It was a soggy night at Red Bull Arena this evening as a steady downpour fell through most of the match. The San Jose Earthquakes are no strangers to wet slippery conditions, but the New York Red Bulls proved to be too much, getting the win by a score of 3-0.
New York dominated this match from the opening whistle, running all over the Quakes and attacking early. Luke Rodgers had never had an MLS goal until tonight, but broke out for two early scores against a struggling San Jose squad. His first came in the first minute of the game off of a corner kick, burying a header into the middle of the net past a diving Jon Busch. His second came in the 14th minute after Thiery Henry stole the ball, and found a wide open Rodgers in front of the goal, knocking it into the bottom left corner. As for Thiery Henry his goal drought of 600+ minutes of game time ended tonight, heading in a Luke Rodgers cross in the 86th minute. The Red Bulls had 2 goals in their first four games, but matched it tonight in 15 minutes, and then some.
San Jose couldn't get anything going tonight, taking only 5 shots on goal, and only one on target. New York dominated the possession as well, keeping the Quakes on their heels all night, never allowing them to build momentum.
Brandon McDonald received a yellow card in the 55th minute for the Quakes, while Dwayne de Rosario and Luke Rodgers were carded for the Red Bulls in the 33rd and 55th minutes respectively.
With the loss it moves San Jose to 1-2-2 for the season with 5 points, 7 behind the leading Real Salt Lake in the West. Next up for the Quakes is Chivas USA next saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
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