Kelvin Yeboah scored a brace in Minnesota United’s lopsided 5-1 win over the host San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
The rout ended a nine-match (0-4-5) winless drought for Minnesota in regular-season play, and continued the Loons’ longstanding dominance over the Earthquakes. Minnesota United are 9-1-4 in their last 14 regular-season matches with San Jose, dating back to the 2019 season.
Joaquin Pereyra had a goal and two assists in Minnesota’s highest-scoring performance of the season. Marcus Caldeira and Mauricio Gonzalez scored the other goals, and Owen Gene and Kyle Duncan each had two assists.
The Loons (7-7-7, 28 points) entered Saturday’s action ranked 28th of 30 teams in goals, with just 22 tallies in 20 matches before the outburst in San Jose.
The Earthquakes (10-8-3, 33 points) are 0-5-1 in their last six matches, and have been outscored 18-5 during the winless drought. After beginning the regular season with a 9-1-0 record, San Jose has since gone 1-7-3 in its last 11 league matches.
Timo Werner’s sixth goal of the season accounted for San Jose’s only score. Werner also left in the 57th minute after sustaining an apparent leg injury.
The ugly result came after a promising start for the Earthquakes. Loons defender Jefferson Diaz was called for a handball in the box, and Werner converted the penalty kick in the fourth minute.
Minnesota responded to the early deficit with a slick equalizer from Pereyra six minutes later. Pereyra made a canny cross-legged kick in the box to tuck the ball inside the far post for his third goal of the season.
Yeboah’s first goal put the Loons ahead in the 40th minute. Yeboah did a good job of corralling a pass just inside the box, and then converted his right-footed shot.
Just four minutes later, Gene set Yeboah up with a nice pass in the box and the striker got the finish for his team-leading 10th goal.
The breakdowns continued for San Jose in the 65th minute when Caldeira capitalized on a turnover deep in the Earthquakes’ end of the field. It was the first MLS goal for the 21-year-old Caldeira, who was playing in just his fourth regular-season MLS match.
Minnesota United made it a fifth unanswered goal in the 86th minute when Gonzalez headed in a re-directed corner kick.
–Field Level Media
