San Jose Earthquakes vs. Los Angeles FC (LAFC), August 20, 2022

MEDIA RELEASE:                                             
Aug. 20, 2022   

MATCH RECAP: Earthquakes 2, LAFC 1
Quakes now 5-2-0 in last seven matches vs. LAFC; Eighteen-year-old Cade Cowell scores game-winner in front of sellout crowd

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes defeated first-place LAFC 2-1 in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday night at PayPal Park. LAFC entered the match on a seven-game winning streak and hadn’t lost since July 2.San Jose broke the deadlock in the 14th minute. Cristian Espinoza played a through ball to Tommy Thompson, who dribbled to the end line before playing a cut-back to forward Benji Kikanović for the first-timed finish (highlight).The Quakes held onto the lead into halftime before LAFC equalized in the 54th minute through Kwadwo Opoku.The Earthquakes then regained the lead on a thunderous strike by 18-year-old Cade Cowell in the 77th minute. Espinoza and Thompson combined again down the right flank with Thompson sending in a cross to the back post. Cowell volleyed the ball past goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and into the roof of the net (highlight).The Earthquakes will now travel to face Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, Aug. 27. The match will kick off from Children’s Mercy Park at 5:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR 1050 (English), and 1370 KZSF (Spanish).

GAME NOTESThe Earthquakes currently hold a 6-11-9 record (27 pts.) during the 2022 MLS regular season.San Jose is now 5-7-0 all-time vs. Los Angeles Football Club, including a 4-2-0 record at home. San Jose is now 5-2-0 in their last seven meetings with LAFC, including three straight home wins.The Earthquakes are now 6-7-6 in MLS play under interim head coach Alex Covelo.Benji Kikanović scored his fifth goal of the season and the ninth of his MLS career.Cade Cowell scored his second goal of the season and eighth of his MLS career.Tommy Thompson tallied his first and second assists of the season and 10th and 11th assists of his MLS career. It marked his second career multi-assist match (10/7/20 vs. VAN).Cristian Espinoza tallied his 10th and 11th assists of the season and 40th and 41st assists of his MLS career. He has passed Chris Wondolowski on the club’s all-time assists leaderboard and now ranks fourth in club history, just three behind third-place Richard Mulrooney.

MATCH INFORMATION
2022 MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 2 – 1 Los Angeles Football Club
Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022 – PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 18,000 (sellout)
Man of the Match: Tommy Thompson

Scoring Summary:
SJ (1-0) – Benji Kikanović (Tommy Thompson, Cristian Espinoza) 14’
LAFC (1-1) – Kwadwo Opoku (Kellyn Acosta) 54’
SJ (2-1) – Cade Cowell (Tommy Thompson, Cristian Espinoza) 77’

Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Tommy Thompson (caution) 30’
SJ – Nathan (caution) 31’
LAFC – Sebastien Ibeagha (caution) 42’
SJ – Benji Kikanović (caution) 60’
LAFC – Kellyn Acosta (caution) 67’
LAFC – Ilie Sanchez (caution) 67’
SJ – Eric Remedi (caution) 74’
LAFC – Ilie Sanchez (ejection) 79’
LAFC – Jose Cifuentes (caution) 86’
LAFC – Cristian Arango (caution) 90+6’

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Paul Marie, Tanner Beason, Nathan, Tommy Thompson; Jackson Yueill ©, Jan Gregus (Eric Remedi 69), Jamiro Monteiro; Benji Kikanović (Cade Cowell 69), Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza.Substitutes not used: Oskar Ågren, Matt Bersano (GK), Ousseni Bouda, Judson, Shea Salinas, Jack Skahan, Niko Tsakiris.

SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 14; CORNER KICKS: 11; SAVES: 1

LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB: Maxime Crepeau; Diego Palacios, Sebastien Ibeagha, Jesus Murillo, Franco Escobar (Eddie Segura 87); Kellyn Acosta ©, Sebastian Mendez (Jose Cifuentes 64), Latif Blessing (Ilie Sanchez 64); Kwadwo Opoku (Gareth Bale 76), Cristian Arango, Ryan Hollingshead (Carlos Vela 64).Substitutes not used: John McCarthy (GK), Brian Rodriguez, Daniel Trejo.

SHOTS: 12; SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 14; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES INTERIM HEAD COACH ALEX COVELO
 
On tonight’s perseverance to get a signature win at home:
“Emotions are high right now. We need to be calm, but I believe tonight is one of the best games I have seen from this team this season. When you lose, you ‘stink’ and when you win, everybody wants to talk good things about you. The guys showed that we have personality and played good with and without the ball. And we did it.” 
 
On where the motivation came from for tonight’s match even with the new coach announcement earlier this week:
“From the beginning when I took the team, I said I am here with San Jose and for San Jose. I was going to do whatever it takes to help the team. The players took the notice, took the news, they are professionals and know what they have to do. We are in this together. As I said in the past, the team trains fantastic every day, every week, following the game plan, and giving their best. We did it naturally and understanding there were nine games left and now eight. Before tonight, we were behind 9-10 points, and we have to still fight. We have to keep fighting and take this naturally.” 
  
On the atmosphere in the stadium and what it meant to the team tonight:
“Tonight, we played with 12 players. Anything can happen when the stadium is like that. It was incredible. It was amazing that the fans pushed the team and accompanied us. It helped us a lot.”

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES DEFENDER TOMMY THOMPSON
 
On tonight’s performance:
“It felt great. The atmosphere was electric. I give a lot of credit to the fans that came out to support us. There is no doubt. We’ve had some difficult moments this year, but it’s moments like that that shows the strength of this team mentally, physically, and the ability that we have to compete with some of the best teams and the best players in this league. For me personally, it felt great to put in a good shift with the team, but I give a lot of credit to all the guys out there that fought until the end right in the middle of the difficult moment that we’re in. I think it’s exciting and it’s a night that I won’t forget anytime soon.”
 
On the team’s mentality for tonight after the hiring of Luchi Gonzalez as the next Quakes head coach:
“I think we’re all excited about the hire [Luchi Gonzalez]. It was a great hire, but at the end of the day, our focus is the here and now. I give a ton of credit to the guys that came in: Lucho [Luciano Fusco], [Alex] Covelo, Wondo [Chris Wondolowski], Steve Ralston, Tubo [Fernandez]. All those guys came in at a really difficult moment. I think it was seven games into the season and they provided us with the positive energy that we needed. If you look at our record over that time period, it shows that we’ve been competitive consistently over the past couple of months. I think that’s a really positive piece of this season and I give those guys a ton of credit. It was a difficult moment and we’ve fought through those difficult moments. So, the hire is exciting, it’s exciting for the fans and the players. I think Luchi coming in is a step in the right direction and we’ll all be ready once he arrives in San Jose, but right now, we’re focused on giving the fans performances like we did tonight and I just wanted to give credit to the coaches here that have done something special over the course of the last 15 games or whatever it may be because I’m grateful for that. Whether I was playing or not playing, I’m grateful for that positive energy that has just provided us with that stimulus that we needed this year.”###
Earthquakes Communications Contacts:
Jake Pisani – Director, Communications
jpisani@sjearthquakes.com
C: 650.483.0701

Pedro Ortiz – Manager, Communications
portiz@sjearthquakes.com
C: 650.457.3512

2017 High School Football, Carson High vs. Reno High, September 1, 2017

After road trips for nearly every Northern Nevada high school football teams last week, this week has nearly everyone back in the area and playing cross league opponents… Carson hosted Reno tonight…

Reno has some fire power this year… Brandon Kaho is the talk of the league right now it seems, what’s his decision regarding college going to be is what’s on a lot of people’s minds… great for him to have some impressive options for college!  He gave me a great shot tonight so I’m pleased!  Check it out below…

Carson is entering the season with some rookie players at key positions… the big one is quarterback… Daniel Morrison (who filled in last year for the injured Jace Keema…) was expected to lead the team this year but a re-injury of his knee will have him out for the season so Blake Menzel will be looked upon to lead the team with Johnathan Laplante, who was brought up from the JV team recently will also be seeing some reps, as he did tonight… tough position to be in for Carson but that’s high school sports, we’ll see who steps up! 🙂

On to the photos from tonight… (check out more in the galleries… here…)

Reno High Quarterback Sawyer Jaksick
Reno High Quarterback Sawyer Jaksick throws a pass early in the first quarter of the Northern Nevada NIAA League game between Carson High and Reno High at Carson High in Carson City, Nevada.

Reno High Evan Moore
Reno High Wide Out Evan Moore looks for his hole on his way to the end zone during the Northern Nevada NIAA League game between Carson High and Reno High at Carson High in Carson City, Nevada.

Reno High Reese Taylor
Reno High Running Back Reese Taylor turns up field on his way to the end zone during the Northern Nevada NIAA League game between Carson High and Reno High at Carson High in Carson City, Nevada.

Reno High Brandon Kaho
Reno High Standout Brandon Kaho flies over Carson High players during the Northern Nevada NIAA League game between Carson High and Reno High at Carson High in Carson City, Nevada.

Reno High Touchdown, Brandon Kaho
Reno High Standout Brandon Kaho crosses the goal line for a touchdown during the Northern Nevada NIAA League game between Carson High and Reno High at Carson High in Carson City, Nevada.

Carson High Kyle Rudy
Carson High Running Back Kyle Rudy runs the ball during the Northern Nevada NIAA League game between Carson High and Reno High at Carson High in Carson City, Nevada.

Carson High Abel Carter
Carson High Running Back Abel Carter nearly makes a catch in the end zone during the Northern Nevada NIAA League game between Carson High and Reno High at Carson High in Carson City, Nevada.

Carson High Defense Liam Desormier
Carson High Defensive Lineman Liam Desormier unleashes a hard tackle on Reno High Quarterback Sawyer Jaksick during the Northern Nevada NIAA League game between Carson High and Reno High at Carson High in Carson City, Nevada.

2016 Carson High Football vs. Douglas, October 28, 2016

If someone asked you to define a rivalry game, how would you answer? I’m sure you could blurt out well known rivalries, Yankees vs. Red Sox, Giants vs. Dodgers, Cowboys vs. Giants… Carson vs. Douglas… if you live anywhere in Northern Nevada you’re aware of the Carson Douglas rivalry… well tonight’s, as a rivalry game, did NOT disappoint… Douglas put up some late 4th quarter points and played some tough defense and walked out of Carson’s field with a 31-17 win.

I’d say as in most rivalry games you’re likely to see things that you might not have seen at any point in the season and well… the things last night were plentiful. I cannot imagine the amount of tape that was watched in prep for tonight’s game… I think the thing that will define the night for me was the hard hits that were happening, they were plentiful and some memorable, as in knock out mouth pieces memorable.  I know the pure definition of smash mouth football is more of an offensive term but the “idea” of “smash mouth” comes to mind when I think about the hits and more importantly the sounds of the hits from tonight’s game… WOW!  The other thing I’ll take with me, the horrible officiating…

I’m only going to touch briefly on the officiating because these kind of things get people in trouble with the NIAA and we don’t want that… 🙂  But honestly… last night was the worst I’ve seen of the season… in what is likely the deepest rivalry game of the season in Northern Nevada and THIS is the team of refs we got?  In any sport, the officials job also includes NOT effecting the outcome of the game… and no, I’m not going to say there weren’t other things that weren’t as big of a factor in a win or a loss (depends if you’re Carson or Douglas…) last night but when a “non fan” of the game of football is so disgusted by the horrible calls of the referees… alright, enough of that… well, just one photo… and Coach would never say this but I can say it for him… 🙂

Simple caption…

WTF…

Coach Blair Roman

On to the photos… 🙂

You have to appreciate the dedication of getting to the field early to get the front row!  Several of your 2016 Sierra League Soccer Champs in that front row tonight!!

The Fans, Carson High

Sideline buddies!  I know there are families that come to games… but there are also families formed BECAUSE of games… we spend a lot of time together over the course of a year, we get to share the ups and downs, it’s a lot of fun.

Love those smiles ladies!Sideline Buddies

And onto the game… I’ve said this before in prior posts this year about games with a high amount of running plays, particularly one’s up the middle… yawn… kinda boring from a photographic standpoint… but none the less, that’s what we have we still need to make some pictures!

Carson’s Sheldon Miller bringing down Douglas Quarterback Hunter Hickey.Douglas High Tigers

Clawing for another inch…Rivalry Football

I just like this shot… seems like he’s saying, “… we’re coming, are you ready?”
Carson High Senators

What’s come to be known on the sidelines as “The Abel Carter Show” once again did not disappoint with just over 200 yards rushing on the night… hard not to aim the camera at Abel… how many hundreds of photos do you suppose I have of him?Abel Carter, Carson High Senators

2016 Damonte Ranch High Football vs. Carson, October 14, 2016

The wind, the wind, the wind… it was a factor for sure but Damonte seemed better prepared for the game and injuries have certainly changed Carson’s season… Damonte hosted Carson for homecoming and the streak of Sierra League wins came to an end for the Senators…

Damonte Ranch Quarterback Cade McNamara (a sophomore…) passed for five touchdowns on the night….

Cade McNamara Damonte Ranch

The Abel Carter show wasn’t enough tonight for Carson… Damonte clearly had watched some tape! 🙂 Abel Carter, Carson High

This pass… led to…Cade McNamara, Damonte Ranch

This touchdown…161014_7456

Damonte vs. Carson has grown to be quite a rivalry, with battles for every yard at all positions… both teams tend to bring it during this matchup…
161014_7465

2016 Bishop Manogue High Football vs. Carson, October 7, 2016

Even for the non-football fan, last night’s game was an interesting one… Bishop Manogue held the ball for nearly the first eight minutes of the game and drove the ball, seemingly right down the field and scored their first touchdown to begin the game… they chewed a ton of time off the clock and ran what seemed like a ton of plays… and at least for the first Carson drive, which included a beautiful Jace Keema pass to Brandon Gagnon, Carson didn’t seem to have their killer plays with them… but like I said… for the first drive…

Carson got their bearings with the Manogue offense and started to make stops and then the Abel Carter show started… 🙂 For his longest touchdown run I was behind them in the end zone and was able to see the massive hole the Carson O-Line opened for Abel… no joke, you could have driven a VERY large vehicle through the hole and off to the end zone went Abel… Good job O-line!  … and to Abel of course too!

Games like this with a lot of inside runs are tough to photograph… a big mash of players fighting in the trenches doesn’t make for very interesting photos, no faces, no ball, who even knows where the ball is sometimes… so the raw photo count from the night’s game aren’t plentiful, but there were some moments that I grabbed that I liked…

One of Brandon Gagnon’s receptions on the night… how much better would this be if he was facing me! 🙂Brandon Gagnon, Carson High

Manogue Quarterback William Hauck passing the ball…
William Hauck, Bishop Manogue High

Carson’s Spencer Rogers working for a few more yards…Spencer Rogers, Carson High

There were a few players on the Manogue team that played their youth football in Carson City, Connor Larkin (here) tackles Jake Roman… always good to see the kids that grew up in front of your eyes in Carson City playing at this level. 🙂
Jake Roman and Connor Larkin