Chofis’ hat trick not enough for Quakes to beat Real Salt Lake
SAN JOSE — Rubio Rubín scored two goals, Albert Rusnák added a goal and two assists and Real Salt Lake beat the Earthquakes 4-3 on Wednesday night, spoiling a hat trick by Quakes midfielder Javier “Chofis” López.
Justin Meram tied it at 3 for Real Salt Lake (9-9-6, 33 points) in the 71st minute, and Rubín slipped a one-touch shot inside the post in the 81st minute.
Chofis, who had his first multi-goal game in MLS, opened the scoring in the 26th, but Rubín knocked in the rebound of shot by Rusnák that was deflected by goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski to make it 1-1 in first-half stoppage time.
Rusnák scored to give Real Salt Lake a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute, and Chofis scored in the 50th and 65th minutes to put the Earthquakes (6-9-9, 27 points) back in front.
Chofis was more focused on the team’s loss than his success postgame.
“My only thoughts are in the 10 matches that are left. I really want to make it to the playoffs,” he told the team’s website. “I’ve never had a match as great as today. That doesn’t matter anymore. We will try to turn things around and focus on Saturday.”
Real Salt Lake ended a five-game road losing streak and won for just the second time in 18 matches away from Rio Tinto Stadium dating to August 2020.
The Quakes now sit 11th in the conference as they’ve lost two of three games since going on an 11-match unbeaten streak that helped them climb the standings from June 26-Aug. 20.
They’ll travel to Q2 Stadium on Saturday to face the expansion Austin FC.