A wild day of gaffes, debuts and near records ended with the San Jose Earthquakes and FC Dallas each taking a point at Avaya Stadium as they drew 2-2.
The afternoon did not get off to a great start for the Quakes, as goalkeeper Daniel Vega had one of the biggest blunders you will ever see in a soccer match. Florian Jungwirth played an easy pass to Vega in the 27th minute, who let the ball pass through his legs and over the line to gift wrap a 1-0 lead for Dallas.
The Quakes came out of the locker room with something to prove and Chris Wondolowski again provided the scoring punch for his team. The MLS Goal King placed a volley past Jimmy Maurer in the 46th minute to score his eighth goal in the past four matches. Magnus Eriksson gave his team the lead shortly after, when he stung a shot that appeared to get blocked off the line by Matt Hedges. But after Video Review, it was clear that the ball crossed the line. Eriksson's goal broke a streak that saw Wondolowski score eight-straight goals for San Jose, denying the forward a chance to break his record of scoring 10 consecutive goals scored by one player for one team.
San Jose looked set to get three more points, but Francis Atuahene had other ideas on his MLS debut. The No. 4 pick in the 2018 SuperDraft entered the match in the 64th minute and 42 seconds later scored his first MLS goal. On his 22nd birthday, the forward curled a shot to the far corner with the outside of his foot from an acute angle. It is not the fastest goal by a debutante in MLS history, as Alhaji Kamara scored 33 seconds after entering his first MLS match for D.C. United back in 2016.
Goals
- 27' — DAL — Daniel Vega (OG) | WATCH
- 46' — SJ — Chris Wondolowski | WATCH
- 54' — SJ — Magnus Eriksson | WATCH
- 65' — DAL — Francis Atuahene | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: This has to feel like two points dropped for San Jose and fingers will likely be pointed at Vega, who had one of the gaffes of the year and whose positioning was less than ideal on Atuahene's equalizer. Dallas will likely be happy to come away with a point given all the players they are missing due to injuries and international duty.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Though a lot happened after it, it has to be Vega's mistake. It set the tone for the rest of the match.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Eriksson was involved in both Quakes goals and was the most dangerous attacker in the match.
Next Up
- SJ: Tuesday, June 11 vs. Sacramento Republic FC (10:30 pm ET; ESPN+ in US) | U.S. Open Cup
- DAL: Wednesday, June 12 at OKC Energy FC (8 pm ET; ESPN+ in US) | U.S. Open Cup
