STANFORD, Calif. — New York Red Bulls midfielder Joel Lindpere snatched victory away from the San Jose Earthquakes with an equalizing goal in the 85th minute that proved to be the difference in a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
WATCH: Full match highlights
The outcome doubtless disappointed a crowd of 41,028 at Stanford Stadium, the Quakes’ largest ever in a non-doubleheader match.
The Red Bulls (5-3-10) were able to post their seventh tie in their last nine matches despite missing Rafa Márquez and Luke Rodgers due to injury and unexpectedly losing leading scorer Thierry Henry to flu-like symptoms.
The Quakes had dodged a couple of bullets before Lindpere fired a shot from just outside the penalty box. San Jose defender Bobby Burling tried to head the ball to safety but ended up redirecting it out of the reach of Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch.
The score was initially ruled an own-goal but later changed to be Lindpere’s fourth of the season.
WATCH:Lindpere gets his second to level it
The Quakes (5-5-6) thus lost a chance at their second comeback victory in the last month. They were in that position thanks to Steven Lenhart, who split New York’s center-back pairing of Tim Ream and Carlos Mendes to rifle home a header from 10 yards out in the 68th minute.
But San Jose couldn’t make the lead stand up, and other chances — most notably, Chris Wondolowski banging a ball off the right post in the 67th minute — went by the boards.
Lindpere had put New York on the board in the seventh minute by poking home a left-footed shot from just outside the six-yard box. It was the Red Bulls’ eighth goal inside of 15 minutes this year.
WATCH:Lindpere puts RBNY up, 1-0
The play was sparked by newcomer Dax McCarty, whose cross-field pass found Roy Miller on the left wing and created swaths of room in San Jose’s back line.
Lindpere initially whiffed on Miller’s dipping cross, but the ball ricocheted off Earthquakes defender Ramiro Corrales and fell to Lindpere’s feet. The Estonian then cut a left-footed shot from just outside the six-yard box that eluded Busch and slipped inside the far post.
The lead didn’t last until the half, however, after another gaffe by mistake-prone New York keeper Bouna Coundoul set up Khari Stephenson to hammer home a half-volley in the 37th minute.
Coundoul came off his line to grab a corner from Simon Dawkins, but couldn’t handle the ball, dropping it on a high bounce for Stephenson, who used his left foot to score from just inside the penalty spot.
The game was the Quakes’ first at Stanford Stadium since being reborn as an expansion team in 2008. They last played in the arena as a doubleheader with the Women’s World Cup on July 4, 1999, beating D.C. United 3-2 in a shootout.
New York return home to Red Bull Arena to host Toronto FC on July 6, while the Quakes return to Buck Shaw Stadium to host the Philadelphia Union on July 9.
Scoring Summary:
NY -- Joel Lindpere 3 (Roy Miller 3, Dax McCarty 1) 7
SJ -- Khari Stephenson 3 (unassisted) 37
SJ -- Steven Lenhart 5 (Steven Beitashour 3) 68
NY -- Joel Lindpere 4 (Mehdi Ballouchy 2) 85
Misconduct Summary:
SJ -- Jason Hernandez (caution; Reckless Foul) 32
SJ -- Ryan Johnson (caution; Reckless Tackle) 40
NY -- Roy Miller (caution; Reckless Tackle) 60
SJ -- Jon Busch (caution; Dissent) 64
SJ -- Bobby Burling (caution; Reckless Foul) 80
SJ -- Bobby Burling (caution; Reckless Tackle) 91+
SJ -- Bobby Burling (ejection; Second Caution) 91+
Lineups:
New York Red Bulls -- Bouna Coundoul, Jan Gunnar Solli
(Stephen Keel 71), Carlos Mendes, Tim Ream, Roy Miller, Dane Richards,
Dax McCarty, Teemu Tainio, Joel Lindpere, Juan Agudelo, Mehdi Ballouchy.
Substitutes Not Used: Austin Da Luz, Corey Hertzog, Mike Jones, John Rooney, Greg Sutton.
San Jose Earthquakes -- Jon Busch, Steven
Beitashour, Bobby Burling, Jason Hernandez, Ramiro Corrales, Chris
Wondolowski, Brad Ring, Khari Stephenson, Ryan Johnson, Simon Dawkins
(Sam Cronin 89), Steven Lenhart.
Substitutes Not Used: Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Joey Gjertsen, Chris Leitch, Ellis McLoughlin, Scott Sealy, Andrew Weber.
Referee: Edvin Jurisevic
Referee's Assistants: Rob Fereday; James Conlee
4th Official: Mark Kadlecik
Attendance: 41,028
Time of Game: 1:54
Weather: Sunny and degrees
