Jack Jasinski Stoppage-Time Volley Earns San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Draw at Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake had the lead, the shot count, a new center back hero and roughly a minute of stoppage time left to survive. Then a looping ball took a deflection off Juan Manuel Sanabria, dropped perfectly for Jack Jasinski, and RSL's big night flipped in a single swing of a boot.

Real Salt Lake and the San Jose Earthquakes drew 1-1 on Wednesday night in Sandy. Luc de Fougerolles scored in the 79th minute in what RSL called his first MLS start, and Jasinski volleyed in the equalizer four minutes into stoppage time. San Jose said the point stretched its league unbeaten run to eight matches.

A Slow Burn

RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni made three changes after Saturday's 2-1 loss in Philadelphia, and one of them nearly paid off within 11 minutes. De Fougerolles, starting in place of DeAndre Yedlin, smashed a shot off the right post from the middle of the box after a Saba Lobjanidze set-piece cross.

San Jose's best first-half chance came in the 18th minute, when Nick Fernandez went one-on-one with Rafael Cabral and his chip drifted just wide of the far post. Morgan Guilavogui forced Angus Gunn into a diving save from distance in the 43rd minute, and the Quakes spent the closing minutes of the half firing shots into bodies. It was 0-0 at the break, and nobody watching was shocked.

RSL Turn Up the Volume

The second half was a different animal. In the 49th minute, Sanabria whipped in a cross and Noel Caliskan powered a header toward the bottom corner, but Gunn got down to it. A minute later, Guilavogui tested him again from outside the box. In the 56th minute, Sanabria found rookie Sergi Solans with another cross, and Gunn stopped that header too. RSL put four shots on target in the first 20 minutes of the half and had nothing to show for any of them.

San Jose head coach Bruce Arena went to his bench in the 59th minute, sending on Timo Werner and Jasinski. Kobi Henry narrowly missed from the middle of the box in the 62nd minute. San Jose finally tested Cabral in the 64th minute through Preston Judd, and a minute later Gunn stopped a Lobjanidze drive at the other end. The Quakes then had their best spell of the night, with Werner involved in four chances between the 70th and 72nd minutes. The best of those ended with Reid Roberts glancing a header just over from a corner.

RSL kept coming. Ariath Piol and Aiden Hezarkhani came on in the 74th minute, Hezarkhani had a shot deflected wide two minutes later, and Philip Quinton headed narrowly wide from a Sanabria cross after a corner in the 77th.

The Breakthrough and the Gut Punch

The goal finally arrived in the 79th minute. After a set piece was only half cleared, Hezarkhani found Sanabria near the edge of the box, Sanabria laid it off to de Fougerolles on the right, and the young center back drove a low shot into the bottom left corner. Not a bad way to spend your first night as an MLS starter.

Unfortunately for RSL, de Fougerolles went down a minute later and had to be replaced by Yedlin in the 82nd minute because of an injury.

RSL had chances to put it away. Gunn saved from Zach Booth in the 93rd minute, and Piol had a close-range effort blocked moments later. Then San Jose struck. Judd curled a ball toward the box, Sanabria's attempted clearance deflected it into the air, and Jasinski met it on the volley from the right side, beating Cabral to the bottom left corner. RSL listed the goal as unassisted.

Star Watch

Luc de Fougerolles scored, hit the post and, per RSL, now has a goal contribution in each of his first two MLS games after an assist in his debut on Saturday. The club describes him as a 21-year-old Canadian international.

Angus Gunn made six saves, the reason San Jose were still in it when Jasinski struck.

Jack Jasinski had one shot all night. It was the one that mattered.

Juan Manuel Sanabria had the assist and supplied the crosses for two of RSL's best headed chances. He was the most dangerous supplier on the field, which makes the final deflection even crueler.

The Turning Point

Arena's double change in the 59th minute was the hinge. Werner gave San Jose a spark in a half they had been losing, and Jasinski, on for the final half hour plus stoppage time, finished the only chance that came his way. RSL won the shot battle, but San Jose's bench salvaged the night.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Real Salt Lake 22, San Jose 16. On target, it was 8-2.
• Saves: Gunn made six, Cabral one.
• Possession: About as even as it gets, at 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent for RSL.
• Corners: Five apiece.
• Finishing: San Jose put two shots on target and turned one into a goal.

What It Means

RSL moved to 9-6-14 (wins, draws, losses) with 33 points and, per the club, sat 11th in the Western Conference after the match. They head to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. The collapse was out of character, too: RSL said they are now 57-12-23 (wins, losses, ties) when scoring first under Mastroeni since August 2021. The club also noted the all-time series now stands at 17 RSL wins, 16 San Jose wins and 13 draws.

San Jose moved to 13-8-8 with 47 points, fifth in the West according to RSL. The Quakes said they could not clinch a playoff spot on Wednesday, but they get another chance when they host league-leading Nashville SC on Saturday.

The Closing Take

For RSL, this one stings like losing a Wordle streak on the sixth guess: you did almost everything right and still walked away with nothing to show for it but a gray square. San Jose, meanwhile, keep finding ways to stay unbeaten, and that is a habit worth carrying into a playoff race.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details as reported by Real Salt Lake and the San Jose Earthquakes.