In tense midweek action at PayPal Park, Seattle Sounders FC (4-0-1, 13 points) battled to a 1-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes (3-2-0, 9 points) in a match that pitted the top two teams in the Western Conference against one another. With the win, Seattle remains both the top team in Major League Soccer and the West, matching the best start to a season in club history with 13 points from five matches (this mark was also reached in 2019). Additionally, the result extends Seattle’s unbeaten run to 14 games against San Jose (8-0-6), dating back to 2015.
Cristian Roldan scored the game’s only goal in the 18
Sounders FC sits atop the Supporters’ Shield standings through four games, impressing with their transition to a new system while playing without some key performers.
We have seen two dominant home performances against LA Galaxy and Minnesota. On the road, the team has proven they can grind out results, with four points from six taken from trips to LAFC and Portland.
Next up is a clash against a San Jose Earthquakes side coming off three consecutive wins. Young stars like
Jackson Yueill and
Cade Cowell have impressed with their positive play, and this team still can call upon the greatest scorer in MLS history,
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
D.C. United heads to the west coast for the only time during the 2021 regular season, as they face the San Jose Earthquakes in what may be the latest kickoff of a game in team history. It’s also a game that could be dramatic: United’s pressure and willingness to create physical duels will be met by Matias Almeyda’s notorious man-marking system in a game that has all the signs of being a battle.
Throw in some traditional #MLSAfterDark vibes, and we might be in for a deeply weird match tonight.
Key player: Julian Gressel
CF Montreal adds experienced MLS forward Erik Hurtado
San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Florian Jungwirth, right, and Sporting Kansas City forward Erik Hurtado (19) battle for the ball during overtime of an MLS soccer match Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, in Kansas City, Kan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Charlie Riedel February 16, 2021 - 8:36 AM
MONTREAL - CF Montreal has signed American forward Erik Hurtado to a deal for the 2021 season with an option for 2022.
Selected fifth overall by the Vancouver Whitecaps in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, the 30-year-old Hurtado has 19 goals in 133 career games.
Hurtado spent the last two years with Sporting Kansas City, registering seven goals in 28 games.
San Jose Earthquakes sign Mexican midfielder in big offseason action [Mercury News]
Jan. 20 SAN JOSE In the first major outside move of the offseason, the San Jose Earthquakes announced Wednesday they have acquired Mexican midfielder Javier Eduardo Lopez on loan from famed Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara.
Lopez, 26, is expected to fill the attacking midfielder role held by Magnus Eriksson before he returned to Sweden in the middle of last season.
“We have followed Eduardo for two years and he is as excited to come to San Jose as we are to bring him,” Earthquakes general manager Jesse Fioranelli said in a statement. “He is a dynamic attacking midfielder in his prime and will be competing for a team other than Chivas for the first time in his career.”