Chivas USA Defeat San Jose 2-0

Second half goals by Ben Zemanski and Nick LaBrocca powered Chivas USA past the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night. Chivas got a much-needed win that helps on multiple fronts. Obviously the three points are useful in moving up the standings, and keeping hopes of a playoff berth alive. They got two goals on the night, so the offense was able to open up a bit of a gap to put away the match, and the buildup on both goals was really terrific. The team got a win at home and are possibly starting to put together a necessary advantage at the Home Depot Center. Finally, and perhaps most important for the team psyche, the defense put up a clean sheet, their first since June 4 against Portland. All in all, it was a great result for the Goats.

Perhaps the biggest change in the lineup for this match was Victor Estupiñan starting up top in place of Marcos Mondaini. The 2011 SuperDraft pick made headlines for boasting he would score 30 goals this season, but has hardly seen the field prior to this match. All in all, I think he had a good game, especially in the first half when he worked hard for chances and tracked back to get the ball. Chivas controlled the game in the first half, and held 64% possession in the first 45 minutes. There were some half chances for the Goats, but San Jose had a couple of good chances against the run of play, including a long-distance shot by Chris Wondolowski that was easily saved by Dan Kennedy and another long-distance shot by Steven Lenhart that had Kennedy beaten but went just wide of the goal.

At the start of the second half, both teams looked focused, and San Jose controlled the game in the early minutes, controlling possession and producing good buildup play in the offensive third. But Chivas were able to disrupt their passing lanes enough to mess up their rhythm, and really took the wind out of the Quakes following Zemanski’s goal in the 64th minute. Zemanski shot from about 30 yards, and the ball bent past Jon Busch for a goal of the week contender. Zemanski had been substituted into the game minutes earlier, so kudos go to Coach Robin Fraser for making the switch. Following the opening goal, Chivas settled into a defensive mindset to prevent San Jose from knotting the score. Fraser replaced Blair Gavin with Francisco “Panchito” Mendoza as a tactical switch to defense, but Mendoza proved he was handy on the attack as well. His pass to LaBrocca at the edge of the box was perfect, and set up LaBrocca for the second goal of the night, in the 84th minute. The two-goal lead really took the remaining fight out of San Jose and Chivas were able to close the game with a clean sheet.

As I noted in my preview for this match, after Chivas beat the Earthquakes on April 23, they really turned in a solid month of strong performances before dropping off. Let’s hope this win will kickstart another run of good form, perhaps without the setbacks. The Goats will not have much time to savor the victory, as they are playing again on Saturday against Sporting Kansas City. We’ll see if they can keep some momentum going in that match.

(image courtesy of Juan Miranda/Chivas USA)