SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Earthquakes, the talk of Major League Soccer a month ago, have crashed back to earth in August. Following Wednesday night’s 4-0 whipping at the hands of Los Angeles FC, the Quakes are 0-3-1 in their past four games and sit only one point above the playoff line in the Western Conference.
But three of those games were on the road, where the Earthquakes have found only modest success this season. Saturday night, they return to the friendly confines of Avaya Stadium, where San Jose boasts a 10-game unbeaten streak. Their opponent is the Vancouver Whitecaps, the last-place team in the conference, and the Quakes will be heavy favorites against the Canadian club.
Whereas San Jose has experienced an up-and-down season under the guidance of head coach Matías Almeyda, Vancouver has been consistently bad with Marc Dos Santos in charge. Both coaches are in the first years in MLS, but their fortunes share little similarity, and it is Almeyda’s more experienced side that will look to earn its second win of the season over the Whitecaps.
Vancouver has recorded a better record of late, posting two wins in their last three games, including a 2-1 win at expansion FC Cincinnati earlier this month. The ‘Caps won their last game, 1-0 against D.C. United, when Yordy Reyna scored his fifth goal of the season and the defense held off the Eastern Conference contenders at BC Place. Fredy Montero leads the club with six goals for the West’s most anemic offense — the Whitecaps have scored only 27 in 27 games, and their goal differential is, as a result, worse than all but FC Cincinnati’s in MLS.
The Earthquakes currently are battling for a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs with seven other teams in the West, all well behind LAFC — the runaway Supporters’ Shield leaders have already clinched a playoff berth — as only eight points separate positions two through nine in the conference. Minnesota United leads that pack with 42 points, while Sporting Kansas City, which beat the Quakes 2-1 a week ago, have 34. San Jose (11-10-5, 38 points) could end the weekend as high as fourth or as low as eighth — below the playoff line — depending on its result against Vancouver.
Almeyda, who was sent off in the first half during Wednesday’s game against LAFC, will serve a suspension Saturday and not be on the sidelines for San Jose. His fiery reaction to a non-reviewed penalty claim, which came on the heels of the hosts being awarded their own PK for a similar VAR-reviewed incident, earned him the ejection. He did apologize after the game for the outburst, but he further expressed his full support for his players.
“First and foremost, blood runs through my veins,” Almyeda told reporters from Banc of California Stadium. “I characterized myself for having blood and not water. The injustices give me issues and frustrate me, especially when there is no dialog, I simply complained about the penalty and why the other play was not a penalty in our favor. I questioned a yellow card on one of their players that committed four fouls and then [Aníbal] Godoy received a yellow after one or two fouls.
“I simply want to receive fair treatment, no better no less, but with respect. I don’t know why I was ejected. I am not sure what the fourth official must have told the referee, but I did not disrespect anyone. After I was ejected, I lost my temper, and I am making a public apology for my reaction, but those who know me knows that I have always reacted like this, especially when there are injustices.”
The 4-0 loss dropped the Quakes’ record against LAFC to 0-4-0 all-time, and this season alone, they’ve been outscored 9-0 in two games. San Jose will be happy to move forward from the loss and focus on the eight games remaining in the season. The Earthquakes will play a mix of four home and four away games in that span.
Chris Wondolowski, who was held out of the starting lineup in LA, is expected to lead San Jose against Vancouver Saturday. The Quakes’ captain has 10 goals this season, tops on the team, and scored the game-winner in San Jose’s 3-1 victory in Vancouver earlier this season. Wondolowski felt the 4-0 scoreline against LAFC on Wednesday did not necessarily indicate the level of the team’s performance, but he did acknowledge that there is a thin margin for success when playing the best team in MLS.
“When you play a top-quality team like [LAFC] and make a couple mental mistakes and a couple physical mistakes, you get punished,” Wondolowski said. “It comes quick. You have to be ready, but he [head coach Matias Almeyda] also kept preaching to us, ‘play with confidence, if you make mistakes that’s fine. If you make many, it’s just a game, keep playing the way we know how to.’ We saw glimpses of it but were a little unlucky in front of our net. We couldn’t get one.”
Back in front of a supportive home crowd Saturday, Wondolowski and the Quakes will certainly have an advantage, but they’ll still need to be ready for a ‘Caps team that is simply playing spoiler at this point in the season. Take care of business on defense and convert more of their chances in front of goal on offense, and the Earthquakes’ unbeaten streak at home should go to 11.
Match Information:
When: Aug. 24, 7 p.m. PT
Where: Avaya Stadium, San Jose
Broadcast: Telemundo 48, KNBR 1050
Live Stream: ESPN+
Earthquakes injury/suspended report: None