Earthquakes Advent Calendar Day 10: Goonies

Behind door number 10 of our San Jose Earthquakes advent calendar is a jolly roger representing The Goonies era in San Jose.

Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images

The Goonie era began in the 2012 season, that magical season that saw the Earthquakes take home the Supporters Shield. Statistically, it is also the best Earthquakes season in the MLS era they earned more points (66) and scored more goals (72) than any other season in their history. 72 goals! The Earthquakes only managed to score 70 goals in the in the next two seasons, combined! The core of the Goonies were strikers Alan Gordon and Steven Lenhart while the rest of the squad followed their lead. Lenhart was actually the player that named the era after an epic comeback in the California Clasico that saw the Earthquakes go from two goals down in the 73rd minute to a 3-2 win when the final whistle blew. An ecstatic Lenhart loudly proclaimed in the locker room that “Goonies Never Say Die!”

For the next couple of years, the Earthquakes continued to find ways to score late in games to steal a point or three from a team that was sure they would be victorious. This luck did not turn into consistent results on the pitch and The Goonie era came to an end in 2014 when Gordon was traded to LA Galaxy in exchange to allocation money.

Check back tomorrow as we make our way across our calendar to see what is behind door number 10.