SAN JOSE, Calif. (Aug. 31, 2019) - Orlando City SC (9-13-7, 34 points) dropped a 3-0 decision at the San Jose Earthquakes (13-10-5, 44 points) on Saturday night at Avaya Stadium. Midfielder Cristian Higuita made his 100th Major League Soccer appearance in the match, his first appearance since sustaining an injury on June 19 in City’s U.S. Open Cup win over New England Revolution.
Head Coach James O’Connor:
“The first half absolutely killed us. The start of the game, you can’t start any soccer game like that and expect to get anything out of the game...We have to [bounce back next week]. At the end of the day, you either react positively to it and get on with it or you feel sorry for yourselves. It’s just majorly disappointing because it’s happened at this stage of the season but it is what it is. We have to swallow it, we have to react to it and we need to make sure that we give a much more normal performance against LAFC next game.”
Scoring Recap:
3’ Magnus Eriksson (Jackson Yueill) - SJ 1, ORL 0
The Earthquakes took an early lead with Jackson Yueill finding Magnus Eriksson near the edge of the penalty area, who drove into the box before sending a ball into the back of the net.
20’ Chris Wondolowski (Vako) - SJ 2, ORL 0
San Jose doubled their lead with Vako sending a ball in behind the City defense for Chris Wondolowski, who chipped it over the head of goalkeeper Brian Rowe for the first-time finish.
33’ Chris Wondolowski (Cristian Espinoza) - SJ 3, ORL 0
The home side added another with Eriksson playing Cristian Espinoza into the penalty area, who dribbled it to the end line before cutting a pass back for Wondolowski. The MLS all-time leading goal scorer then roofed the one-touch finish into the top-right corner of the net.
Match Notes:
- Midfielder Cristian Higuita registered his 100th MLS cap when he entered the match for Carlos Ascues after the halftime break. Higuita is the first Lion to reach this feat with the Club, sitting as the lone remaining member from City’s 2015 inaugural MLS roster. The match served as Higuita’s first appearance since June 19 against New England in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16.
- The loss served as the Lions first to the Earthquakes in Club history.
- Midfielder Uri Rosell recorded his 40th appearance as a Lion in the match. Rosell has appeared in 18 matches for City this season with 14 starts.
- The Lions were shutout on the road for just the third time this season and the first since June 26, a 1-0 loss to D.C. United.
Next Match: The Lions return home for their next two contests, hosting LAFC on Saturday, September 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Exploria Stadium followed by the New England Revolution on Saturday, September 14.
