Tommy Thompson gets first San Jose Earthquakes start of MLS season

Third-year midfielder Tommy Thompson has been waiting for his chance to make an impression on head coach Dominic Kinnear, to convince the San Jose Earthquakes skipper that he can be trusted in the starting line-up. Against DC United, as part of the MLS 20th Anniversary match, Thompson finally got that chance.

Because of a suspension to Simon Dawkins for a red card against the LA Galaxy and an injury suffered by Anibal Godoy while on international duty with Panama, Kinnear had a shortage of central midfielders for the Quakes tilt against United. Enter Thompson, who just last week was on loan with USL affiliate Sacramento Republic FC, to partner Fatai Alashe in the center of San Jose's 4-4-2 formation.

Thompson has made two appearances off the bench so far in 2016, playing a late game role in each of the Earthquakes two season-opening victories. The twenty year old was on the bench for the trip to LA, but he did not make the field in San Jose's 3-1 loss.

A highly touted youth player, Thompson remains the only player signed by the Earthquakes using the league's Homegrown Player Signing mechanism, inking a contract in early 2014. Despite making 32 total MLS appearances leading up to the match against DC United, Thompson had yet to record a goal or assist in over 1100 minutes.