RSL gets 'Goonie'-ed at San Jose


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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Everyone knew it was coming. It's happened so many times, it's become cliche — even a point of laughter around Major League Soccer.

Goonies never say die — the unofficial mantra that has become so connected with the San Jose Earthquakes that the team had it printed on the collar of its 2014 jerseys.

But it happened again.

Real Salt Lake scored three goals in the first half, including rookie midfielder Luke Mulholland's first in his MLS career, but couldn't hold on as San Jose's Victor Bernardez tallied a second-half brace to rescue a point for the home team Saturday.

Maybe there really is something to this "Goonies" thing, after all.

“We played very well," RSL forward Joao Plata said after the match. "Unfortunately, we couldn’t win, but we didn’t lose, either. Ultimately we are content because we realize it was a result on the road against a dangerous team in San Jose. We couldn’t get three points tonight, so we now shift our attention to getting three points next week.”

The Earthquakes struck first on the back of Chris Wondolowski's goal in the sixth minute. The U.S. international forward slotted home a close-range shot off a buildup by Bernardez and Shea Salinas in the opening stanza that found its way past RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

But for the next 40 minutes, momentum swung all in Salt Lake's favor. First it was a striking blast from the left foot of midfielder Kyle Beckerman, followed by a goal from Plata in the 32nd minute that required a fake to slip past San Jose keeper John Busch. Finally, English newcomer Mulholland — playing in the first start of his MLS career after RSL held out midfielder Javier Morales — finished off the scoring with an unassisted blast in first-half stoppage time.

In the second half, Real Salt Lake backed off from its dominating possession-oriented style and began to play more direct soccer — a style that suited the Earthquakes just fine.

"I think that if we were a little better with possession, and more sustained on attacks, we could have taken the air out of this game early on," RSL head coach Jeff Cassar said. "After they started applying pressure, applying balls in the box, they started gaining momentum, and it’s tough to get it back when they start rolling like that."

Bernardez pulled one back in the 75th minute, shortly after Salt Lake pulled starting center back Aaron Maund with an injury for Carlos Salcedo. The veteran defender headed home a Shea Salinas corner kick to bring the home team within a goal.

After adding five minutes of stoppage time, the 'Quakes looked for "Goonie time" to even the score. Bernardez jumped onto a rebound amidst a mad scramble in the box, and with the game's final play pushed it over the line and past Rimando for the game-tying marker.

“It was a corner that [Alan] Gordon flicked my way with his head," Bernardez said of the equalizer. "I anticipated the ball bouncing my direction, so I adjusted my body to play the deflection. I am just blessed to have been put in a position today to score two goals which my team absolutely needed to get a tie at home.”

With the draw, RSL moved to 7-7-6 all-time against San Jose — including a 4-4-2 record in the Bay Area. San Jose also extended its unbeaten run at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., to 21 matches across all competitions — a streak that began shortly after RSL's 2-0 win in the 2013 season opener.

The Earthquakes were playing four days after nabbing a 1-1 home draw with Liga MX side Toluca in CONCACAF Champion's League play. San Jose will return to Champion's League action Wednesday at Toluca in the concluding leg of that series.

RSL next moves to Rio Tinto Stadium to open its home campaign Saturday against the L.A. Galaxy. That match kicks off at 2 p.m. MDT and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.


Sean Walker is a Newhouse graduate from Syracuse University and longtime soccer guy. Follow him on Twitter, @GoaldotSean.

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