Cristian Espinoza, Chris Wondolowski on target as San Jose downs Chicago
Cristian Espinoza and Chris Wondolowski each recorded second-half goals and the San Jose Earthquakes beat the Chicago Fire 2-0 to win Group B of the MLS is Back Tournament on Sunday night.
After a rather uneventful first half, it was the Earthquakes who woke up and took control of the match. With the victory, San Jose went 2-0-1 to win the group and advance to the knockout stage of this World Cup-style tournament held at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.
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One of the league's better playmakers, a perfectly-positioned Espinoza proved himself as a finisher in the 56th minute on Sunday. He took a brilliant one-touch pass from Jackson Yueill and beat Chicago keeper Kenneth Kronholm from straight-away to score his first goal since April 2019. An unmarked Wondolowski, fresh in as a sub, then snapped a header off a pass from Carlos Fierro in the 83rd minute to increase his MLS-record career goal total to 161.
Chicago, meanwhile, was unable to build on its 2-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders in the tournament opener. However, the Fire, with three points on the event, could still find their way into the knockout round with one game remaining -- against Vancouver -- on Thursday morning.
San Jose received the game's first true chance via a Chicago giveaway within the first three minutes. However, Judson's attempt from the top of the box went directly into the diving body of Kronholm.
The Fire had their moments of pressure in the first half. Some decent chances transpired, most notably a soft, but close strike from Luka Stojanovic in the 36th minute. Stojanovic also went high of the crossbar three minutes later.
Stojanovic would leave shortly before the half with an apparent leg issue.
Chicago again had some moments of opportunity in the second half, but none that seriously challenged Daniel Vega (three saves) in the San Jose net.
