You could say perseverance plays a part in almost any goal.
San Jose Earthquakes forward Adam Jahn might have taken that idea to its extreme, however.
Jahn, who scored four goals in his first nine MLS matches as a rookie in 2013, tallied for the first time in almost two full years to provide the only goal in San Jose’s 1-0 road victory over the Houston Dynamo on Tuesday. It was a just reward for 90 minutes spent harrying the Dynamo defense – and an even better repayment of a 2014 spent mostly on loan with USL side Sacramento Republic FC.
“Props to Adam,” Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham said on the CSN Bay Area broadcast. “He ran probably more than anyone on the field tonight, and he deserves all the credit for the game-winning goal.”
Jahn was one of three Quakes who broke free in the 54th minute as San Jose surprised Houston’s defense with a quickly struck free kick. Matias Perez Garcia’s curling ball from the right wing found the head of Jahn, who was flanked by Clarence Goodson and JJ Koval, and the 24-year-old tucked it smartly inside the near post past helpless goalkeeper Tyler Deric.
“We’ve had that in the back of our head,” Jahn told reporters at BBVA Compass Stadium. “It’s the second half, and guys are tired. Not everyone’s alert, and we caught them off guard.”
In fact, the play unfolded so quickly – Shea Salinas placing the ball down for Garcia to strike almost immediately after referee Ricardo Salazar’s whistle – that San Jose coach Dominic Kinnear didn’t even catch it live.
“I was actually talking to the referee about something, and then I heard the bench celebrating,” said Kinnear, who made a winning return after nine seasons at the helm of the Dynamo. “If they see it, it’s available, do it. I’m not going to complain. You obviously want to try to do that, maybe catch some teams off guard. Sometimes you get a chance to do it, sometimes you don’t, but it’s up to the guys on the ball.”
Jahn, who was pressed into service during his first professional season after injuries to forwards Alan Gordon and Steven Lenhart, hadn’t scored since beating Toronto FC keeper Joe Bendik on May 8, 2013, a stretch of 1,129 minutes. He did score seven times in 18 starts for Sacramento last year, and was a force during preseason for the Quakes after noticeably bulking up over the winter. But he had been mostly used as a reserve in 2015; Tuesday represented just his third start in nine matches.
Jahn could be in line for more minutes, however. Fellow target men Lenhart and Mark Sherrod have not made an appearance all year due to injuries, and Designated Player Innocent did not appear Tuesday after suffering a left knee injury in the Quakes’ 1-1 tie at Real Salt Lake last Friday.
“Personally, it’s great for me, but … it’s all about the team,” Jahn said. “We got the win, that’s the most important thing.”
