LOS ANGELES — Jackson Yueill helped the Earthquakes get off to a fast start with a goal in the ninth minute, but Los Angeles FC shook off a scoreless first half to send San Jose to a 3-1 loss on Saturday night in its final match of the season.
The Quakes (6-25-3) finished the season in last place in the Western Conference with 21 points and were the only club in the 29-team MLS that didn’t finish with at least 30 points.
“With respect to this season, it was a tough year.” said Ian Russell, who was elevated to head coach in late June when Luchi Gonzalez was fired after the team got off to a 3-14-2 start. “We were left with a lot of things to learn, and for the club to take a step forward, we need to reflect on what we need to do to be more competitive. During this offseason, we all need to work hard as a club so we can keep building a good foundation and good culture for next season.”
San Jose collected half of its MLS victories over the final 13 matches of the season (3-9-1) but was 1-6-1 since Aug. 31.
LAFC (19-8-7) tied with the LA Galaxy atop the Western Conference with 64 points, but earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs based on goal differential — a one-goal difference. LAFC plays a best-of-three first-round series against the winner of one-game wild card between the No. 8 seed Vancouver Whitecaps and the ninth-seeded Portland Timbers.
The Quakes beat LAFC 3-1 on May 4, and early Saturday night at a sold-out BMO Stadium another upset appeared to be brewing.
Following Yueill’s quick goal — his first MLS score with Paul Marie recorded his first MLS assist — Hernán López almost doubled San Jose’s advantage late in the first half when he snuck into the attacking third to steal a pass, but his shot from outside the box ended up in LAFC goalie Hugo Lloris’ arms.
LAFC tied the score on Denis Bouanga’s goal in the 64th, and then went ahead when Eduard Atuesta came on in the 75th minute and scored moments later. Marlon Santos added an insurance goal in the 91st minute.
“The guys, they never quit. … Everybody worked as hard as they possibly could,” Russell said. “During Leagues Cup, when there was something on the line, they showed that they’re a good team when they come to play and there is something to play for. I was happy with that. I don’t think anybody quit, especially tonight. We come down here, last game of the season, and we had a really good first half and a massive chance to make it 2-2.”
— Cristian Espinoza extended his run of consecutive MLS regular-season games played to a current league-high of 109 (Oct. 2, 2021 – present).
His streak is a Quakes record and fifth-longest in MLS history. Goalkeeper Luis Robles holds the league record with 183 straight appearances from Sept. 29, 2012 to May 12, 2018 with the New York Red Bulls.
— Overall, San Jose was outscored by 37 goals this season, tied with New England for the largest goal differential in the league.