The San Jose Earthquakes were fresh off of consecutive wins against their in-state compatriots, making them the Kings of California, when Third Wheel Derby rivals Vancouver Whitecaps arrived in the Bay Area. The Quakes, behind goals by Cristian Espinoza, Andy Rios, and Paul Marie, and aided by two red cards against their opponents, cruised to a 3-0 victory Wednesday night and extended their winning streak to three games.
Making his third consecutive start, goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski put in another complete performance, keeping the Whitecaps off the scoreboard when the teams were level and comfortably seeing out his first MLS shutout victory when the game was well in hand. The 23-year-old Homegrown player and US men’s national team U-23 starter is now 3-0-1 this season and has helped the Quakes rise above the playoffs line in the Western Conference.
“We’ve gotten back to who we are, playing our Earthquakes style of soccer, so we have to keep that mentality going,” Marcinkowski said. “So much of that is a group effort, a team effort. Doesn’t matter if you’re starting or coming off the bench, we just have to fight together.”
Before Marcinkowski took over the starting job from veteran Daniel Vega, the Earthquakes had suffered through a dismal restart to the season following a stirring run in the MLS is Back tournament. Lopsided losses had become the norm, and the Quakes sat bottom of the conference with a shocking -21 goal differential. After wins against LAFC, the LA Galaxy, and now Vancouver, San Jose sits seventh in the West — the top eight teams qualify for the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs — a remarkable turnaround in an unusual season.
“It’s about taking it one step at a time, one game at a time,” midfielder Jackson Yueill said. “You can tell from these games that each game we are getting better and better. Our focus is to improve game in and game out, to fine tune the details, and hopefully by the end be where we want to be.”
Yueill, who it was announced earlier in the day had signed a new contract with San Jose that will see him remain with the Quakes for the foreseeable future, has emerged as the team’s on-field leader in 2020, and, like Marcinkowski, still a 23 year old, his best years are still ahead of him. Sure, the legend Chris Wondolowski is the Earthquakes’ eternal captain, but the kids are starting to make their mark on the team.
Due to injuries and international call-ups, the Quakes were a bit shorthanded heading into Wednesday’s game against the Whitecaps, especially in defense, and head coach Matías Almeyda dug down to the end of his squad to form his gameday roster. By the end of the night, five Homegrown Players — a franchise record — and the team’s last three first-round MLS SuperDraft selections had seen action. Half the players that earned minutes in the 3-0 victory were true Earthquakes youngsters.
“We have a really strong group, we have a really deep group,” Yueill added. “You saw a lot of young guys come in today and get more games together. The cohesion between everyone has been fantastic.”
San Jose has seven games remaining in its season, all within a 29 day period, and Almeyda is going to have to rely on many of those youngsters to fill out the lineup and make an impact. The coach has been hesitant to put too much pressure on that cohort of players, but it is becoming more evident that a select few deserve to be full-time starters, including Marcinkowski.
“If Matías calls my name, I’ll be ready to play,” Marcinkowski said diplomatically. “We are on a good run right now and the team mentality, the team chemistry, has been really good. Definitely a lot better than it was a few weeks ago. We want to keep going forward with the same vibe and same collective effort.”
Almeyda is reluctant to call out specific players following good or bad performances. His style of play, and the demands it puts on players, calls for his guys to put the team ahead of individual goals.
“There’s not one player that stands out, but rather the team,” Almeyda said. “When you play football, you play with eleven. The most important thing San Jose has is that each player has to give his best in whatever position he is at. … When the team is able to function as a team, we are able to achieve the style that we’re looking for.”
But his system only works when the parts combine cohesively, and any weak link exposes the team to the types of losses it experienced prior to its current run of form. Rookie centerback Tanner Beason has been particularly effective, in partnership with veteran Florian Jungwirth, in providing stability to the back line. Marcinkowski, a modern goalkeeper who is as comfortable with the ball at his feet as any field player, has provided the Quakes with an extra man through which to hold possession and build out of the back.
“With JT back there, his distribution has been great,” Yueill said, “but I also think everyone has stepped up and picked up where we were in Orlando and now we are able to break lines and get ourselves in better shape higher up the field.
“It’s about confidence,” Yeuill added. “Coming back to playing games, we were a bit slow, and building out of the back and playing difficult balls in and around the box, just playing a risky style of football takes courage, and it takes a lot of confidence.”
Three of the Earthquakes final seven games of the season will be against the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders — the Western Conference’s two elite teams heading into the home stretch — so they will be tested. However, San Jose doesn’t need to win all seven to make the playoffs, and if the team can continue building on their recent run of success, a postseason berth is certainly within reach.
“To continue this we need to remember not to get too high or too low,” Marcinkowski said. “When you win, it’s a good time, and we just have to keep that same mentality moving forward. We want to maintain that same equal line and consistently get better, game in and game out.”
