Seattle, WA – The San Jose Earthquakes continued their impressive start to the new Major League Soccer season by defeating Seattle Sounders FC, 1-0, at CenturyLink Field on Saturday.
Chris Wondolowski provided the lone goal of the contest, scoring from the penalty spot in the 24th minute for his fourth goal of the season.
Pulling out a win in a tough CenturyLink Field environment was made all the more impressive by how San Jose played throughout the 90 minutes. The 'Quakes dictated play in large stretches of the match and prevented the Sounders from getting into any sort of rhythm.
San Jose had the first clear-cut scoring chance of the contest when Steven Lenhart forced a brilliant save from Michael Gspurning. Steven Beitashour played a low cross to the back post and Lenhart connected with a shot back across goal, but Gspurning spurned the chance with a one-handed stop.
Gspurning was ultimately unable to keep San Jose off the board as the 'Quakes broke the deadlock moments later from the penalty spot.
The visitors were awarded a spot kick from a questionable foul in the box. Lenhart went down quite easily following contact with Marc Burch, but Wondolowski made no mistake with the ensuing attempt, sending Gspurning the wrong way.
San Jose continued to dominate in the second half and came within inches of doubling the lead when Sam Cronin slammed a right-footed shot just wide of the post in the 57th minute.
Seattle got stronger as the match went on, but despite a number of half- chances, San Jose's staunch defense proved to be the key to the game as the 'Quakes kept a clean sheet for the third time this season.
The result means that Seattle (2-1-0) misses out on the chance to post a perfect record through its opening three MLS games for the first time in club history. The Sounders will look to get back on track when they head to RFK Stadium to face D.C. United on April 7.
San Jose (3-1-0) has only conceded one goal in four games this season, allowing the club to take nine points from a possible 12. Frank Yallop's squad will return to action with tricky fixture on April 7 as they will host Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
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