The San Jose Earthquakes extended their rip-roaring summer exploits on Saturday, sweeping aside the Colorado Rapids 3-1 at Avaya Stadium for their eighth win in their last 11 MLS matches.
Brimming with the confidence of a team that's lost only once in their last 10 league games, the Quakes raced out of the gates, taking the lead less than two minutes in via a Lalas Abubakar own goal. Facing his own net with Chris Wondolowski lurking behind him at the back post, the Rapids center back could not deal with a low, driven cross by Cristian Espinoza as it caromed off the outside of his right foot past Clint Irwin.
Half an hour later Vako doubled the lead with a twinkled-toed solo effort after some hard work in the corner by Nick Lima, who found the Georgian international in the penalty box and watched as he turned Keegan Rosenberry inside-out before curling a fine finish inside the far post for his third goal in as many games.
Shea Salinas rose from the bench to grace the match with a lovely run and finish, cutting in from the left flank and swerving past a few defenders before rolling a simple tap-in past Irwin. Diego Rubio answered with a deflected late strike for the Rapids after a strong endline run from Jonathan Lewis, but it was too little, too late to be anything more than a consolation.
Goals
- 2' – SJ – Lalas Abubakar (OG)
- 34' – SJ – Vako
- 83' – SJ – Shea Salinas
- 88' – COL – Diego Rubio
Next Up
- COL: Saturday, August 3 vs Montreal (7:00 PM MT | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; TVAS in Canada)
