THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Ryan Cochrane and Shea Salinas scored second-half goals as the San Jose Earthquakes concluded their first MLS season with a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC.
With the win, the Earthquakes escaped last place in the Western Conference, at least temporarily. San Jose is one point ahead of the Los Angeles Galaxy, which faces Dallas on Sunday.
The game lacked some urgency, however, because both teams were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend.
San Jose came in having lost four of its last five games to undo a nine-game unbeaten streak that had put them back into the playoff picture last month. Toronto, a second-year MLS franchise, had not lost in four matches, but the push came too late to make a difference.
San Jose dominated play throughout the evening, forcing Toronto goalkeeper Greg Sutton to come up with three reflex saves in the first half to stop shot attempts from Ramiro Corrales, Ned Grabavoy and Ryan Johnson.
The Earthquakes (8-13-9) broke through in the 49th minute, when Cochrane moved up from the back line and rammed home a header off of Ronnie O’Brien’s corner kick.
Sutton remained under siege for the rest of the game, fighting to keep Toronto (9-13-8) within striking distance. He got lucky in the 61st minute after being beaten to the ball by Arturo Alvarez, who spun around but found the crossbar with his shot.
Sutton made a point-blank stop when O’Brien was left wide open in the box during the 77th minute, but he could do nothing to stop Salinas’ 90th-minute penalty kick, which was awarded when Salinas was taken down in the box by Toronto defender Kevin Harmse.
Toronto never really tested Earthquakes goalie Joe Cannon, who made two saves to finish with a league-high 124 on the season.