Club America rally back to defeat San Jose in International Champions Cup
SAN JOSE, Calif. --
Francisco Rivera intercepted a pass and scored in the 83rd minute, and Club America rallied to beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Andres Andrade scored for Club America, which lost Dario Benedetto to a possible fractured ankle in the first half.
Clarence Goodson scored off a header for the Earthquakes in their first International Champions Cup match of the season in front of a split crowd at Avaya Stadium.
San Jose goalie Bryan Meredith, making a rare start in place of David Bingham, made several key saves until Club America scored both goals in a 7-minute span.
Tempers flared and players from both teams exchanged heated words throughout the match. San Jose's Sanna Nyassi and Club America team captain Paolo Goltz received red cards for fighting.
A fan ran onto the field after the match ended and attempted to talk to Club America goalie Hugo Gonzalez but was taken down by a hard tackle by the Earthquakes mascot. Two Club America players initially thought the mascot was going after Gonzalez and tried to go after him but were stopped.
That capped a wild night in which there were seven yellow cards handed out in addition to the two reds.
The Earthquakes played without leading scorer Chris Wondolowski, who is playing for the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
It didn't matter early but Club America - coming off a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy - made San Jose pay for missing open shots in the second half.
Andrade scored the tying goal from just outside the penalty box in the 76th minute, and Rivera scored from almost the same spot 7 minutes later.
Goodson gave San Jose a 1-0 lead when he headed in a deflection in the 23rd minute. Gonzalez made an initial save on a header attempt by Quincy Amarikwa before Goodson scored.
Meredith made consecutive saves early in the first half including one off a heel kick by Benedetto.
Things got chippy between the teams moments later when Benedetto was brought down from behind by Goodson. Benedetto had a breakaway attempt past midfield and was racing toward the net when Goodson put both hands on Benedetto's shoulders and pulled him to the turf.
Players from both teams shoved one another, and Goodson received a yellow card while Benedetto limped off the field. Benedetto came back briefly in the first half but was later taken to the hospital with a possible fractured ankle.
Nyassi appeared to be upset after a hard tackle and kicked at Club America's Erik Pimental, who had attempted to help him up. Goltz came in and ran into Nyassi.
San Jose will play Manchester United on July 21 in another ICC match. That game was originally scheduled to be played at nearby Memorial Stadium in Berkeley but has since been switched to Avaya.
