Quakes sunk by Sounders’ 2nd-half surge

Two goals by Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Cristian Roldan prevented the San Jose Earthquakes from gaining ground in the Western Conference standings after a 3-0 loss to the Sounders on Sunday evening at CenturyLink Field.

San Jose (7-9-5) came into the game one point behind the Sounders for the conference’s final playoff berth but left Seattle four points back as it approaches the secondto-last month of the regular season.

“Roldan has been getting in good form and rolling with it, that’s for darn sure,” said Earthquakes coach Chris Leitch. “... I thought we had some good movement, for sure, tonight but (were) just missing that final piece – that final play – to come off and put one in the back of the net.”

Roldan’s first goal was a header in the 54th minute off a headed assist from Gustav Svensson. Two minutes later, Roldan struck again while the hometown fans were still celebrating his first goal.

Roldan almost added a third goal in the 59th minute on a header but Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham was just able to get a hand on it for the deflection.

“We didn’t play particularly well in (a 5-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday) but coming into this game we wanted to be aggressive and I think we did that the first half,” said midfielder Shea Salinas, who came on as a sub in the 71st minute. “The frustrating part about this game is the first 15 minutes of that second half. Roldan played well, he had some good finishes there. Besides that 15-minute spell, it was a pretty even game.”

Kelvin Leerdam added the game’s final goal from close range in the 65th minute.

Seattle (8-7-6), which has never lost at home to the Quakes in its history (2-0-3), retained the Heritage Cup – the annual competition between Seattle and San Jose. The Sounders now maintain a 5-4 advantage over the Earthquakes in the series.

The Earthquakes boasted a slight shot advantage, 9-8, in the first half – as well as a significant lead in time of possession (65 percent). In the 26th minute, forward Danny Hoesen shot high on cross into the box by Nick Lima. Lima took a shot himself in the 35th minute that also sailed just above the goal. Lima fired another shot right at Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei just before halftime.

San Jose returns home for a pair of games against Colorado and Columbus as the Quakes try to keep up in the race for a playoff berth.

“We’ve done great in our last couple of games besides the New York Red Bulls game,” said midfielder Tommy Thompson. “We can’t let two or three bad results let us down. I think there’s a lot of talent in this locker room and I think we’re going to be fine.”