Ousseni Bouda has early goal and assist to lead Earthquakes to 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake

In a thrilling match held at the beginning of 2024, San Jose Earthquakes secured a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake at their home ground. The young star Ousseni Bouda was the architect of their success, scoring an early goal and providing an assist just 17 minutes into the game. This remarkable display propelled San Jose up two spots in the Western Conference standings to the third position, with only one match remaining in the regular season.

Bouda's impressive season so far has seen him score a whopping 12 goals in 102 appearances. In his 32 matches this season, he has already bagged seven of those goals, indicating a streak of consistent performance. Additionally, Bouda contributed to his team's success with five career-assists, four of which came this season alone. His teammate Preston Judd also played a crucial role, netting his career-high third goal and delivering a career-best and team-high 16 goals.

However, Real Salt Lake was not to be outdone, as they managed to equalize with a goal in the 23rd minute, marking first-year defender Juan Manuel Sanabria's second goal of the season. San Jose's defense was led by Sam Junqua, who earned his career-best third assist of the season, and Saba Lobjanidze, who collected his fifth assist in his first season with the club.

Despite the team's impressive home record of 7-5-5, the victory was crucial for their playoff chances as they now sit at 7-5-5 at home. Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake's loss, coupled with the Los Angeles Galaxy's 4-1 victory over Austin FC, propelled them out of the playoff race. The team now has a tough challenge ahead as they head to Los Angeles FC to wrap up the regular season.