
"Even if the Earthquakes win at PayPal Park Saturday night in their regular-season finale against Austin FC, odds are Bruce Arena will walk away from the season unsatisfied. "A good season for me is making the playoffs and at least winning a playoff game," the Quakes' coach said in a news conference Thursday. The Quakes need to win and get help elsewhere in the Western Conference to keep alive their chance of meeting Arena's criteria."
"In addition to a win over sixth-place Austin FC, the Quakes, currently 11th in the conference standings, need two of the following three results in order to reach the Western Conference's No. 9 seed and a playoff spot: Eighth-place FC Dallas loss at conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps FC; Real Salt Lake, tied for ninth, loss at 13th-place St. Louis City FC; Colorado Rapids, tied for ninth, loss or draw vs. third-place Los Angeles FC."
""At this point of the season, all of us expect to be in the playoffs," he said, even for a team that last won a playoff game in 2010, when San Jose made the West finals. Arena and captain Cristian Espinoza said the team won't be scoreboard watching, since their approach won't change based on results elsewhere. "We have to treat this like it's a final, being able to control the emotions," forward Chicho Arango said of the moment."
San Jose must win its regular-season finale at PayPal Park and obtain two of three specific conference results to secure a playoff berth. Bruce Arena sets a good season as making the playoffs and winning at least one playoff game. The Quakes sit 11th and would reach ninth with the required combination of results against FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, and Colorado. Players expect to be in the playoffs and vow not to scoreboard-watch while treating the match like a final. The team also seeks revenge for a July 8 U.S. Open Cup loss to Austin FC; Cristian Espinoza suffered a gash that forced him from that match.
Read at The Mercury News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]