The San José Earthquakes were defeated 1-0 by Seattle Sounders FC in a nail-biting finish, giving the Earthquakes their first loss of the season on Sunday. 

The final 10 minutes, including eight minutes of stoppage time, featured an intense push by the Earthquakes to find an opportunity to tie the game. 

But Seattle’s defense prevented San José from scoring, as Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas had seven saves in the shutout against the Earthquakes.

Although San José had eight shots on goal, doubling Seattle’s four, the Earthquakes struggled to find the right opportunity to shoot. 

In the 20th minute, Seattle midfielder Paul Rothrock scored the first and only goal on a fast break.

The Earthquakes had 17 corner kicks, and each time San José either overshot, missed an open player or mishandled a pass, resulting in a clearance by Seattle.

Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena said Sunday’s game was a part of the team’s growth. 

“Those are guys that made plays, and there’s a difference in the game,” Arena said. “We had guys in position to do the same, but didn’t get it done.”

In the offseason, San José signed forward Timo Werner, bringing experience and speed to the team. Werner played the entire game. 

Arena defended Werner’s involvement, emphasizing that he was brought in to contribute on the field, not sit on the bench.

“Why do you think he’s here?” Arena said. “He went 90 minutes and we did a good job. He’s here to play.” 

The Earthquakes led across the board in possessions, shots, pass accuracy and blocked shots. 

Seattle finished with more fouls and yellow cards than San José, which should have given the Earthquakes a chance to turn the tide and score. But those opportunities fell short, either from passing the ball instead of shooting or missing a pass.

Seattle did score again late in the game, but a challenge by San José overturned the call because the play was offside. 

The 11 fouls by the Sounders resulted in free kicks for the Earthquakes. Some opportunities came close, but were saved by Thomas or blocked by other players. 

The Earthquakes did build some momentum throughout the game, with multiple breakaways that exploited uneven coverage in attempts to tie the match.

However, momentum was not on San José’s side because of the strong defense played by the Sounders. 

One potential momentum shift came in the 74th minute when striker Preston Judd got past Thomas on a breakaway, but the shot was saved at the line by defender Antino Lopez.

This was the closest San José came to scoring.

In the first half, the Earthquakes struggled to stay on the offensive. The second half was the opposite, as San José put more pressure on Seattle in its own zone with more physical play around the ball. 

The Earthquakes are a young team and are still working to find their stride as the season has just begun.

The Earthquakes and the Sounders are now 3-1-0.

San José captain Ronaldo Vieira spoke about the team’s performance on both sides of the field.  

“I think frustration kicks in at some point when you have that many chances and we don’t score, but we’re a fairly young team and we have to capitalize,” Vieira said.

The Earthquakes will hit the road to try and make up for the loss when they face Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m.