San Jose vs Salt Lake: late goal earns 1-1 draw
Key takeaways
- Jack Jasinski scored late in stoppage time. His goal gave San Jose a 1-1 draw at Real Salt Lake.
- The draw kept San Jose unbeaten in eight straight league games. It also kept the team in fourth place in the West.
- Real Salt Lake led late but lost two points. The club started the day in 11th place in the West.
San Jose and Real Salt Lake drew 1-1 on Wednesday night. Jack Jasinski scored late to save a point for San Jose. The game took place at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
Real Salt Lake led 1-0 until the final minutes. Then Jasinski struck in stoppage time.
Stoppage time means extra minutes added at the end of a half. The referee adds time for pauses in play. Those pauses include injuries, subs, and delays.
Jasinski scored in that extra time. His goal was an equalizer. An equalizer is a goal that ties the score.
What happened
The first half ended with no goals. Both teams had chances but could not score. San Jose keeper Angus Gunn made key saves.
Real Salt Lake keeper Rafael Cabral stayed sharp too. The game stayed tight and tense.
Real Salt Lake broke through in the 79th minute. Luc de Fougerolles scored the first goal of the night. Juan Manuel Sanabria passed him the ball in the box.
De Fougerolles drove a low shot into the corner. It was his first goal in MLS. It was only his second MLS game.
The goal looked like a winner for the home team. Real Salt Lake had pushed hard all night. The home side outshot San Jose 22-16, according to Field Level Media.
It also held an 8-2 edge in shots on target. A shot on target means a shot that would score without a save.
But San Jose refused to give up. The visitors kept pushing in the final minutes. Then came the big moment.
Sanabria failed to clear a ball in front of the net. Jasinski waited as the ball dropped. He smashed a right-footed volley into the left side of the net.
The goal tied the game at 1-1.
Jasinski came off the bench in the 59th minute. He is a defender by trade. Yet he scored his second goal in 16 MLS games.
The goal came in the final minute of stoppage time. It stunned the home crowd. It gave San Jose a point on the road.
Gunn finished the night with six saves. Cabral made one save for Real Salt Lake. De Fougerolles left the field soon after his goal.
He needed help to reach the locker room. His coach Pablo Mastroeni said the injury did not look good. The team had no clear update yet.
Fans will wait for news on his health.
The late finish is why this game trended in US searches. Fans wanted the score and the scorer. They also wanted to know what the draw meant.
The answer is simple. One point kept San Jose rolling. It also hurt Real Salt Lake.
Why it matters
An unbeaten run means a team has not lost in several games in a row. San Jose has now gone eight league games without a loss. The run includes three wins and five draws.
That stretch has kept San Jose near the top of the West. The team sits in fourth place in the Western Conference. It has 47 points from a 13-8-8 record.
The point also mattered for the playoff race. The playoffs are the end-of-season games that decide the champion. Only the top teams in each conference reach them.
San Jose needed a win and some help to clinch a spot. To clinch means to lock in a place for good. The draw did not clinch it.
But it kept the push alive. San Jose still controls its own fate.
Coach Bruce Arena had stressed the value of each point. He spoke before the game to beIN SPORTS. He said "every point we get is going to be critical.
" His team proved his point on the night. A late point on the road is a strong result. It keeps the gap to the teams below.
For Real Salt Lake, the draw felt like a loss. The team started the day in 11th place in the West. A win would have given it three points.
A draw gives only one point. The gap to the playoff line stayed wide. The team has now gone 1-10-5 in its past 16 MLS games.
That run has stalled its season.
The result also fits a wider MLS pattern. Late goals have shaped several games this week. The LAFC vs Austin FC playoff stakes show how tight the West race has become.
The Seattle Sounders vs FC Dallas showdown is one more game with big playoff weight. The LA Galaxy beat Portland 2-0 in the other late MLS result. Every point now counts.
What happens next
San Jose hosts Nashville SC on Saturday. That game is another big test. Nashville is one of the top teams in the league.
A win would push San Jose closer to a playoff spot. A loss would slow the run. The home crowd will expect a fast start.
Real Salt Lake travels to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. The team needs points in a hurry. It must fix its late-game lapses.
It must also check on de Fougerolles. His injury could hurt the defense. His first two games showed real promise.
The playoff race will stay tight to the end. San Jose has six games left in the regular season. Each one is a chance to bank points.
The Earthquakes have shown they can score late. They have also shown they can hold firm under pressure. That mix makes them hard to beat.
Watch for one more thing. San Jose has been strong on the road this season. The draw in Utah added one more road point.
Road points are points won away from home. They often decide close playoff races. If San Jose keeps picking them up, the playoffs will come into view.
The late goal in Utah may look even bigger in a few weeks.
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