In the first 427 minutes of their season, the Vancouver Whitecaps surrendered zero goals to set a MLS record for minutes to start a year without giving up a goal. In the next 11 minutes they gave up three goals.
San Jose Earthquakes Vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, 2012 MLS: Quakes Storm Back For 3-1 Win
The San Jose Earthquakes stormed back from a 1-0 deficit with three goals in 11 minutes to defeat the Whitecaps, 3-1, and pick up their third straight win. Chris Wondolowski scored two of those goals and Alan Gordon scored the other as the Quakes moved joint-top of the Western Conference on 12 points.
A quiet first half saw each team pick up one good chance. The Whitecaps should have gone ahead when Davide Chiumento laid off for John Thorrington, who had a white open net to shoot at, but Thorrington inexplicably hit the bar. The Quakes had a chance of their own, but Joe Cannon robbed Rafael Baca with a smart save.
Vancouver took the lead just after the half when a throw in near the endline found Eric Hassli with his back to goal. The striker held off his defender and perfectly laid a pass off to Sebastien Le Toux with his first touch. Le Toux also took just one touch, clinically slotting the ball past Jon Busch for the opening tally.
The Whitecaps’ lead lasted almost 20 minutes, but when the Quakes finally did break through, the floodgates opened. A throw in caught Vancouver off guard and Wondolowski did well to shield off his defender before chipping Cannon from a sharp angle to level things. Six minutes later, Gordon got across his defender and his fabulous diving header gave San Jose the lead. Wondolowski then put the lid on things in the 78th minute with his second of the game and the Earthquakes had themselves a good win over previously undefeated Vancouver.
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