San Jose – The San Jose Earthquakes remain unbeaten in May, but Saturday night’s 3-3 draw against the Houston Dynamo at PayPal Park came with mixed emotions, and some tired legs.
Substitute forward Preston Judd ignited a stunning three-goal surge within a 10-minute span to erase a two-goal deficit. However, Houston’s Griffin Dorsey leveled the match in stoppage time, halting San Jose’s comeback bid and leaving both the Earthquakes and the home crowd at PayPal Park feeling frustrated.
“I’m not ready to have a parade in downtown San Jose,” Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena said. “We should have had three points.”
The draw extends the Earthquakes (5-6-4,19 points) unbeatenstreak to seven matches across all competitions, posting a 4-0-3 through the first seven games of a grueling nine-match stretch in May.
“Nine matches in a month is tough on anybody,” said Judd. “It shows the depth we have. A lot of guys are rotating in and out, and we’re still getting results.”
Judd, who entered the match in the 64th minute, pulled San Jose within one just two minutes later with a sharp near-post finish off a cross from DeJuan Jones. He then netted the equalizer in the 72nd minute, heading in a well-placed ball from Ian Harkes. Defender Daniel Munie gave the Earthquakes a 3-2 lead in the 76th minute with a header, his first career MLS goal, also assisted by Harkes.
However, Dorsey’s 91st-minute strike, which deflected off defender Dave Romney, silenced the crowd and salvaged a point for the Dynamo (4-6-5).
“The result feels like a loss,” Judd said. “But it’s a learning moment. We know we’re always in the game.”
San Jose had several opportunities to open the scoring in the first half. Josef Martínez nearly found the net in the opening minutes off a pass from Cristian Espinoza, but his effort was denied by Dynamo goalkeeper Jonathan Bond. Martínez had another chance 15 minutes later, but sent his shot over the crossbar.
Houston struck first in the 31st minute with a goal from Ezequiel Ponce, capitalizing on a defensive breakdown by the Earthquakes. The Dynamo doubled their lead early in the second half with a goal from Felipe Andrade.
San Jose’s furious comeback echoed the spirit of past Earthquakes teams known for late-match heroics, most notably the 2012 Supporters’ Shield-winning “Goonies” squad, which famously adopted the “never say die” mantra.
“I think we’re trying to build that kind of culture,” Judd said. “We were down 2-0 and nobody stopped believing.”
Judd’s brace marked his first two MLS goals of the season. He previously tallied a goal and an assist in U.S. Open Cup play earlier this year.
San Jose wraps up its marathon month with a road match against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, followed by a trip to face St. Louis City SC on Saturday. The Earthquakes will then enjoy a bye week to start June before traveling to face the Portland Timbers ahead of the MLS pause for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, both of which will be hosted in the United States.
“We’ve got to step up and get it right,” said Arena. “Then we’ll take the break and hopefully be ready for the second half of the season.”
Photo by SJE/X
