San Jose Earthquakes June Preview: Resharpening the Offense a Must

A double game week can be frustrating because of the fixture congestion and players battling fatigue and fitness, but it does expose some truths about a team. Those truths for the San Jose Earthquakes were a mixed bag: the reassurance of a solid defense and a surging goalkeeper juxtaposed with a toothless attack that scored one goal in two games. Some fans will take the four points from a possible six on the road, especially when three of them came from a Heritage Cup victory in Seattle, and be satisfied regardless of what transpired on the field. Others will lament the inconsistency of beating a top dog like the Sounders and then failing to beat the lowly Colorado Rapids. The Rapids game was particularly frustrating because a Moise Bombito red card reduced them to 10 players for most of the second half. Furthermore, they were a Connor Ronan penalty save by Daniel away from losing that game.

All of that leaves the San Jose Earthquakes in 5th place in the Western Conference having played 16 games. We are pretty much halfway through the Major League Soccer as some teams have played 17 games, but others have played fewer, as low as 12 in LAFC’s case due to their CONCACAF Champions League run. The run of games below will take the Quakes through July 1st.

Saturday, June 10 7:30 pm San Jose Earthquakes vs Philadelphia Union

Philadelphia Union have quality players all over their starting lineup, including arguably the best left back in the league in Kai Wagner. Image Credit: Philadelphia Union official website.

Visiting teams don’t come much tougher than the 2022 Eastern Conference Champions. Their attacking trio of Daniel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre, and Julian Carranza are in great form and will test this confidence San Jose defense. Union’s defense is strong as well led by Kai Wagner and of course Andre Blake will not be beaten by tame efforts at goal.

Then comes another three game in eight day stretch.

Saturday, June 17 7:30 pm San Jose Earthquakes vs Portland Timbers

Wednesday, June 21 5:30 pm Houston Dynamo vs San Jose Earthquakes

Saturday, June 24 7:30 pm San Jose Earthquakes vs St. Louis City SC

St. Louis City SC enjoyed the best start of any expansion team in Major League Soccer history in part thanks to Eduard Lowen. Image Credit: Fulton Sun.

In an ideal world, the road game would occur on Saturday, June 17 for a home double header leading into the California Clasico. Ultimately MLS had other ideas. Portland Timbers’ Evander, Houston Dynamo’s Hector Herrera, and St. Louis City’s Eduard Lowen are just some of the quality players that will feature in this stretch. While Dynamo’s leaky backline (conceding six goals against Vancouver recently) can be exploited, St. Louis are learning how to score with regularly as João Klauss recovers from injury.

We saved the best for last

Saturday, July 1 7:30 pm San Jose Earthquakes vs LA Galaxy (Stanford Stadium)

The biggest home game in the calendar for every San Jose Earthquakes season is when they host California Clasico rivals LA Galaxy at Stanford Stadium. Image Credit: San Jose Earthquakes Official Website.

With an attendance of 45,112 when San Jose beat LAFC at Levi’s Stadium earlier this season, a packed house is expected when the original Los Angeles rival returns to the Bay Area. St. Louis City arguably inflicted the more embarrassing defeat but because of this rivalry, the loss at Dignity Health Sports Park stings too. It also adds to the paradox of San Jose beating teams higher up the table but dropping points to those lower down.

Galaxy had their struggles so far this season, but they still contain a lot of threats San Jose Earthquakes need to be mindful of. You can count on Jonathan Bond to make at least two top class saves whenever the Galaxy play the Quakes. Uruguayan international Martin Caceres may be 36 but he’s still got gas left in the tank. Riqui Puig sets the tempo with his incisive passes and midfield presence. Last but not least, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored the last time he was at Stanford and will be looking for an encore. If LA Galaxy manages to turn over a new leaf as they distance themselves from the Chris Klein era, they’ll be a dangerous opponent.

Worst Case Scenario

Everything hinges on the offense getting sorted out. Cade Cowell and Niko Tsakiris’s U-20 World Cup commitments exposed the depth issue for the San Jose Earthquakes, and they alone can’t solve it either. Until reinforcements (hopefully) come in this summer transfer window, the personnel available need to step up. Cristian Espinoza and Jeremy Ebobisse have been phenomenal, but more is needed from Jamiro Monteiro, Jackson Yueill, and Benji Kikanovic.

If the San Jose Earthquakes continue to only score a goal a game during this stretch, escaping with only 4 or 5 points is a disappointing reality.

Best Case Scenario

Cristian Espinoza has ascended into the MLS MVP conversations, and as long as he’s playing at that level, San Jose Earthquakes fans have a reason to believe. Image Credit: MLSSoccer.com.

Should the Quakes find the back of the net with more regularity this season, winning three of their next four home games could be a possibility. Philadelphia Union seems like the most likely draw, but the rest are beatable. Houston Dynamo appear ripe for San Jose to pluck their second away win of the season as well.

A points haul that bountiful would virtually confirm a wildcard (Top 9) berth at least, and then San Jose Earthquakes can set their sights higher.

There’s still a lot of work for Luchi Gonzalez and the players to do, and if a two game stretch in Seattle, Washington and Commerce City, Colorado could reveal a few nuggets of truth, then these next five games could tell us everything we need to know about where the Quakes are headed in 2023.

For more information on the San Jose Earthquakes, the other 28 teams in Major League Soccer, and the 2023 season you can check out my database. I update it during and after every matchday.