Error-prone Quakes battle back to stun Whitecaps in wild 7-goal affair

The San Jose Earthquakes and Vancouver Whitecaps delivered the wackiest match of the MLS is Back Tournament so far, as the Quakes stormed back to earn a wild 4-3 win Wednesday night in Florida.

After gifting Vancouver a pair of markers in quite hilarious fashion, San Jose battled back from a two-goal deficit in the second half, eventually securing all three points when Shea Salinas struck the winner in the 98th minute after a mazy solo run through the heart of Vancouver's deflated backline.

Prior to Salinas' last-gasp heroics, the evening was highlighted by some truly bizarre errors from Matias Almeyda's side.

Already 1-0 down thanks to an early strike from Ali Adnan, the Quakes somehow conspired to turn a corner kick at one end into an own goal at the other; after a giveaway created a lengthy breakaway opportunity for Vancouver, Judson turned the ball into his own net while trying desperately to race back and prevent a scoring chance.

Despite carrying the bulk of the play, San Jose, which got a crafty tally from Andy Rios late in the opening half, trailed 2-1 at the interval.

The second-half kickoff brought more hilarity.

Goalkeeper Daniel Vega gifted Vancouver another goal with a terrible pass in the 59th minute, allowing Cristian Dajome to slide the ball into an empty net.

The Whitecaps, who arrived in the MLS bubble undermanned after a handful of players opted out of the tournament, appeared to be on course to assume control of Group B after just one match.

And then everything really went haywire.

Almeyda made a quadruple substitution, bringing on, among others, all-time leading MLS scorer Chris Wondolowski. The veteran striker recorded his 160th league goal in the 72nd minute before Oswaldo Alanis leveled the match nine minutes later.

Clearly laboring in the waning minutes, the Whitecaps were simply clinging on in stoppage time, absorbing pressure as San Jose continued to press for the winner; the Quakes attempted an MLS record 22 corner kicks in the match, emphasizing just how much time they spent in Vancouver's penalty area.

Ultimately, Vancouver couldn't hold on long enough to deny Salinas a dramatic goal as the clock neared the 100-minute mark.

A fitting end to a zany encounter.