We here at VAVEL USA hope you have enjoyed tonight's coverage of the matchup between the San Jose Earthquakes and Chicago Fire. Jasmine Stefanik, signing off for tonight, and hope everyone has a good night.
The crowd at Avaya Stadium topped out tonight at 18,000 and this game is definitely the way that the Earthquakes fans wanted to see when opening the new stadium.
And the final whistle has blown at Avaya Stadium, with the San Jose Earthquakes winning their home opener by a score of 2-1 over the Chicago Fire sending Chicago to their first three games lost in their history (going back to 1998.)
90' + 2' - Free kick to Chicago on a foul by Shea Salinas in a dangerous spot, but after Maloney takes the free kick, the ball goes out for a goal kick for David Bingham
90' + 1' - Larentowicz plays the ball out after chasing down Salinas, but then Salazar calls a foul and for Johnson to come out and take the goal kick.
89' - Johnson takes a goal kick as time is running out. Going into the 90th minute and we are seeing three minutes of stoppage time in the second half as shown by Allen Chapman.
88' - Johnson prepares his players as Salinas takes the corner, with the Earthquakes seeming content to kill off the game.
87' - Cordell Cato picks up a through ball from Wondolowski but has to hold up to wait for support and finally Jahn comes, but the ball goes out for a corner.
THIRD AND FINAL SUBSTITUTION FOR SAN JOSE: CORDELL CATO COMES ON FOR SANNA NYASSI IN THE 85TH MINUTE.
83' - Nyassi is fouled giving the Earthquakes almost another shot at the back of the net that goes a little too far for J.J. Koval.
SECOND SUBSTITUTION FOR SAN JOSE: ADAM JAHN COMES ON FOR MATIAS PEREZ GARCIA IN THE 82ND MINUTE.
80' - J.J. Koval is a little slow to get up after being fouled by Harry Shipp in front of David Bingham.
78' - Chicago tries to push again, but there are six defenders back for the Earthquakes, and San Jose seems to be absorbing the pressure that Chicago is bringing as we head into the last ten minutes in regulation.
77' - Marvell Wynne makes a great tackle to momentarily stop Chicago's progress, but then the ball is pushed back by San Jose into Chicago's defensive third.
FIRST SUBSTITUTION FOR SAN JOSE: INNOCENT EMEGHARA MAKES WAY FOR SHEA SALINAS IN THE 75TH MINUTE.
THIRD AND FINAL CHICAGO FIRE SUBSTITUTION: QUINCY AMARIKWA MAKES WAY FOR GULY DO PRADO IN THE 74TH MINUTE.
70' - Chicago pushing their attack and a foul is called on Marvell Wynne giving San Jose a bit of possession. Shaun Francis pushes into the box with the ball and Innocent in stellar position, but Francis hits the ball low at Larentowicz.
CHICAGO FIRE SECOND SUBSTITUTION: Kennedy Igboananike is on for Michael Stephens.
64' - Ensuing corner is taken by Perez Garcia but it falls to a Chicago defender. Sanna Nyassi gets the ball and pushes it back into the box but Wondolowski is caught offsides.
62' - Francis takes the throw in but Chicago pushes the ball out and a foul is called against Chicago on Perez Garcia, who takes the free kick and it bounces down to Wondolowski whose shot it blocked over the bar.
61 minutes in and Chicago is doing exactly what Head Coach Frank Ya llop wanted them to do from a possession perspective.
60' - Corner for San Jose and Perez Garcia fires in a corner kick that Johnson almost misses.
59' - Substitutes seem to be warming up for both sides. San Jose still with three substitutes and Chicago with two left.
57' - Play is reset as Innocent is shouldered off the ball. Boos ring out from fans in the stadium who believe a foul should have been called. Ball is continuing to be played and rolls out for a San Jose throw-in.
54' - Amarikwa steps on Perez Garcia, then immediately turns around and apologizes as it was accidental. However, Perez Garcia stays down for a minute and then rearranges himself and tells Salazar he is ok as the trainer leaves the field.
53' - Nyassi loops a cross into the box but a little too far for Perez Garcia as a foul is called on San Jose and Chicago storms forward dispossessed for a moment by Wondolowski, but Harden is able to keep the ball out of the net and prevent a corner.
51' - Perez Garcia picks the pocket of Amarikwa as he tries to turn at goal, and the ball goes back and forth before Chicago is called offsides.
50' - Johnson sets up his wall as Matias Perez Garcia whips the ball in but it is an easy save for Johnson.
49' - Amarikwa races forward and David Bingham takes him on 1v1 and it goes over the crossbar.
48' - Harry Shipp heads the ball in and it bounces wide of the goal of David Bingham.
45' - David Accam is on at halftime and Joevin Jones is off as Chicago has made their first substitution at halftime.
On the other side, Chicago have been trying to get the possession sorted out. However, they will get there sooner rather than later, as it was apparent in the second part of the first half that they were getting things together. Set pieces have been dangerous, as have corners for both sides and that is how at least two of the goals tonight have been scored.
We will be back with the second half coverage after a short break. In the first half, Innocent and Wondolowski terrorized the back four of Chicago and the Earthquakes seem they have changed things up and come out more energized and the XI looks to be clicking better under Head Coach Dominic Kinnear.
45' + 1' - David Bingham takes the goal kick as Salazar blows the whistle on the first half and the end of first half score is 2-1 San Jose.
44' - Alashe tries the through ball to Wondolowski but he miscontrolls it and it goes back to Johnson. Seems to be like they are just trying to get to halftime as Allen Chapman calls for one minute of extra time.
43' - Perez Garcia launches the corner kick and as the ball rolls out there are a few bodies that clank around. Salazar determines that the ball went out off of a Chicago player giving San Jose a corner from the opposite side, and Shipp is able to clear.
42' - Alashe forces the attack to Perez Garcia who takes a shot, but Johnson is comfortably able to make the save and it goes out for another San Jose corner.
OUR APOLOGIES FOR GETTING BEHIND LIVE ACTION...We were having momentary technical difficulties and now are in the 41st minute of play. Both sides have seen swings and the Earthquakes have been able to expose the weakness on the left flank with Innocent.
34' - Nyassi tries to push the attack, but the ball rolls too far for Koval. Palmer finds it and clears it out to Perez Garcia who pushes another attack and forces Sean Johnson into making a save to give the Earthquakes another corner kick.
33' - Corner is cleared, but Perez Garcia tries another cross and it is cleared out as well.
32' - With thirteen minutes left in the half, Chicago seems to have found some life, but San Jose is able to counter them on it and the ball rolls out for San Jose's second corner of the match.
31' - Maloney tries another corner, but Palmer is fouled after the ball is cleared.
30' - Ball roles out in the Chicago attacking third, and Maloney whips the corner in forcing Bingham to make a huge save to keep out a second Chicago goal.
28' - Shots are split evenly 4-4 even though two of San Jose's found the back of the net, but on the counter Shipp finds a way to thread the ball through and score on Bingham to make it 2-1 San Jose. GOAL CHICAGO FIRE!!!!!!!!
25' - Innocent is fouled again, and this time Salazar decides to show the yellow card to Polster for persistent infringement, and San Jose will take the free kick just outside the 18 yard box.
24' - Chicago tries to play a cross in but it is defended well, even though they try to thread it through, and Harden gives Chicago their first corner.
23' - Goal kick for Bingham after the ball goes sailing over the crossbar. Amarikwa fouls Harden and the ball is put back into play.
Ty Harden is in tonight's lineup because of the suspension of Victor Bernardez and in his 100th MLS start he nets his first goal for the Earthquakes.
20' - Perez Garcia takes the free kick, the ball bounces in and is rebounded off of Sean Johnson and finds the back of the net. Ty Harden is being credited with the goal, and Johnson looks angry. GOAL SAN JOSE!!!!!!!!!!!
19' - Innocent is fouled now in a dangerous spot for San Jose and Polster gets a talking to from Referee Ricardo Salazar.
17' - Free kick in a dangerous position for Chicago, but the ball is easy for Bingham to track and he can make the save.
15 minutes in and there have been four fouls, three on San Jose and one on Chicago.
14' - Goal kick by David Bingham and the Earthquakes keep possession forcing the ball into the defensive third for Chicago before they lose the ball again.
9' - Jones tries to push the ball but has to push it back to Harry Shipp who pushes even further back to the defenders, but they are dispossessed by Perez Garcia again. He is then dispossessed and Chicago seems to be content trying to keep possession rather than push it and risk being dispossessed.
8' - Chicago tries to push the attack, but dispossessed by Chris Wondolowski who pushes the ball to Matias Perez Garcia.
6' - Innocent pushes the attack again, and J.J. Koval launches a shot that goes just over the crossbar from distance.
5' - Perez Garcia takes the corner kick, the ball bobs into the box onto a few heads before it finds the head of Fatai Alashe for his first ever MLS goal and the first goal in Avaya Stadium history. GOAL SAN JOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4' - Innocent Emeghara pushes the attack from the outside to Matias Perez Garcia who plays the through ball, but J.J. Koval pushes the ball over the crossbar for a corner kick.
3' - Marvell Wynne comes back to clean up a mistake he made by letting Jones get past him and knocks the ball out for a throw-in for Chicago.
1' - Matias Perez Garcia takes the first free kick, and then Chicago comes back the other way with a set piece opportunity as both teams seem to have energy to begin the game.
Alexi Lalas and John Strong will be the commentators and Jasmine Stefanik will be here with you tonight as we watch the San Jose Earthquakes take on the Chicago Fire.
Teams are on the field and the national anthem is about to be performed by Jessica Johnson. The Chicago Fire are wearing their white away kits, the San Jose Earthquakes are in their home blue kits, Sean Johnson is wearing orange and David Bingham is wearing green.
There are currently opening ceremonies for Avaya Stadium going on to open the new stadium. The Starting XI's are lined up and the processional for both teams will be happening momentarily.
We are hearing that kickoff has been delayed just a little until 7:15pm EST.
The Chicago Fire Starting XI: Johnson; Gehrig, Larentowicz, Adailton, Palmer; Polster; Shipp, Stephens, Maloney, Jones; Amarikwa. Bench will be: Busch; Alex, Watson, Ritter; Guly, Igboananike, Accam.
We will be joining the coverage of our match shortly. The San Jose Earthquakes Starting XI: Bingham, Wynne, Goodson, Harden, Francis, Alashe, Koval, Perez Garcia, Nyassi, Wondolowski (c), Emeghara. and the bench is Meredith, Pierazzi, Cato, Barrera, Thompson, Salinas, Jahn.
Update: 75 minutes into the first match of tonight's doubleheader and we are seeing a scoreline 2-0 New York Red Bulls. Jesse Marsch is also being talked about by Taylor Twellman and Adrian Healey for how he handled the town hall meeting that was held after the dismissal of former Head Coach Mike Petke.
We are about 25 minutes away from the kickoff of our match tonight, and the matchup between the New York Red Bulls and DC United on ESPN is in the 66th minute with a 1-0 New York scoreline.
The referee for tonight’s match between the Chicago Fire and San Jose Earthquakes will be Ricardo Salazar. His assistants tonight are going to be (bench side) Ian Anderson and (opposite side) Mike Kampmeinert. Tonight’s fourth official will be Allen Chapman, the referee who made some questionable calls in last week’s Philadelphia Union vs Real Salt Lake match. The matchup this afternoon will start at 4pm PST (7pm EST) and can be seen on Fox Sports One. Also, VAVEL USA is proud to have Jasmine Stefanik along with you tonight covering the game live for those who want to check in on it or cannot watch it.
The Chicago Fire have also had a struggle for the first two weeks of their 2015 season, with a week one loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy and a week two loss at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Having gone two games with no goals, there is no doubt that Head Coach Frank Yallop and his team will come into Avaya Stadium looking for a chance to score and come away with three points. But, with the Earthquakes being coached by Dominic Kinnear again, it will be an interesting scene for soccer tonight to say the least.
For the Earthquakes, the injuries to F Mark Sherrod, D Jordan Stewart, and D Clarence Goodson are the most notable. With those injuries, as well as the suspension of Bernardez, it will be interesting to see how Kinnear reacts with his lineup. However, Dominic Kinnear is a long-tenured coach with a lot of experience, so it stands to reason that he has seen a similar situation before and can figure this out without too much trouble.
Victor Bernardez of the San Jose Earthquakes will miss this matchup as a result of the red card he was given in the match at Seattle. It will be interesting to see how Kinnear adjusts his lineup to compensate for this unavailability. Also of notice are the injuries to the Chicago Fire’s Mike Magee and Patrick Nyarko. They will both miss an extended amount of time, with Magee’s coming after hip surgery last September, and Nyarko’s coming after he tore his ACL and sprained his MCL. They will be back return to action about six to eight months from now.
Chicago and San Jose have played a total of 33 games against each other in history, with 17 being played at San Jose’s home field. In those 17 games, San Jose boasts a record of 7-5-5 while Chicago boasts a record of 5-7-5. The last game between these two sides was a San Jose Earthquakes defeat of the Chicago Fire by a scoreline of 5-1. Dominic Kinnear has an impressive coaching record against the Chicago Fire in 23 matches of 9-7-9, meanwhile Frank Yallop has only coached one game against the San Jose Earthquakes resulting in one loss.
While the Earthquakes made some changes of their own in the offseason, the Chicago Fire did the same. Just a few of the key names they did not bring back are D Bakary Soumare, M Sanna Nyassi (who was selected by San Jose), and F Robert Earnshaw. However, they have their own additions in GK Jon Busch (who played for San Jose until the end of last season), M Collin Hernandez, and D Eric Gehrig just to name a few. The interesting thing is that Sanna Nyassi and Jon Busch would face off against their previous clubs, assuming they both see the starting XI for their new clubs of course. The Chicago Fire also brought in Head Coach Frank Yallop for the 2015 season.
In the first two of Dominic Kinnear’s games at the helm for the Earthquakes, they went on the road playing Western Conference teams. Week one saw them play an FC Dallas side who has seemed to most people to be unstoppable at this point, and Week two saw them play a Seattle Sounders side at CenturyLink Field and come home with three points that most people would never have seen them walk away with. Now, for Week three, it is finally their turn to be at home as they take on the Eastern Conference Chicago Fire in their new soccer specific stadium home. How will having the “twelfth man” (their home fans) affect them now? It is an interesting question, and considering the lineup that Kinnear has in place it stands to reason that they will be even more energized than they were on the road.
The San Jose Earthquakes will open their new season by playing their Week 3 game of the 2015 MLS season at their new stadium, Avaya Stadium. This is also the eighth stadium they have played at since they started in the league in 1994. The offseason has also seen the Earthquakes change Head Coaches again with Dominic Kinnear coming back to replace Mark Watson who was not given the job after the horrendous finish from the 2014 season. In his first offseason, Kinnear made some major changes to the roster, letting go of veterans like GK Jon Busch, M Atiba Harris, and M Sam Cronin. The Earthquakes also received GK Andy Gruenebaum (who later decided to retire), F Innocent Emeghara (who became the club’s third Designated Player), M Sanna Nyassi, and D Marvell Wynne to name a few.