Salinas’ late goal caps a dramatic comeback
The Earthquakes reverted to the Goonies of 2012 on Wednesday night.
The Quakes rallied from a two-goal deficit to score their first victory since last year on a stunning goal by Shea Salinas.
Salinas’ goal in stoppage time gave the Earthquakes a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Group B play of the MLS Is Back tournament at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida.
It just didn’t seem like it could happen for a team that had not produced a victory in nine games. San Jose (1-1-2) plays Sunday against the Chicago Fire in the group finale with a strong chance to advance to the Round of 16.
The game turned after Vancouver took a 3-1 lead in the 59th minute when Argentine goalkeeper Daniel Vega made a huge error with an outlet pass that went right to the Whitecaps’ David Milinkovic. It resulted in Cristian Dájome’s uncontested goal.
San Jose, though, was not through while dominating the game with an onslaught of shots (31-7) and corner kicks (22-4).
The Earthquakes got life in the 72nd-minute with Chris Wondolowski’s first goal of the season. He has 160 goals in a storied career for Major League Soccer’s all-time scoring leader.
San Jose leveled the score in the 82nd minute off a Magnus Eriksson corner kick that Mexican international Oswaldo Alanis headed into the net.
It didn’t appear the Quakes could recover despite dominating both halves. They looked like the team that allowed seven goals in two home games in March. But San Jose never looked completely out of it despite the mental lapses.
An exciting first half ended with a big goal by Andy Rios, who scored on San Jose’s 12th corner kick. Cristian Espinoza tapped the ball to Eriksson, who served into the mixer. Rios extended his leg and redirected the spinning ball past goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.
It gave the Quakes life after a demoralizing opening in which they outshot Vancouver 17-4 and forced Crepeau into five saves.
Ali Adnan gave Vancovuer a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute. He started on the left and dribbled toward the center of the penalty box before placing the ball just inside the far post beyond the outstretched hands of Vega.