CARSON, Calif. (AP) — JT Marcinkowski had a career-high eight saves, Cristian Espinoza and Jeremy Ebobisse scored first-half goals one minute apart and the San Jose Earthquakes held off the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Espinoza scored on a penalty kick in the 13th minute for his fifth goal of the season. Ebobisse followed with his 11th and defender Marcos López scored his first goal of the season to stake San Jose (5-7-7, 22 points) to a 3-0 lead in the 40th minute.
The Quakes have now won consecutive road games against L.A. for the first time in club history and are 5-3-4 under interim manager Alex Covelo, who is reportedly in the running for the full-time job along with former Quakes, Galaxy and USMNT star Landon Donovan.
Dejan Joveljic finished with a second-half brace for the Galaxy (8-8-3, 27 points), scoring in the 48th and 88th minutes. He has eight goals this season.
“In the second half, they pushed us and we had JT come up with those amazing saves again today,” Covelo said after the match. “He is growing a lot and also we defended the box.”
The win helps the Quakes climb out of the Western Conference’s basement into 12th place, five points behind L.A. for the final playoff spot in the West. Covelo credited the Quakes’ players for showcasing “personality” in their play to earn the first road win in MLS play under Covelo, who took over in mid-April.
“I think the offensive transitions were sharp and people were decisive when it came time to make decisions,” Ebobisse said. “I don’t think our buildup in the first half was where it’s been in other games.”
The Galaxy outshot the Earthquakes 25-11 with a 10-4 edge in shots on goal, but Marcinkowski stood tall to preserve San Jose’s lead. Keeper Jonathan Bond stopped one shot for L.A.
The Quakes return home Sunday to face the Houston Dynamo.
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