Match Data
SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 - San Jose Earthquakes 0
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Venue: Avaya Stadium
Referee: Kevin Stott
Assistants: Michael Kampmeinert, Andrew Bigelow
Fourth Official: Hilario Grajeda
VAR: Alex Chilowicz
Attendance: 16,478
Weather: 72 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA - Raúl Ruidíaz (Cristian Roldan) 62’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SJ - Luis Felipe Fernandes (caution) 38’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Jordan McCrary, Román Torres, Kim Kee-hee, Nouhou; Gustav Svensson, Osvaldo Alonso - captain (Clint Dempsey 79’), Nicolás Lodeiro, Cristian Roldan, Harry Shipp (Alex Roldan 87’); Raúl Ruidíaz (Will Bruin 66’)
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Kelvin Leerdam, Waylon Francis, Jordy Delem
Total shots: 10 (Lodeiro, 3)
Shots on goal: 2 (Ruidíaz/Torres, 1)
Fouls: 6 (Shipp, 3)
Offside: 2 (Shipp/Ruidíaz, 1)
Corner-kicks: 1
Saves: 5 (Frei, 5)
San Jose Earthquakes - Andrew Tarbell; Nick Lima, Guram Kashia, Harold Cummings, Shea Salinas; Valeri Qazaishvili, Florian Jungwirth (Tommy Thompson 69’), Luis Felipe Fernandes, Jahmir Hyka (Magnus Eriksson 78’), Danny Hoesen (Quincy Amarikwa 69’), Chris Wondolowski
Substitutes not used: Matt Bersano, Jimmy Ockford, Joel Qwiberg, Jackson Yueill
Total shots: 13 (Qazaishvili, 4)
Shots on goal: 5 (Qazaishvili, 3)
Fouls: 9 (Eriksson/Hoesen, 2)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 6 (Qazaishvili, 6)
Saves: 1 (Tarbell, 1)
Post-Match Quotes
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC HEAD COACH BRIAN SCHMETZER
On the result:
“It’s a big result. It wasn’t the most attractive game in the first half, but sometimes winning away from home you can’t always win pretty. I think the players got the timely goal and we were able to hang on in the end. We were hanging on for dear life in the end. San Jose was putting us under a lot of pressure.”
On Roman Torres’s return from national team duty and playing 90 minutes:
“It was good. He was steady, exactly what we wanted and exactly what we needed. There’s good, healthy competition amongst the squad, so that’s good.”
On Stefan Frei’s performance in goal:
“He didn’t come up with the one big save, but he made all the saves that he needed to save. Controlling the tempo of the game from his position is key.”
On Kim Kee-hee and Roman Torres pairing at center back:
“The whole team played well defensively. To get a shutout on the road against a good attacking team, you have to play well. Osvaldo [Alonso] and Gustav [Svensson] were good sweeping up in front of the two center backs so that they had some help. It’s a team sport but they certainly played well together as a pair.”
On building momentum:
“We have certainly talked about momentum, but it’s just about collecting points. Had we not gotten a result, we would need to collect points in the next game. It’s all about collecting as many points as we can to make the playoffs.”
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC DEFENDER JORDAN MCCRARY
On the match:
“We’re on a roll, simple as that. It was a tough game, they’re a good team. We came out here – it’s always tough in an away game, but we came out and got the W. It’s always good to have Gustav [Svensson] back, playing next to Ozzie [Alonso] and everything. Controlled the game, it went well.”
On defending San Jose’s crosses:
“First thing’s first, I’m a defender. So I’ve got to get out there and block as many crosses as I can. That’s my job. And then two, I just know that he wants to get on that right foot sometimes, but get out there, close him down, make him go back and keep him faced the other way.”
On Raul Ruidiaz’s performance:
“Great player. He’s a great player. He works hard, gets in behind, makes good runs, helps out defensively. He’s solid. He helps out a lot.”
On the back line:
“Just like you said, it was good defense. It was good to have Roman [Torres] back from the World Cup, great experience and everything. Kim [Kee-hee] has been solid lately, just got Team of the Week. They’re still good players, whether you shift them around or not, they’re still good players. Still got good communication, good teamwork.”
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC GOALKEEPER STEFAN FREI
On the road win:
“We played well. It was a little sloppy here and there in terms of turnovers, but considering we were the away team I felt like we were in control for good spells. I understand that they’re behind us in the standings and struggling, but in this league full of parity, it’s always difficult to play and get three points away from home. There are things we can improve, for sure, and we’ll look at that, but for us to get a shutout, stay good in the back, stay focused and not give them too many clear-cut opportunities is a positive.”
On the center back pairing of Kim Kee-hee and Roman Torres:
“They did well. We were really adamant about defending inside-out today, and we achieved that. We forced them out wide, and they ran out of ideas. They just ended up lumping balls in the middle. We’ll take that all day. I’m really happy with the guys in front of me.”
On the road win and unbeaten streak heading into Sunday:
“It’s great. We’re eager to get back on the pitch. We’re smelling a little bit of blood and smelling that there’s something there to take advantage of this little bump that we’ve gotten from these results.”
On earning his 63rd shutout to move to eighth all-time in the MLS record book:
“I’m happy. I don’t really look at those records. That will be a really nice thing to look at once I retire, hopefully not for a few years, but keeping shutouts gives us the best chance to get points. When you only need to score one goal or two, it makes our job up top a little bit easier. We take pride. It’s important that we take pride in how we defend as a team. It’s helped our success in the last few years, and I personally believe defense wins championships.”
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC FORWARD RAÚL RUIDIÁZ
—
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MIKAEL STAHRE
Overall thoughts on the match:
“I think it was a very slow game in general. Very few chances for both teams actually. It was more of a 0-0 game from my perspective. I think we came out quite well in the first part of the game, with more quality and intensity than Seattle. Then we lost a bit of momentum in the last part of the first half. We talked in the dressing room to speed up the game a little bit more, more intensity in everything actually. We conceded a goal from out of the blue. We tried to sub in some players to bring in some energy and change the shape up a little bit, but we hardly created any chances. Tonight we lacked quality in the final third of the field.”
On how he felt Guram Kashia and Luis Felipe performed in their first start:
“I think they were the best thing for us this evening. I think Guram helped us even though he hasn’t played for a couple of months actually. He had a solid performance, and in general, I think we defended quite well. He will get better and better when he is totally fit. I think Luis Felipe was one of the best players for the Earthquakes this evening. I think he was quite good with the ball and great with his positioning in defense. A great debut for Luis’ perspective.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER LUIS FELIPE
On how he felt he performed in his debut:
“The most important thing is to get the win, so it doesn’t matter if I played well or if I felt good. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s game and I’m hoping we can get the win.”
On how he felt the team performed despite conceding a goal off a mistake:
“I think we played well. We got caught in a counterattack. We have to keep our heads up and try to win games. It’s the most important thing now.”
On how he felt leading up to his debut:
“I was calm. I was very confident. The guys gave me a lot of confidence like I said, and I felt good.”
On how he felt Guram Kashia performed in his debut:
“I think he did pretty well. He felt confident, I’m happy for him. He showed that he’s a leader and I’m happy for him.”