The San Jose Earthquakes played spoiler in Cade Cowell’s hometown return as their 1-1 penalty shootout victory over Chivas Guadalajara continued Major League Soccer’s domination of LIGA MX teams early in the 2024 Leagues Cup.
The 50,675 fans in attendance at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday night set a Leagues Cup record with Chivas fans traveling from across Northern California to create a home atmosphere in the Bay Area along with Earthquakes fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their former star.
Despite Cowell’s clear intention to make an impact on the match for Chivas by nearly scoring in an attempt to take on the entire Quakes defense with his first touch of the match, creative winger Cristian Espinoza and striker Jeremy Ebobisse starred for the MLS side in the first half.
Seven minutes after kickoff, Espinoza served a pinpoint cross onto Ebobisse’s head to give the Quakes an early lead which they would not relinquish despite mounting intensity from Chivas throughout the half. Beyond the goal, the attacking pair continued causing the LIGA MX side issues in transition and through the dynamic pressing throughout the opening half.
After the break, El Rebaño Sagrado continually increased their pressure minute-by-minute as they pushed for a leveler. Just when it looked like San Jose was going to hold on thanks to a strong performance from center-back Rodrigues, Chivas’ Armando González hit the post in the 95th minute as a precursor to Roberto “Piojo” Alvarado’s 98th-minute equalizer to secure a point and send the match to penalty kicks.
Immediately putting the lost clean sheet out of his mind, Earthquakes goalkeeper Daniel — one of Major League Soccer’s best goalkeepers last season, making his first appearance since March 16 after recovering from hamstring surgery — saved the first penalty of the shootout from Alvardo. When Paul Marie missed his second-round penalty for the Earthquakes, however, his side needed one more stop.
Ironically, Cowell provided his former club with the moment of luck they craved when the 20-year-old missed his penalty to give the shootout lead back to San Jose.
Soon after, Vitor Costa slotted home the winning kick to snatch two points for San Jose.
With their opening Leagues Cup victory, the Quakes created an exciting opportunity for themselves to find success in an otherwise difficult MLS season. San Jose will now aim to ensure advancement into the knockout rounds when they close the group stage on Wednesday back at their typical PayPal Park home against bitter rivals LA Galaxy.
