If you were already in bed before the late kickoffs on Saturday night, you may have missed the San Jose Earthquakes' unlikely win against Toronto FC. But what's so special about a 2-1 home win, you ask?
It's not necessarily the scoreline, but the fact that the Quakes managed it with just nine men on the field for most of the second half, including when Simon Dawkins scored the winning goal in the 70th minute.
For a team to win the game while finishing with nine men is a rare occurrence, especially these days in MLS. The last time it happened was four years ago:
Unsurprisingly, teams that finish the game with nine men have lost more than half of those games and drawn most of the rest. Saturday's Quakes win was just the 11th time in league history that a team down to nine men has actually won:
Of course, there's still plenty more work ahead for the Earthquakes, who currently sit below the red line in the Western Conference and have yet to pick up a road win this season. But if they can show the determination they did against Toronto on Saturday evening, there could be more happy times ahead for head coach Dominic Kinnear and his men.
