Wondo scores twice as Earthquakes blank Portland 3-0
Captain gets 2 goals, assist as San Jose stays undefeated at home
SAN JOSE — Something about the Portland Timbers brings out the best in Chris Wondolowski.
But it has been a long time since the Earthquakes star had as special a night as Saturday at Avaya Stadium.
The Danville native had two goals and an assist en route to San Jose’s best performance of the Major League Soccer season — a 3-0 victory that gave a team filled with questions an intoxicating shot of confidence.
Wondolowski, 34, became the league’s all-time scoring leader against the Timbers with 10 goals in 13 career games. The U.S. international, who just won’t slow down, now has four goals and five assists in what is shaping into a hopeful season.
Why has the man affectionately known as “Wondo” become a Timbers terror? “I have no idea,” he said. For this night the answer was simple: San Jose (4-3-3) looked sharper than at any time in the first quarter of the season after concluding a three-game trip last week with a victory at Minnesota United.
German defender Florian Jungwirth scored the game winner last week, then starred again as the Quakes remained undefeated at home with a 3-0-2 record.
This time, the central defender connected with Wondolowski for two assists and also retreated in time to help goalkeeper David Bingham earn his third shutout this year.
Jungwirth’s play has not surprised coach Dominic Kinnear, who called the talkative German one of the team’s more colorful characters. Jungwirth didn’t disappoint in the locker room while holding court.
“My wife, she can’t believe what I am doing,” he said. “She said, ‘In Germany, you never score, you never get an assist.’ Another continent, another style of play.”
Another important piece to the Earthquakes’ roster as they try to end a fouryear playoff drought.
Kinnear started the same lineup as in Minnesota, again inserting Dutch striker Danny Hoesen on the left side of the midfield to join Marco Urena and Wondolowski on the attack. Hoesen played a crucial role in a suddenly efficient offense in a less-than-full stadium.
San Jose had seven shots on target in the first half in taking a 2-0 advantage, starting with Jahmir Hyka’s second goal of the season in the eighth minute.
Hoesen broke through on the left side to start the ping-pong, three-shot attack. Hyka’s first attempt was saved before Darwin Ceren shot wide. But Wondolowski picked up the wayward shot while lying on the ground and deflected it into the mixer, where Hyka smashed it home with his left foot.
San Jose doubled the score in the 31st minute on a beautifully orchestrated play with Jungwirth finding Wondolowski surrounded by two defenders in the penalty box. The Quakes’ star brought the ball down and then smoothly hit the far corner.
Jungwirth fed Wondolowski with a precise through ball in the 55th minute for the game’s final goal.
San Jose, though, faced the third-place Timbers (53-2) at an opportune time without two of their most potent players. Star playmaker Diego Valeri missed his second consecutive game with a hip problem. Portland also was without dangerous midfielder Darlington Nagbe, who suffered a hamstring injury last week against FC Dallas. The Timbers didn’t start goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, who missed the previous two games with a muscle strain in the hip area.
“We missed them more than we wanted to,” Timbers coach Caleb Porter said. “We missed their creativity.”
At the same time, the Earthquakes rarely missed.
Finally.