Recap: San Jose Earthquakes 1, Sporting Kansas City 3

Ari Liljenwall

Alan Pulido scored his fourth goal of the season, Jaylin Lindsey and Daniel Salloi added a goal apiece and Sporting Kansas City took a convincing 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on Saturday.

It was San Jose that was in the driver's seat early, thanks to a goal shortly after kickoff from Javier Eduardo "Chofis" Lopez. But the visitors would come back with three unanswered strikes, starting with an equalizer from Lindsey in the 15th minute. Pulido and Salloi then struck for highlight-reel goals within 15 minutes of each other starting with Pulido's 60th-minute go-ahead strike, allowing Sporting to snatch all three points and move their record to 4-2-1 through seven matches.

The Quakes jumped on top early on the strength of the second goal of the season from Chofis, who finished off a set piece straight off the training ground, collecting a corner kick from Cristian Espinoza at the top of the area and unleashing a clinical left-footed shot from distance that beat Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia.

The visitors would strike back quickly, though, as Lindsey equalized soon after. The 21-year-old made a clever run from his right back spot, corralled a feed from Pulido and coolly slotted the finish past San Jose goalkeeper JT Marcincowksi.

It would stay that way all the way until the hour mark, when Pulido put SKC on top for good with a gorgeous finish from the top of the area. The standout Mexico international uncorked a rocket shot into the top corner after collecting a feed from Salloi, giving no chance to a diving Marcinkowski.

Salloi then added the exclamation point in the 75th minute with a class strike of his own, as the 24-year-old Hungarian cashed home a perfectly placed curling effort that rounded off the 3-1 final.

Goals

4' - SJ - Chofis | WATCH
15' - SKC - Jaylin Lindsay | WATCH
60' - SKC - Alan Pulido | WATCH
75' - SKC - Daniel Salloi | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: The Quakes put themselves in great position to get a big victory over a tough Western Conference opponent with Chofis' early goal, a reality that makes the one-sided result the other way all the more frustrating for Matias Almeya's group. It's been an erratic start to the season overall for San Jose, who have now lost three straight following their three-game winning streak. Sporting had been in the midst of their own inconsistent start to the season coming into this one, but they showed what makes them so dangerous when they're on their game with the three-goal outburst, which gave them a nice road victory.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Both of Sporting KC's final two goals were of the highly clinical variety, but Salloi's strike was the one that put the contest out of reach.

MAN OF THE MATCH: We'll go with Pulido for his go-ahead strike that gave his team a lead they never relinquished, the type of goal that makes the 30-year-old one of the most lethal No. 9s in all of MLS when he's on the field.