SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It took them more than a month without a victory, but the San Jose Earthquakes might have found the secret to winning: More Clarence Goodson goals.
Goodson banged home a 53rd-minute header off the post to give the Quakes a 1-0 win against the Colorado Rapids on Friday night. San Jose snapped a six-game winless streak that stretched back to June 27 -- the day Goodson scored his first league goal for the Quakes, as part of a 3-1 triumph against LA Galaxy.
Goodson cashed in after Quincy Amarikwa latched onto a post-free-kick loose ball inside Colorado’s area, then scooped a cross to the far post. The 6-foot-4 Goodson outjumped his 6-foot-5 marker, Bobby Burling, and left goalkeeper Clint Irwin with no chance.
San Jose (8-10-5), who’ve only lost once at home since April 5, moved into an eighth-place tie with Real Salt Lake, and now lurk three points behind sixth-place Seattle.
Colorado (5-9-9) failed to win on the road against the Quakes for a 12th time in their last 13 visits, and fell farther behind at the bottom of the Western Conference table. The Rapids missed their opportunity to climb out of last place (with a win) for the first time since March.
New signings debuted on both sides of the ball. Honduran international Maynor Figueroa and Irish international Sean St. Ledger formed the left side of Colorado’s back line. For San Jose, Panamanian international Anibal Godoy -- who arrived in the Bay Area barely 10 hours before kickoff -- started at defensive midfielder.
The Quakes also got Matias Perez Garcia and Goodson back from injury, but their good health didn’t last long. Perez Garcia looked gimpy for a majority of the first half, and eventually was replaced by Marc Pelosi in the 50th minute.
Making matters worse, left back Jordan Stewart sustained a non-contact injury on 25 minutes. Stewart tried to change direction but fell immediately and grabbed at his lower leg. A team spokesman said only that the 33-year-old suffered a “left ankle injury,” and did not rule out a potential Achilles rupture.
San Jose had both of the game’s shots on goal in the first half. Irwin parried Amarikwa’s rebound attempt in the 22nd minute and grabbed Goodson’s flick header in the 30th.
St. Ledger did well to snuff out Shea Salinas’ shot off a 1-2 with Amarikwa in the 42nd minute, but Colorado couldn’t hold out all night.
Dillon Powers nearly caught San Jose out in the 52nd. Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham came off his line to play a long entry pass, but floated too deep on it, leaving the door open for Powers to sneak in with a flashing header. But the shot crashed off the crossbar, and San Jose broke through in the following minute.
Powers forced a save with another header in the 71st minute, but the Rapids didn’t seriously threaten again, allowing Bingham to move into a tie for fourth in the league with seven shutouts on the season.
