San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Sanna Nyassi's second-half goal proved to be the difference on Saturday as the San Jose Earthquakes came away with a 1-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Avaya Stadium.
San Jose came into the match looking to take three points in front of the home fans and snap a two-match losing streak, while Vancouver entered as the hottest team in the league, riding a five-match unbeaten streak.
It was a physical affair from the outset as speedy Whitecaps forward Darren Mattocks was shown a yellow card by referee Edvin Jurisevic in the third minute for a hard foul.
The sides went into the break scoreless, but it was San Jose that came out of the break with more energy, pressing high up the field hoping to force Vancouver into a mistake.
The goal came with 15 minutes to play when attempts by both Shea Salinas and Cordell Cato were blocked by the Vancouver defense, but the third time was the charm for Nyassi as he jumped on a loose ball at the edge of the penalty area and ripped it past Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted.
Things got chippy as the clock turned to 90 minutes and both teams finished with 10 players after Vancouver's Pedro Morales and San Jose's Adam Jahn were shown red cards for an altercation.
San Jose held on through five minutes of stoppage time to claim all three points, while the 'Caps fell to their second defeat of the season.
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