San Jose Earthquakes vs. Club America: Score, Grades and Reaction from 2015 ICC

Club America dropped its International Champions Cup opener, 2-1, against the Los Angeles Galaxy July 12, but it bounced back in resurgent style with a late rally against the San Jose Earthquakes Tuesday night to avoid back-to-back losses to MLS clubs. 

Despite trailing 1-0 entering the 76th minute, Club America scored two goals in the span of seven minutes in order to avenge its loss to the Galaxy.

As Fox Soccer noted, the equalizer came courtesy of Andres Andrade, who knotted things up with a confident strike:  

Shortly thereafter, 20-year-old midfielder Francisco Rivera put the reigning CONCACAF champions up for good with a rip of his own from beyond the box:   

Despite falling apart late, the Earthquakes provided plenty of early pressure, as the team's Twitter account documented: 

Then, in the 23rd minute, San Jose finally seized a second-chance opportunity following a corner kick as Clarence Goodson headed home a go-ahead goal to give the Earthquakes a 1-0 lead. 

And while Club America unleashed its attacking prowess throughout the first half en route to recording nine shots—including three on target and six inside the box—the Mexican side was unable to find the back of the net during the game's first stanza.   

Team	Goals	Total Shots	Shots on Target	Shots Inside the Box	Shot Accuracy
Club America	2	14	5	7	55.6%
San Jose Earthquakes	1	10	4	6	44.4%

Tempers flared throughout the first half, and a chippy exchange during stoppage time resulted in a pair of red cards that reduced things to 10-on-10 for the remainder of the match, according to the Earthquakes on Twitter: 

MLSSoccer.com's Geoff Lepper passed along comments from Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear, as told to Fox Sports 1: 

In a battle that was noticeably heated for a preseason contest, Lepper reported that one Club America player fell victim to the physical play: 

Squabbles aside, Club America did well to remain calm when the pressure was amplified, and that approach paid serious dividends during the match's closing moments. 

Club America will be back in action July 17 against Manchester United in Seattle, while the Earthquakes will return to the pitch July 21 when they host the Red Devils at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California. 

However, United will present a monumental challenge for the Earthquakes, who are far from full strength entering a showdown with one of the world's biggest powers coming off of a shaky showing. 

"Our squad’s not the biggest at the minute; people are away, people are carrying a few knocks and bruises," San Jose left back Jordan Stewart said, according to Lepper. "You have to manage the team and try to give people minutes who haven’t played a lot, but also players like me, who couldn’t play in the game on Friday, may play longer than what I’d normally play [in a friendly]."

Selected Player Grades

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Clarence Goodson: B+

Goodson played just one half, but the 33-year-old did his best to set the tone for San Jose in its International Champions Cup opener. While his header from the center of the box was a bit fortuitous, Goodson did well to maintain composure in a crowded area and bury the shot to give San Jose an early edge.    

Andres Andrade: A-

Andrade's strike from just outside the box was a thing of beauty, and it represented the culmination of relentless attacks from a Club America side that kept the Earthquakes defense on its heels quite a bit with solid counterattacks throughout.

While Andrade's side couldn't capitalize in the early going, Club America posted a superior shot accuracy tally of 55.6 percent that was indicative of its offensive superiority. Conversely, San Jose sat 11.2 percent lower at a mark of 44.4 by the time the final whistle blew. 

Francisco Rivera: A

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Rivera came on as a substitute in the 74th minute, and it took him just nine minutes to make an impact. Seven minutes after Andrade equalized things, Rivera blasted one with his right foot from a few yards outside the top of the box and found the left side-netting to cap off Club America's rapid turnaround. A game-winner in dramatic fashion deserves high marks, even if he did get slapped with a yellow card.