ON TO THE QUARTERS
The title “Super Sub” is fitting Chris Wondolowski just fine.
Wondolowski, Major League Soccer’s all-time leading goalscorer, has been relegated to the bench this year.
But he just keeps scoring, getting his third goal in three games Monday night as the San Jose Earthquakes advanced to the quarterfinals of the MLS Is Back tournament at the ESPN
Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida.
Wondo’s goal was part of a 5-2 victory over tough Real Salt Lake in the Round of 16 in a game that saw a powerful offense, good goalkeeping and two bad defensive errors.
San Jose (3-0-1 in the tournament) will face the winner of the Columbus Crew-Minnesota United game scheduled for tonight. The quarterfinal game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday.
In reality, Wondolowski played a cameo role as his teammates dominated the show. Magnus Eriksson, who has been the subject of reports that he could return to his native Sweden this summer, scored twice in the second half on penalty kicks to lead the way.
San Jose wasted little time in the second half finding its rhythm and unleashing a potent attack that has Major League Soccer taking notice.
The Quakes regained the lead in the 49th minute after the teams went into halftime tied 1-1.
Referee Drew Fischer awarded a penalty after Real’s Eriksson scores twice as San Jose crushes Real Salt Lake in MLS tourney
Alvin Jones took down Tommie Thompson from behind inside the area. Eriksson slotted a shot in the upper right corner.
Valeri Qazaishvili showed off his ball skills as San Jose went ahead 3-1 in the 62nd minute. The Georgian international teammates call “Vako” stole a ball in the Quakes’ offensive third of the field after one of his shots had been stopped by Real goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
Qazaishvilli found teammate Andy Rios on the left in a giveand-go that led to Vako’s goal.
The lead was preserved with the help of Argentine goalkeeper Daniel Vega. He made big saves within four minutes to frustrate Real’s Damir Kreilach twice.
Then came a defensive lapse to make it 3-2 when Kreilach finally converted.
Salt Lake’s goal was the result of the Quakes defense letting Marcelo Silva dribble upfield and find Kreliach in a good position to score.
But Silva was sent off in the 84th minute with a red card for a dirty tackle on Jackson Yueill as San Jose regained its dominance.
A taut first half could be encapsulated in the span of 73 seconds.
The ever-pressing Earthquakes struck first in the 21st minute on a finely executed buildup that began
with Eriksson’s pass to Qazaishvilli inside the penalty area. Qazaishvilli spotted Cristian Espinoza charging down the right side as he does with regularity.
The Argentine midfielder usually looks to pass. But when no defenders challenged Espinoza he calmly struck a right-footed shot that dipped underneath MacMath.
After scoring only twice in his first 34 games for San Jose, Espinoza has back-to-back goals in the tournament.
The Quakes lead, and jubilation, ended moments later because of a maddening defensive error that continues to draw questions about how good the team can become.
The Earthquakes’ backline was caught too far upfield in a mistake that led to Douglas Martinez’s equalizer.
Guram Kashia could not control Corey Baird’s pass just over his head that allowed Martinez to sashay into the penalty box. The Honduran striker took his time to chip the ball over goalkeeper Daniel Vega.
As expected, San Jose dominated the offense: 19 shots to Real’s 10 and 60 percent possession.