San Jose Earthquakes vs Orlando City match recap: Wondolowski keeps Avaya Stadium unbeaten streak alive with late goal in 1-1 draw

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A sleepy midweek encounter between the San Jose Earthquakes and Orlando City SC ended in a 1-1 draw Wednesday night, as a Chris Wondolowski goal answered one from Carlos Rivas late in the second half.

For Rivas, it was his second of the campaign, and it momentarily silenced the capacity crowd at Avaya Stadium. But two minutes later, Wondolowski collected his fifth goal of the season off an assist from Tommy Thompson to share the spoils. For Thompson, it was his first point of any kind in his four-year MLS career.

“It's been a long time coming, but I'm glad it fell to Wondo tonight,” said Thompson. “I'm hoping to build on that and get more assists moving forward. There have been a couple of opportunities where I thought I would get an assist, but soccer isn't always fair.”

A stoppage time from goalkeeper David Bingham on a breakaway attempt from Brazilian legend Kaka kept the score at one apiece, as the Quakes stretched their unbeaten streak at Avaya Stadium to eight games (4-0-4) going back to last season. Still, it was another lost opportunity to secure three points at home.

“I thought this was the first game at home that we haven't put a solid attacking performance,” said head coach Dominic Kinnear. “We just couldn't get going. I think we were a little bit off all over the field, in the attacking areas, I think it was just an off night for us.”

It was the third time the two clubs have faced off in MLS, and it was the third straight draw in the series.

San Jose (4-4-4) earned its first chance of the night in the 18th minute, when a well placed ball over the top from Anibal Godoy was tracked down by Kofi Sarkodie on the left flank. The defender carried the ball the endline before whipping a cross into the area that Wondolowski one-touched over the target — and over the TCL 4K Bar in the process.

Orlando (6-3-2) answered seconds later as Cyle Larin forced David Bingham into an expert save on a cross goal header. For the Quakes ‘keeper, it was one of his best saves of the season.

Jahmir Hyka nearly broke the deadlock with an expert free kick from the top of the box in the 26th minute that Joe Bendik helped over the crossbar. The resulting corner kick saw the Quakes come close again, but the Lions defense scrambled the ball away from danger.

OCSC had their turn to test the crossbar in the 32nd minute when Victor “PC” Giro blistered a shot that had Bingham beat. But as the ball caromed high into the San Jose sky, the Avaya Stadium crowd let out a collective sigh of relief.

The second half was played out in the middle of the pitch, with neither side finding much space in the attacking third. Orlando was first to make changes, bringing in Kaka and Rivas in the 63rd minute. The Quakes countered two minutes later with Darwin Ceren and Danny Hoesen.

The substitutions paid dividends for the visitors, as in the 81st minute Kaka found PC with space on the wing. He swung a cross to the penalty spot for Rivas to redirect past Bingham into the corner of the net, giving Orlando a one goal lead.

San Jose was down, but not out, and with their last substitution, they brought in Tommy Thompson. His first touch, a ball into the mixer, was stabbed home by Wondolowski at the post to level the score at one goal apiece.

In stoppage time, the Lions nearly stole a victory when Kaka received the ball on the break with acres of space. As he made his move into the area, Bingham stood tall, and the Quakes ‘keeper preserved the draw with a reaction kick save. It would be the last scoring opportunity for either side, as a minute later the final whistle was blown on the 1-1 draw.