Monday Kickback: Week 19

The San Jose Earthquakes finished a hectic two-week stretch that had them playing four matches in 10 days all against teams currently in the top seven of the Western Conference. Let’s talk about how those couple of weeks went.

Echoes of Goonie Time

Have you ever eaten a particularly delicious meal only to be saddened when you look down to see an empty plate and realize that your magical experience has come to an end? You walk around all day thinking about the good times you had and every once in a while if you are lucky your stomach grumbles up a gift and as you burp you are quickly taken back to that magical place you experienced in the past. Well on Saturday against Real Salt Lake, Avaya Stadium let out a burp that had the smell and taste of one of the last times the Quakes were relevant in MLS.

This time the extra-time hero was Danny Hoesen who came in the 75th minute of a 0-0 match and immediately injected the Quakes with some energy. With mere seconds left in the game, Hoesen took a Paul Marie corner and caught all the RSL players, and half of his teammates, off-guard and flicked the ball past Nick Rimando who almost celebrated his 500th MLS game with a clean sheet. Instead, it was Daniel Vega who celebrated his sixth clean sheet of the season and third in his last four matches.

International Duty

Nick Lima- The young Quakes defender was an unused sub in the US Men’s National Team loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup. Many Quakes fans would have loved to see our beloved player take the pitch in such a high profile match, but with the Quakes in the middle of a playoff run, Almeyda is probably ok getting one of his key players a little bit of rest. Now it’s up to Lima to keep up the momentum he has created and see how far his talents can take him and the Quakes this season and beyond.

Cali Clasico Rematch

LA Galaxy will have an opportunity to get revenge after last weeks dismantling of them by the Quakes at Stanford Stadium. The Galaxy won on the fourth of July against Toronto FC, but they still didn’t play their best soccer and needed a couple of late-game goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to get them their first MLS win since late April. The Galaxy will have a couple of key players they were missing the first time around as midfielders Jonathan dos Santos, and Uriel Antuna will back fresh off their Gold Cup victory over the United States.

The battle for the last playoff spot in the West is going to be exciting to watch, and if the Quakes want to stay relevant in that conversation, they need to find a way to get a point down in Carson. A loss against their bitter rivals will not be a death blow to the Quakes chances, but now that we are passed the halfway mark of the season every point is going to be crucial if the Quakes want to overcome that first month of the season.