DC United traveled to the Bay Area where they met the San Jose Earthquakes on a chilly Spring night at PayPal Park. The visitors were looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to New England while the Quakes were looking to add their second win of the season in front of their fans.

Quakes and DC United await the National Anthem before their match on Saturday

Matias Almeyda sent out a 4-2-3-1 with the two holding mids, Remedi and Yuelli, helping track runs and disrupt DC United’s attack. The team’s security in the back allowed the forwards to be much more adventurous while on the ball and we saw Espinoza and Fierro give the team width going forward. Up top, the always energetic Cade Cowell.

DC United on the other hand, started the match with a defensive 4-5-1 looking to crowd the midfield when they didn't have the ball and attack quickly on the counters. Both Thompson and Marie like to join the attack for the Quakes meaning that the spaces left behind could be exploited.

After just one minute of play, Remedi intercepted the ball near midfield for the Quakes and quickly sent Cowell into space. Cowell did a great job of taking an extra longer touch to draw in the DC United defense only to find Javier “La Chofis” Lopez open who put it in the back of the net.

Despite going down early, DC United continued to sit back and look to strike on the counter. However, their counters were not precise and would often lose balls in dangerous situations. In the 25th minute, DC United lost the ball in the Quakes own third of the pitch. The Quakes were able to cover almost 80 yards in a masterful counterattack where they needed just 3 passes to send Cowell off to the races. Cowell would blow past the DC United defense and make it 2-0 halfway through the second half.

DC United would get back into the back with a wonderful back post corner from Edison Flores that would get put back into the danger zone and eventually buried home by José Antonio Alfaro Vázquez to make it 2-1.

Quakes would get their two goal cushion back with a beautiful strike by Jackson Yueill who met the ball perfectly in the air and turned the ball into a bullet as it blasted past Seitz into the back of the net. As the teams walked back into the locker rooms at half time, Quakes were in total control of the game.

In the second half, DC United switched to a more traditional 4-4-2 which helped them take control of the ball a lot more than the first half. Because of that, Quakes had less space to exploit the counters. For the most part, it became a very predictable second half with few chances.

Jungwirth lit up PayPal Park with a goal line clearance which would’ve made it 3-2. Minutes later, Cowell, who had switched to the right with Andres Rios coming on, took advantage of some space behind the DC United backline and lifted a cross perfectly for Yueill who got his second goal of the night.

4-1 for a dominating Quakes team that was energetic up top, creative on the wing and extremely disciplined in the midfield. The front page covers will praise Cowell for his contributions but the game was won in the middle with two work horses in Bemedi and Yueill as well as Beason and Jungwirth who not only kept Sorga at bay, they were also excellent in the distribution out of the back.

Following a disappointing start to the season, the Quakes have now won back to back games with 7 goals scored in the last two games. Almeyda has constructed a team that is not only dangerous up top but a solid rock defensively. The Western Conference has been warned...

Martin Pantoja

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