The visiting Earthquakes were unable to crack Minnesota’s defense. United’s Luis Amarilla goal in the 32nd minute held up for the 1-0 victory.
For the game, Minnesota had thirteen shots, five on goal. San Jose mustered only six shots, with none on target.
San Jose was also dealt a setback with Chofis being unable to take the field after getting injured during pre-game warmups.
“Chofis felt some pain during warmups, and we decided to not risk him and not play him,” explained coach Matias Almeyda after the game. “Our game plan changed a little bit. In the beginning of the game, we had two goal-scoring opportunities and we didn’t put them away. We knew they could hurt us with [Luis] Amarilla, where they looked for him a lot with their crosses and that’s how they scored. After they went up, we still couldn’t find our groove. It was one of the worst starts that we’ve had. We’re not creating even half the goal-scoring opportunities we have created in previous seasons. We’ve had control over each match [this season], but we should’ve had more control higher up on the pitch.”
Due to the international break San Jose now has two weeks off to regroup before playing Austin FC at PayPal Park on April 2nd.
“The reality is that we still haven’t found our formula, we haven’t found our way,” added Almeyda. “We’re a really fragile team because they scored in their first and second attack. We didn’t put our chances away, so it becomes difficult that way.”
