SAN JOSE — Rookie Hernán López scored early in the second half and William Yarbrough made it stand up for his first clean sheet of the season as the San Jose Earthquakes snapped a six-match losing streak and a nine-match winless run with a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday night.
The Earthquakes (4-16-2) won for the first time in their third match under interim manager Ian Russell, who took over on June 24 when the club fired Luchi Gonzalez. Russell made 131 appearances for San Jose from 2000-05, winning championships with the club in 2001 and 2003 and capturing San Jose’s first Supporters’ Shield in 2005.
The only goal of the match came when López took a pass from Cristian Espinoza four minutes into the second half and scored for the fourth time this season. It was Espinoza’s 11th assist of the campaign. López made his 10th start and 12th appearance.
Yarbrough finished with one save to notch his first shutout in his first season with the Earthquakes.
Chris Brady saved three shots for the Fire (5-11-6). Brady made two saves and Yarbrough saved his shot in a scoreless first half.
San Jose won for the first time since posting a 3-2 road victory over the Colorado Rapids on May 11. López and Espinoza both had goals in that win.
The Fire head home to take on New York City FC on Saturday. The Earthquakes will host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.