The San Jose Earthquakes keep making moves this offseason. They have signed a vital piece of this season’s revival, Judson, to a multi-year contract and signed a couple of teenagers to get them ready for the future. Matias Almeyda made it clear that he intends to honor the length of his contract, and he wants to be sure that his legacy and style are firmly planted in Northern California.
Seattle Sounders win 2019 MLS Cup
After one of the most exciting offseasons in a long time, the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC faced off in the MLS final for the third time in four seasons. The only difference was this time the final was held in Seattle in front of over 69,000 of the greenest people in the country.
After a tense first half that had Toronto domination possession Seattle found its comfort zone in the second half. They came up with three goals in the second half en route to winning their second championship since joining the league in 2009. After how they beat LAFC in Southern California, anything less than this result would have been a failure for this team. Brian Schmetzer always seems to find the right words to motivate his players when it matters the most.
With two more clubs set to join the league next season in Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC, the road to the final is getting more congested. If it is anything like this season, I cannot wait for it to kickoff.
Quakes sign Casey Walls, Emmanuel Ochoa to Homegrown Contracts
The Quakes continued to make moves to secure the future of the club by signing a couple of teenagers to Homegrown Contracts. 16-year-old defender Casey Walls and 14-year-old goalkeeper Emmanuel Ochoa are the seventh and eight Homegrown signings for the Quakes.
Ochoa is from Salinas, which is the hometown of legendary Quakes defender Ramiro Corrales and home to mythical Alisal High School. That school is continuously ranked nationally and has produced some of the best high school soccer in the country. At 6’ 2” and 150 pounds, the teenager still has a lot of time to grow not only physically but also on the pitch.
These are not the big sexy signings that a lot of fans have been clamoring for, but they are positive moves that prepare the team to be better in the future. Almeyda has shown in his previous assignments that he believes in the youth and is not afraid to throw them into the fire if he thinks he can get results with them.
Lima, Yuiell called up to USMNT
In what is a regular occurrence nowadays, Nick Lima and Jackson Yueill have been called into the next US Men’s National Team camp ahead of the CONCACAF Nation’s League group finale. The US needs to beat both Canada and Cuba if they want to move on in the tournament. The Canadians beat the US on October 15, behind goals from Alphonso Davies and Lucas Cavallini. It had been 34 years since the last time our northern neighbors beat us in land hockey and had a lot of American soccer fans calling for Gregg Berhalter’s head.
Judon signed on a permanent transfer, sign Gilbert Fuentes and Eric Calvillo
The Quakes kept their busy offseason going by announcing three other signings this month. Defensive midfielder Judson was signed permanently from Brazilian team Tombense after a breakout season in San Jose. After a rough start to the season, Judson became a mainstay on Matias Almeyda’s lineup, contributing to a much-improved defense that gave up 16 fewer goals this season compared to last.
21-year-old Calvillo and 17-year-old Fuentes are part of the Quakes long-term plan having only seven senior club appearances between them. The two midfielders are hoping to catch Almeyda’s attention next season and hopefully earn more playing time.