No Almeyda? No problem! San Jose fire an MLS record 43 shots

Only a few days after a nightmarish 4-0 lost versus the mighty LAFC and superstar Carlos Vela, the San Jose Earthquakes looked to bounce back and reclaim their spot atop the Western Conference.

However, they would have to march into battle without their coach Matías Almeyda. He was suspended for this game after his emotions got the best of him and got sent off in the match against LAFC. On the other hand, the Vancouver Whitecaps had just beaten D.C. United, in their previous game 1-0 and confidence were riding high.

Beating the Quakes at home is a tall order even without Matías Almeyda on the sidelines as San Jose has only lost three times all season at the Avaya Stadium. 

The match started with some fireworks as Vancouver, and San Jose both scored in the openings minutes of the game. The Whitecaps would snatch the lead in the sixth minute after defender Jakob Nerwinski curved a left-footed strike past keeper Daniel Vega.

San Jose would reply in quick succession scoring a minute later. Chris Wondolowski set up midfielder Judson, and the Brazilian took care of the rest smashing it past Maxime Crépeau and scoring his first Earthquakes goal. 

The rest of the match from that point on would be all Earthquakes dominating 75 percent of possession in the game. San Jose would also go on to put up an MLS record 43 shots against the Whitecaps with 25 coming in the first half, another mark as well, and 19 of those shots on target all game. The New York/New Jersey MetroStars held the previous mark of 38 attempts since 1998.

In the 34th minute, Wondolowski would break the deadlock adding to his all-time MLS record with his 155th career goal. Following a corner, Florian Jungwirth headed the ball toward Wondo who was unmarked in the box and set him up for a point-blank header that he put past the Vancouver keeper. San Jose was in control as they took that lead into the half. 

In the second half, the game continued to be dominated by the home side as the Quakes enjoyed most of the possession and kept firing at the Vancouver goal. However, not all was lost for the Whitecaps as keeper Maxime Crépeau showed out. The Canadian goal stopper starred in this match even looking superhuman at times putting up 16 saves, beating Tony Meola’s 15 in a 1997 game for the MetroStars. 

Despite clearly having control of the game, the score did not reflect it as San Jose had no breathing space against the Whitecaps. That would change in the 73rd minute when substitute Andy Rios burst onto the scene, scoring his first Earthquakes goal.

Magnus Eriksson assisted Rios passing it to him outside the box. Rios would not disappoint as he launched a rocket, that not even super keeper Maxime Crépeau could save, hitting the post and nestling in the net. 

Defender Florian Jungwirth missed an opportunity to add to the margin in the 85th minute when his right-footed direct kick slammed into the crossbar. San Jose would take it in the end as the game ended 3-1 in favor of the home side. 

The Earthquakes were out to prove a point putting on a dazzling offensive showing in the absence of Matías Almeyda. They put up an MLS record number of shots and did not leave in any doubt about their capacity to be dominant. San Jose leaves the match in sixth place in the West as they take on Orlando City next at home. As for the Whitecaps, not even a record performance by Maxime Crépeau could salvage a disappointing all-around performance by the team. They’ll look to bounce back against their Canadian rivals Montreal Impact.