, while Tuesday night’s match against MLS opponent San Jose was entertaining, it wasn’t really weird. In the end, after a lack of drama, the Timbers emerged with a 2-0 victory.

The two sides met prior to the international break in a rough-and-tumble league match that ended 2-1 in Portland, earning the home team three points in the league standings despite playing down a man for the entire second half.

The Timbers were fast out of the gate with Jack Barmby slipping past the Earthquakes’ defense early in the first half, shuffling the ball to Dairon Asprilla, who couldn’t quite get a handle on it. It was just the first of many close calls in a game that grew progressively more chippy as the minutes flew by.

“I thought everything went exactly the way we’d hoped,” Portland coach Caleb Porter said. “We played nine guys 25 years old or younger, started seven. That’s a real positive that we can play a lot of young guys, mix them in with some experienced guys … and get the job done. That gives us a lot of hope for the future.”

Portland’s two goals were scored by two of those younger players: the 34th minute goal came from Dairon Asprilla, 24, and the 40th minute goal came off a stunning freekick from Jack McInerney, 23.

“I think we knew what to expect,” Portland’s Jack Jewsbury said after the game. “I think everybody tonight, when their number was called, put in a great shift.”

“Every year’s different, every team’s different,” Porter said. “We made a decision four or five games ago that we need to be a team … that’s on the front foot more. Our pressure has been much better the last five or six games, our possession has been much better. I think we’ve become a little more multi-faceted this year than we were last year.”

Portland will now wait for the results of this round’s other matches and the draw to follow on June 16.

FULL MATCH REPLAY: SAN JOSE AT PORTLAND

2015 US Open Cup Round 5: LA Galaxy continues Open Cup dominance of San Jose Earthquakes with 1-0 win (video)

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Photo: Casey Valentine/isiphotos
Photo: Casey Valentine/isiphotos

Used with permission from Centerline Soccer

The LA Galaxy exacted a small bit of revenge Wednesday night for last Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in the California Clasico at Stanford Stadium, as they moved on to the quarterfinal round of the 2015 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a 1-0 victory at Avaya Stadium.

An early goal from forward Jose Villarreal was the difference on the night as the announced crowd of 13,329 had little to cheer for over the entirety of the 90 minute match.

“ good solid game,” said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena. “I think it was good experience for a lot of our young players. They did a good job. We had to weather the storm in the second half but did a good job.”

For San Jose, they struggled out of the gates and it cost them.

“If you start the game slow, you can get punished for it, and now you are chasing the game,” said head coach Dominic Kinnear. “It doesn’t matter how many chances you get, or if you think you are the better team, you need to start the game off correctly.”

The Earthquakes had twice as many shots as the Galaxy — 14 to 7 — and nine corner kicks to LA’s zero, but the only statistic that mattered is goals scored, and the visitors were tops in that category.

“I thought we might have learned our lesson in the game with Sacramento, because the same thing happened,” said Kinnear. “Obviously, we were playing against in a better team , and even though we worked hard and got ourselves in front of goal and got ourselves some chances, it’s the start the came back to haunt us.”

For the Galaxy, they remain undefeated against their rivals to the north in Open Cup play, improving to 4-0-1 (1-0 in PKs). With the loss, the Earthquakes remain winless against MLS opponents (0-6-3, 0-3 PKs) in the Open Cup, and are 4-5-2 (1-1 PKs) at home. San Jose is the only MLS team with a losing record at home in Open Cup play.

The Earthquakes kicked off the game in the direction of the LOBINA and had the San Jose Ultras at their backs, but it was the Galaxy that found wind in their sails in the early going. In the sixth minute, a clever pass through the midfield from Kenney Walker to Villarreal at the top of the area gave the young striker enough space to turn and fire a goal past a diving Bryan Meredith giving LA a lead they would not surrender.

San Jose appeared to equalize in the 30th minute as Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi delivered a free kick that skimmed off the gleaming dome that is Mark Sherrod’s head and off the gloves of Brian Rowe and into the net. Alas, the referee’s assistant promptly thrust her flag into the air for offside, and the goal was called off.

The Galaxy had a penalty call waved off in the 37th minute as Villarreal found himself behind the defensive line with only Meredith to beat. Instead, JJ Koval, playing center back for the Quakes, somehow managed to disrupt the forward’s shot attempt in the area without getting called for a foul, and Villarreal missed high of the target. If Villarreal had instead gone to ground when Koval initiated contact, he most likely would have earned a penalty and a red card on Koval.

The teams entered the locker room with LA up a goal at halftime, but it could have been a lot worse. Besides the controversy on Koval’s tug in the box, Quakes ‘keeper Bryan Meredith made a few good stops to keep the surging Galaxy at bay.

In the second half, the Earthquakes woke up. The midfield looked to be more direct with the ball, and for long stretches of the half, San Jose found possession on the LA side of the center line. In the 50th minute, they registered their first shot on goal, as a Tommy Thompson corner kick was headed in traffic by Koval, by Rowe was in position to deny the defender a goal.

“We had crosses, we had shots,” said Khari Stephenson. “We were in their half for 95% of the second half, but we needed to be more clinical in front of goal. We have to be better with our crosses and better with our finishing.”

The Quakes registered two more shots on target in the ensuing minutes, but neither troubled Rowe, and LA slowly settled into a defensive shape that foiled San Jose on every foray into the attacking third. In the 65th minute, Leandro Barrera blasted a ball wide of the near post in what can only be described as a missed opportunity for the ages.

“We were more aggressive, we passed the ball better, our movement off the ball was better, and second balls were ours,” said Kinnear. “In the second half, we were around the ball a heck of a lot more, and that’s the reason we were knocking on the door for as long as we were.”

With time running out, Kinnear rolled the dice and shifted his formation to a 3-5-2, but even with the extra offensive help, the Galaxy would not yield. A stoppage time effort from Sanna Nyassi, when the winger had the choice of squaring the ball into the mixer, sailed high over the crossbar, and with it sailed away the Earthquakes chances at capturing the 2015 US Open Cup.

LA moves on in the tournament to face Real Salt Lake, 2-0 winners earlier in the evening against the Portland Timbers, in a quarterfinal match at Rio Tinto Stadium to played later this month. With the loss, the Earthquakes turn their focus to Sunday’s MLS showdown with the Timbers at Providence Park.

Game notes: Avaya Stadium, the jewel of a facility opened by the Earthquakes earlier this year, has experienced a number of memorable moments so far this season. Fatai Alashe scored the first goal in MLS play back in a season opening 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire, while Stephenson “scored” a first of his own Wednesday against LA.

In the 42nd minute, the veteran Jamaican lined up a free kick from distance and went for goal. Instead, the ball soared well over its intended target and nestled into the Largest Outdoor Bar in North America — the first shot from the run of play to reach the LOBINA.

“History in the making,” said Stephenson with a laugh when told of the supposed accomplishment. “I scored the last goal at Buck Shaw and now I’m the first guy to hit the ball into the bar.

“I’ve hit a lot of long-distance free kicks and done really well with them, so you can’t hit all of them perfect,” Stephenson continued. “That one I didn’t hit to well, and as a result, it went into the bar.”

Finally, the Galaxy have now won back-to-back road games in the tournament for only the second time in franchise history. The last time they did it was back in 2002.

POST-GAME: JOSE VILLARREAL

FULL MATCH REPLAY: LA GALAXY AT SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

2015 US Open Cup Round 4: After Chris Wondolowski’s heroics, San Jose Earthquakes edge Sacramento Republic 6-5 in PKs (video)

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The San Jose Earthquakes celebrate their 6-5 penalty kick shootout win over the Sacramento Republic. Photo: John Todd | Isiphotos | San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes celebrate their 6-5 penalty kick shootout win over the Sacramento Republic. Photo: John Todd | Isiphotos | San Jose Earthquakes

UPDATE: The Round of 16 draw was conducted by the US Soccer Federation and it was determined that the San Jose Earthquakes will host the Los Angeles Galaxy in the next round.

For 74 minutes, the Republic must have thought that they had booked a ticket to the fifth round of the Open Cup.

And then Wondo happened.

Facing a two-goal deficit, the World Cup veteran snagged a brace in the final 16 minutes of the match, sending it to overtime, and eventually penalties, where the cool heads of the Earthquakes prevailed in front of an announced crowd of 13,196 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose.

Down 3-2 after four rounds of penalties, Sacramento area-native Tommy Thompson coolly dispatched his penalty for the Earthquakes to tie it up, before San Francisco Bay Area-native Emrah Klimenta saw his shot saved for the Republic to send the shootout to sudden death.

The teams traded two penalties before San Jose left back Shaun Francis dispatched his eighth round kick, and Republic left back James Kiffe skied his into the San Jose Ultras section of the crowd to give the home side the victory.

“They played a good game. They’re a good team,” said San Jose head coach Dominic Kinnear. “We knew that coming in. We showed a great amount of fight to get back into the game, and then obviously the penalties were a little bit of a 50-50 one there, but Bryan (Meredith) made a couple good saves.”

Photo: John Todd | Isiphotos | San Jose Earthquakes
Photo: John Todd | Isiphotos | San Jose Earthquakes

The Republic came out unafraid and it was just five minutes into the game when a chipped through ball from Rodrigo Lopez found the streaking Emrah Klimenta, who controlled the ball just inside the box and was fouled by San Jose left back Shaun Francis, forcing the referee to point to the spot.

Lopez coolly stepped up and smashed the ball in the upper right corner to give Sacramento the 1-0 lead sending the roughly 700 Republic fans who made the trip down to San Jose into pandemonium.

Just nine minutes into the second half, that same combination proved lethal as Lopez drove another through ball onto the feet of Klimenta who took the ball down, and casually nutmegged the onrushing Bryan Meredith for the 2-0 lead.

In the 23rd minute, Chris Wondolowski found his way behind the Republic defense, but McLain came out and made a point-blank save to preserve the lead.

Six minutes later, a free kick from Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi found Mark Sherrod unmarked six yards from goal, but the lumbering striker could only head the ball wide.

McLain had to make another big save in the 74th minute when former Republic loanee Mike Fucito rifled a volley at the netminder who deflected the ball over the net.

McLain was finally beaten a few seconds later when a Fucito shot rebounded off him where Wondolowski was on hand to tap the ball in from close range.

Five minutes later, Wondolowski tied the game up when he made a near post run and headed a cross from Marvell Wynne into the back of the net. For Wondolowski it was his third and fourth career Open Cup goals, but it was the first time he had scored in the tournament since he was with the Houston Dynamo in 2006.

Wondolowski nearly completed a hat trick three minutes later, but his left footed shot just missed the upper corner of the net, sending the game into extra time.

“We basically threw it away at the end with a couple of plays, a couple of unfortunate plays, because the game should have been over,” said Republic head coach Preki. “We were up two nothing, but we had chances to make it three and four. But in general, I thought we played like a good team.”

FULL MATCH REPLAY: SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC AT SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

2013 US Open Cup Third Round: Charleston edges San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 as Battery bag ninth win against MLS

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The Charleston Battery claimed their ninth victory all-time over an MLS Open Cup opponent in the US Open Cup Tuesday night, edging the visiting San Jose Earthquakes at Blackbaud Stadium in the Third Round on a 73rd minute goal from Colin Falvey.

The Earthquakes came into the contest with a 0-4-2 road record in league play while the host Battery were unbeaten at home in USL Pro action.

The first half initially saw each team’s defense lock down their respective ends, knocking away many potential scoring chances through the first 20 minutes of play. The half’s major chances came from the perimeter as San Jose’s Mike Fucito broke through midfield but was forced wide by Battery defenders before getting a dangerous shot off that Charleston’s Colin Falvey had to clear off the line. The Earthquakes would push a few moments later as Brad Ring sent a header towards the goal’s left side forcing Battery keeper Odisnel Cooper diving to push the ball away.

Charleston mounted their own attack but a combination of less than stellar passing plus the overall aggressive play of San Jose kept the Battery attack at bay. Charleston managed a couple runs that broke past the San Jose midfield but were forced to cycle many of chances around the perimeter, testing Quakes keeper David Bingham on only a couple occasions. That same aggressive play would earn the Quakes three yellow cards in the scoreless first half.

The second half would see Charleston answer the physical play, hoping to lure San Jose into making a game-changing mistake, especially when play involved the three Quakes already with yellow cards. The sides traded chances but both would struggle to get shots on net. Finally, the deadlock was broken in the 73rd minute after the Battery’s Zach Prince was taken down outside the far-left corner of the area. A free kick by Jose Cuevas was knocked past the San Jose keeper by a Falvey header.

Shortly after Ring picked up his second yellow and was ejected from the game, forcing the Quakes to push for the equalizer with only 10 men. Despite the heavy pressure San Jose applied, Charleston would collapse their defense and turn away everything San Jose could throw at them.

The victory was the first for Charleston against an MLS opponent since 2010 having previously defeated DC United (1999), MetroStars (2001, 2004), Houston Dynamo (2007, 2008), FC Dallas (2008), Chivas USA (2009) and Chicago Fire (2010) prior to this year.

The Battery now advance to the Open Cup’s Fourth Round and will face Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday, June 12.

Scoring Summary

CHB: Colin Falvey (Jose Cuevas) 73’

Discipline

SJ: Justin Morrow (caution) 28

SJ: Steven Lenhart (caution) 30

SJ: Brad Ring (caution) 40

CHB: Jose Cuevas (caution) 45

CHB: Nicki Paterson (caution) 62

SJ: Brad Ring (caution / ejection) 74

Attendance: 1954

2012 US Open Cup Quarterfinals video: Watch all four games here!

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Lamar Hunt US Open Cup logoLook below for video of tonight’s US Open Cup Quarterfinal online broadcasts.
Note: Three of them can be watched from this page, while the Sporting KC/Dayton game will launch in a new window.

2012 US Open Cup Quarterfinal Live Blog
2012 US Open Cup bracket [+]
2012 US Open Cup Quarterfinal scoreboard [+]
2012 US Open Cup goalscoring leaders [+]
2012 US Open Cup participant map [+]
Meet the USASA: Class of 2012 [+]
Things you should know about the Quarterfinals [+]
Semifinal pairings [+]

Harrisburg City Islanders (USL PRO) at Philadelphia Union (MLS)
PPL Park; Chester, Pa.; 7:30 p.m. ET
Semifinal scenarios (July 10 or 11):
If Philadelphia wins … home vs. Sporting KC/Dayton winner
If Harrisburg wins … home vs. Dayton or at Sporting KC

If video doesn’t work, CLICK HERE

Dayton Dutch Lions (USL Pro) at Sporting Kansas City (MLS)
LIVESTRONG Sporting Park; Kansas City, Kan.; 8:30 p.m. ET
Semifinal scenarios (July 10 or 11):
If KC wins … home vs. Harrisburg OR at Philadelphia
If Dayton wins … at Philadelphia OR at Harrisburg

Click here to watch the game

Seattle Sounders (MLS) at San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Kezar Stadium; San Francisco, Calif.; 10:30 p.m. ET
Audio Broadcast: Seattle
Semifinal scenarios (July 10): Winner hosts Chivas USA / Charlotte winner

Charlotte Eagles (USL Pro) at Chivas USA (MLS)
Titan Stadium (Cal State Fullerton); Fullerton, Calif.; 10:30 p.m. ET
Semifinal scenario (July 10):
Winner plays at Seattle Sounders / San Jose Earthquakes winner

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