Earthquakes miss massive chance to beat LA on Werner penalty kick

STANFORD – Timo Werner has delivered plenty of big moments during his first season with the San Jose Earthquakes.

But with a chance to author his biggest one yet in the California Clasico, the designated player came up empty.

Werner’s penalty kick in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time was saved by former Earthquakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski, forcing San Jose to settle for a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy before 43,026 fans Saturday night at Stanford Stadium.

The missed PK spoiled what had been a stirring second-half comeback in front of the seventh-largest crowd for an MLS match this season, and the second-largest that did not feature Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.

“Classic rivalry game,” said second-year Quakes coach Bruce Arena, who previously coached the Galaxy. “Would’ve been nice to walk off the field with the three points for sure. We played really hard in the second half. I’ve been in this league from the start … and this is the best rivalry in Major League Soccer. And it was demonstrated tonight, so credit to both teams.”

Despite letting two points slip away, San Jose (10-4-3, 33 points) remained tied atop the Western Conference with Vancouver (10-3-3) and LAFC (10-5-3), although the Quakes trail both clubs on goal difference.

Werner, a German international billed as the biggest signing in club history, earned MLS Player of the Month honors in April as the Quakes became the first team since 2000 to win nine of its first 10 games.

But the Quakes have now won just once in their last seven games, a streak that dates back to April 25 thanks in part to the two-month World Cup break.

“When we started the season, we were winning a lot of games, and in every interview we said the same thing: There’s no need to think we’re the best team in the world,” said Quakes striker Ousseni Bouda. “That mindset doesn’t change now. Just because we don’t win a game doesn’t mean we’re the worst team in the world either. It’s about taking it one game at a time, like we’ve always said. Whether we win, lose, or draw, we have to keep showing up, be the best version of ourselves, and carry that mentality through the second half of the season.”

Bouda, who starred at Stanford from 2019-2021, earned the penalty kick after being taken down in the box by Marcinkowski. He started at striker because Preston Judd, who leads all American-born players in the MLS with 11 goals, was sitting out due to yellow card accumulation, while recently signed Luka Jovanovic remained unavailable as he awaits his U.S. work permit after arriving from Australia’s A-League.

The Black and Blue have had four comeback wins in their previous 12 games against the Galaxy at Stanford, and Saturday’s game was looking to fall in the same pattern.

Joseph Painstil scored a counter-attack goal in the 13th minute for LA (5-7-6, 21 points), but San Jose dominated possession and outshot the Galaxy 19-9.

Werner did play a part in the equalizer, which came in the 63rd minute. He drew a foul just to the left of the box, and his ensuing free kick hit off Galaxy centerback Justin Haak and hit the crossbar. The ball was recycled back into the middle by Benji Kikanovic, and centerback Reid Roberts was at the far post to tap it in.

“I think the Galaxy were a little bit fatigued because we had a lot of the ball during the game, and over the last 20-30 minutes I thought you could see the difference,” Arena said. “We just had to execute better technically, play a little quicker in the final third to be able to put a little more pressure on them. And I think we were able to do that, although we walk away with only one goal, so that’s the difference in the outcome.”

Angus Gunn, who started for Scotland in the World Cup, made one save in his second game for the Quakes, but it was critical — a diving stop in the 83rd minute that prevented another counterattack goal from Paintsil. Marcinkowski made five saves for the Galaxy.

The Quakes visit Cincinnati next week for their first road game since the World Cup break and will play their other annual Stadium Series game against LAFC on Sept. 19 at Levi’s Stadium.