The San Jose Earthquakesavenged an early season 3-0 rout at the hands of the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening with a professional 1-0 victory at Avaya Stadium.
The ‘Quakes rode a beautifully taken half-volley by rookie Nick Lima from well outside the box that dipped perfectly under the bar and into the back of the net to collect all three points against their Western Conference foes.
San Jose continued to pressure the Colorado backline after taking the lead in the middle of the second half. Despite numerous near misses and some creative build-up play, they were unable to find an insurance goal.
Colorado played without their star goalkeeper, Tim Howard, who was not in the team’s gameday roster after recently returning to the Rapids following his Gold Cup victory with the US national team.
Goals
- 59' – SJ – Nick Lima Watch
Three Things
ROOKIE PLAYS HERO ROLE: Saturday’s 1-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids is a match rookie Nick Lima won’t soon forget. The homegrown Earthquakes defender stroked home a peach of a half-volley after a clearance from a corner kick situation that stood up as the game-winning effort. It was the type of goal that young players dream up at the practice field: as his strike floated perfectly under the bar after slightly deflecting off of Colorado goalkeeper Zac MacMath’s fingertips. It was Lima’s second career goal in 16 starts.
WONDOLOWSKI DEALS: Chris Wondolowski has always been known as a top quality finisher. However in Saturday’s victory, the San Jose captain showed off an underrated aspect of his game, his vision and passing. The American often popped up in midfield and helped the ‘Quakes create multiple slick combinations. His frequent connections were crucial in leading the Earthquakes to outpass Colorado by over 100 attempts.
TIMMY IN THE BUILDING: American goalkeeping legend and Colorado Rapids star Tim Howard was notably not featured in Colorado’s gameday roster. The reason being, of course, that Howard is fresh off helping lead the US national team to Gold Cup glory. However, Howard was in attendance at the match, observing from a box. Howard’s time with the national team has opened the door for backup, Zac MacMath. The match served as MacMath’s seventh start of the 2017 season in which he has now conceded eight goals.
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