Union Fall To San Jose 1-0
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Shea Salinas scored in the 15th minute and the San Jose Earthquakes held on to beat the Philadelphia Union 1-0 on Sunday night.
Sam Cronin had the assist for the Earthquakes (10-11-7), who won their sixth consecutive home match.
Goalkeeper Zac MacMath made four saves for the Union (10-9-9) and the defense kept the game close, turning away more than a dozen attempts on goal.
Earthquakes midfielder Rafael Baca was given a second yellow card, forcing San Jose to play a man down for the final 33 minutes.
The Union remained in fourth place in the Eastern Conference while the Earthquakes stayed in eighth in the West.
San Jose, five points out of a postseason berth, missed a chance to add to its lead in the 62nd minute when it appeared Philadelphia's Brian Carroll had a ball hit his right shoulder and then run down his arm in the penalty box.
Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch, who also had four saves, kept the Union off the scoreboard with an impressive save in the 79th minute. He also punched Carroll's shot clear in the 89th.
Philadelphia, which managed a 12-6 edge in attempts on goal in the second half, had several opportunities to tie the score during at least five minutes of stoppage time.
Even without Baca, the Earthquakes managed to keep the pressure on, creating several scoring chances.
Philadelphia, which had possession of the ball for nearly 75 percent of the final 25 minutes, attempted its first corner kick in the 83rd minute. San Jose had a 16-2 advantage in corners.
The Union have been shutout in three of their last four matches and fell to 4-6-4 on the road.
San Jose had a 10-3 edge in attempts on goal and a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks in the first half.
