The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Liga MX side Monterrey, 2-1, in a friendly on Saturday evening, but gave fans plenty to look forward to when 15-year-old Homegrown player Cade Cowell scored on his debut.
Cowell, who signed with the Quakes on Jan. 23, slammed home a cutback from fellow academy product Tommy Thompson to cut into Monterrey's lead in the second half:
Cowell was the fourth-youngest signing in MLS history when he put pen to paper with the Quakes, becoming the youngest professional both Earthquakes and Bay Area sports history. He entered the game early in the second half along with Thompson and fellow teenage Homegrown GIlbert Fuentes.
While there was a heavy youth influence in the Quakes' second-half personnel, they started the game with a mostly first-choice squad, save for a handful of absences due to international duty:
Los Rayados, who will face Sporting Kansas City in the Concacaf Champions League semifinals starting April 4, got two early goals from Rogelio Funes Mori and Maximiliano Meza.
In addition to the homegrown trio of Cowell, Thompson and Fuentes, Calvillo and Affolter also came off the bench early in the second half.
