SAN JOSE, Calif. — Ten years ago, the San Jose Earthquakes were reborn as an expansion club following the previous iteration of the team moving to Houston two years earlier and becoming the Dynamo.
That squad won two successive championships for its adopted state of Texas and were the best team in Major League Soccer entering the 2008 season. Jilted fans in San Jose were left to wonder what could have been.
Meanwhile, the new Quakes were a mishmash of expansion draft picks, transfer players, and traded talents from within MLS, collectively trying to find their footing in their inaugural season together. Lead by head coach Frank Yallop, two-time MLS Cup winning coach with the first Earthquakes, the team was, well, a bit raw, and expectations were modest.
An up and down preseason helped players get accustomed to one another, with fresh faces and wily veterans showing more and more organization. So it was with high hopes that they flew south to face the club’s chief rival on opening day: April 3, 2008. The Quakes’ first pick in that year’s MLS SuperDraft, midfielder Shea Salinas, recalled the momentous moment without hesitation.
“Against the LA Galaxy.” he told Pro Soccer USA this week on the 10th anniversary of the game. “And we lost 2-0.”
Salinas, 31, joined MLS after four years at Furman University, where he scored 14 goals and recorded 21 assists, and he was by far the fastest player on the team. He was not a first choice player for Yallop leading up to the season opener, but that changed just days before when the rookie was given a starting role, as a forward.
“It was my first MLS start, and I was super nervous,” said Salinas. “I didn’t expect to start. I think the week of the game, a guy showed up late for practice, so Frank Yallop puts me in the starting lineup.”
The 21-year-old rookie had little time to digest the assignment, and even in the pregame build up was still a bit incredulous about the opportunity. Four years of college soccer did not prepare him for the magnitude of playing in front of a packed house of Galaxy fans.
“I remember being in the tunnel and thinking, this is like 20 times more people than I’ve ever played in front of,” Salinas recalled. “It was LA’s home opener, on ESPN, David Beckham was the attraction, Landon Donovan too, and there I am in the tunnel standing next to them, and I’m starstruck at them, with my jaw dropped. Jason Hernandez is standing behind me, hits me on the back of the head, and says, ‘Focus, kid.’ And I was, like, ‘I have to play a game.’”
Hernandez, who would play seven seasons for the Earthquakes, provided stability on defense during Salinas’ rookie season, and was a leader on and off the field for the team. For a rookie getting his first start, and on such a grand stage, the guiding hand of Hernandez proved to be vital, especially as his nerves went into overdrive.
“Right when you start playing, you are not thinking about who’s watching or what’s happening,” Salinas said, “You are trying to win your battles, watch the ball and play, so once the whistle blows, the butterflies go away.”
The Earthquakes stormed out of the gate against the Galaxy, and in the third minute they appeared to take a lead on defender Ryan Cochrane’s well placed header. However, the referee called the goal off, and that was as close to getting a result San Jose would experience for the rest of the night.
“Ryan actually scores for us in the very first couple of minutes of the game, and they called a foul,” Salinas said, before adding with a laugh, “that was the turning point of our season. We didn’t score a goal again for like eight games!”
Beckham scored his first MLS goal a few minutes later on a defensive miscue. Then, right before halftime, Donovan doubled the lead when Beckham picked him out on a deep run with one of his trademark cross-field passes. The excitement of the moment for the Earthquakes was subdued by the reality of LA’s stars running roughshod on the MLS newcomers.
“It was a tough go, and I didn’t play so well,” Salinas said. “I think I was subbed in the 55th minute, or something like that. I didn’t play so hot, but it was a really, really cool experience. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to play those guys a few more times, and I’ve played better since.”
It was a forgettable debut, but that didn’t deter the rookie. He played in 22 more games that season, though only one of those was as a starter, as he gained more trust from Yallop. In October, he scored goals in back-to-back games, ending the year with a confidence that he could excel at the MLS level.
Fast forward to the present, and Salinas is starting his 11th professional season, his ninth with the Earthquakes. He might be a decade older, but in many ways he is still that fresh faced rookie that takes nothing for granted and is enjoying every moment. He certainly isn’t resting on his laurels.
“Leading up to games, I still get nervous beforehand, I still get butterflies before some games,” Salinas said. “I think it’s a good thing. It’s a passion that rises up and you want to play well and perform well. Once the whistle blows, it’s freedom. You just play.”
It’s a historic 10th anniversary week for both Salinas and the Earthquakes, and, forward as one, they hope to spend many more years together.