The San Jose Earthquakes used an 88th minute goal from rookie Chris Wondolowski to earn a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center. Alejandro Moreno scored the Quakes first goal of the game, while Pat Onstad and Jon Conway each played a half in goal for San Jose.
The Earthquakes got on the board first with a goal by Moreno in the seventh minute. Brad Davis received the ball in the back and lofted a long ball to Moreno in front of the Galaxy goal. Moreno ran the ball down and then chipped a shot over Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Los Angeles tied the score 10 minutes before halftime when Todd Dunivant sent a long ball from the left side to Alan Gordon, who came onto the ball and trapped it before finishing with his left foot
The Quakes scored the winning goal with just two minutes remaining in the game. Rookie defender Kevin Goldthwaite powered a free kick into the box and it was deflected on goal. Cronin came out to make the initial save, but Wondolowski picked up the rebound and put it away to give the Quakes the win. The goal was Wondolowski's second of the preseason, as he also scored against the Kansas City Wizards on Feb. 20.
The Quakes now possess a 3-2-2 record in the preseason and will face CD Chivas USA on Friday morning at The Home Depot Center at 10:30 a.m. PT in their next preseason game.
Notes:
-Guest players Troy Halpin, Julian Nash, Alex Bengard and Kevin Wilson all played for the Quakes on Thursday against the Galaxy.
Quotes:
Dominic Kinnear, on game: "I thought the guys had the right attitude today from the first minute. We started off the game putting pressure on them and winning first and second balls all over the field. I thought we made it difficult for the Galaxy today."
Kinnear, on Earthquakes first goal: "It was a great goal. Alejandro [Moreno] made a great run, and it was just an excellent play by Brad [Davis] to find him."
Kinnear, on the play of the Earthquakes: "After they equalized, I thought we kind of lost our rhythm for the last 15 minutes of the first half. We came out in the second half and played pretty well, and then when we made our changes in the 60th minute, I felt those guys brought a lot of good energy to the field."
Wade Barrett, on game: "This game was just another step in preseason for us. For the most part, we played well and everyone got a little more time today with some guys playing the whole game. I thought that we were very organized as a team. It was nice to get a win even though it is just preseason."
Major League Soccer Preseason
San Jose Earthquakes 2, Los Angeles Galaxy 1
Carson, Calif.; The Home Depot Center
Lineups
SJ - GK Pat Onstad (Jon Conway, 46), D Craig Waibel (Chris Wondolowski, 60) D Eddie Robinson (Brett Rodriguez, 60), D Troy Dayak (Chris Aloisi, 60), D Wade Barrett (Kevin Goldthwaite, 60), M Wes Hart, M Ricardo Clark (Kevin Wilson, 60), D Danny O'Rourke (Troy Halpin, 46), M Brad Davis (Alex Bengard, 60), F Ronald Cerritos (Julian Nash, 60), F Alejandro Moreno (Roger Levesque, 60).
LA - GK Steve Cronin, D Ugo Ihemelu, D Michael Umana, D Tyrone Marshall, D Todd Dunivant, M Cobi Jones, M Paulo Nagamura, M Emerson, M Ned Grabavoy, F Alan Gordon, F Estay
Scoring Summary
SJ - Moreno (Davis), 7; LA - Gordon (Dunivant), 35; SJ - Wondolowski (unassisted), 88.
