Photo credit: San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes hosted their annual Media Day on Wednesday, showcasing the team as it prepared for the home opener against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Coming off a frustrating 2-1 loss at Atlanta United, whose recently crowned World Cup champion Thiago Almada scored a pair of second half stoppage time goals to overturn a late Quakes lead, everyone was locked in during a busy training day on the PayPal Park pitch.
“The performance I thought was positive for the majority of the game,” head coach Luchi Gonzalez said while standing along the sun drenched touchline. “It’s important that we grab that because it is connected to our identity, how we want to act and how we want to play. We worked really hard in preseason to show that, in a hostile environment, in a tough place to play with talent. I am proud of the guys to show that. Did it sustain for the full game? No. Could we of had a little more possession and generate more attack at the end of the game to kind of take away some of the pressure they were putting on us? For sure. We want to be accountable. We’re disappointed with the final result.”
For the first 70-80 minutes of the season opener, the Earthquakes were the better team, and the massive Atlanta crowd was growing restless. After missing the playoffs last season for the first time in the franchise’s history, expectations were that United would rebound back to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. So, for Almada, who was honored with MLS Player of the Week honors, to turn defeat into victory in such dramatic fashion, the home side celebrated while the visitors only thoughts were to quickly turn the page.
“Look, at the end of the day, there’s a lot of hype about the last few minutes of the game,” Gonzalez shared, “and obviously with the individual talent that Almada is and the performance he did with his last two shots, so give him credit, give Atlanta credit and congrats to them, but at the same time, we’re not going to dwell on that. I haven’t heard from the team about any bitter feelings, rather it’s about moving on and focusing on what we can control. We did a lot of positive things last game, we did a lot of positive things in how we pressed and how we created offensive transition and how we fought. And even when our press was broken, we were getting back behind the ball and recovering centrally. We have to build on those things and do even better, that’s what our focus is.”
On a positive note, the team’s two key offseason acquisitions, Carlos Gruezo in midfield and Jonathan Mensah in central defense played crucial roles for San Jose in shoring up a defense that gave up 69 goals last season.
“The game plan and working together as a unit was working,” Mensah said. “I haven’t been with the team for very long, but we have been working on how to defend together, and obviously we did a good job until the end. I believe we can improve.”
Mensah, who joined San Jose via a trade with the Columbus Crew following the season ending injury to Nathan, the Quakes presumed starting centerback, did not have a lot of time to adjust to his new surroundings. But with Gonzalez employing a similar game plan to that of the U.S. national team under former coach Gregg Berhalter, Mensah’s former coach in Columbus when he joined MLS back in 2017, the transition went about as smoothly as could be expected.
“I spoke to Luchi for an extended period of time before I joined the club, after the trade, so he explained to me how the team wants to play, which is to defend while we attack,” Mensah said. “So I understand what he needs from me and from the whole back line as well. It is similar to what Gregg Berhalter used to do and I am familiar with that formation, so it is good to understand what he wants from me and the group. The most important thing is to come here and contribute.”
Mensah was no emergency signing, despite the timing of the Nathan injury, as the Quakes wanted another winning veteran in the locker room – he captured MLS Cup while with the Crew – and he never looked uncomfortable in his debut for the Black and Blue. He joked about showing up at teammates’ doors, even uninvited, to build camaraderie at every turn. On the field, he is a leader, a former team captain with the Crew, and a player that demands respect from those around him. He looks forward to bringing a winning attitude to San Jose.
“The boys are great,” Mensah said. “They welcomed me very well and I felt right at home. I am happy to do this season with them. This is an office for us, every day we come in and want to improve, get better, and get to know each other, especially on my side because I don’t know a lot about the guys. But I am here to help the team in any way that I can.”
While the Earthquakes revamped a lot of their defensive unit, including at goalkeeper, where Brazilian veteran Daniel made his debut against Atlanta in place of longtime starter JT Marcinkowski, the offensive half of the formation featured a familiar quintet. Leading the charge was Jeremy Ebobisse, the Quakes leading scorer in 2022, who notched his first goal of the new campaign with a diving header against Atlanta.
“Goals are nice and they build confidence for individuals and the team leading up to them,” Ebobisse said, “but ultimately you are looking for three points and we missed out on an opportunity to close out that game, so it was bittersweet, but we hope to create more chances from our attacking players moving forward.”
With Cristian Espinoza on the right, Cade Cowell on the left, and Jamiro Monteiro playing at the tip of the midfield, the Earthquakes looked comfortable in attack. Espinoza, especially, was potent on the wings, delivering quality crosses time and again. Cowell was more quiet, but his ability to challenge defenders will prove advantageous at times. Against Vancouver, Ebobisse wants to see more effort from everyone on the front line, and in training, they were definitely locked in.
But the Quakes forward also recognized the great progress that had been made on both sides of the ball, crediting the high pressing system implemented by Gonzalez as keeping the opponent unbalanced. Ebobisse was very proud of the defensive effort, and knows that further development on that front will only pay dividends.
“We conceded a lot of shots but they weren’t always quality shots,” Ebobisse said, “so we can take some pride in that. To hold Atlanta without a goal for as long as we did is something we can build off of. We want to be playing 90-plus minute games, so that is a focus, but given how many goals we conceded as a team last season, we are going to take the defensive effort in Atlanta as a positive.”
Gonzalez, too, was pleased with the team’s bounce back, noting that the determination they showed throughout the preseason, in training and in friendly competition, would compel the players to put aside the Atlanta result and cast all eyes on the Whitecaps.
“We are going to keep moving forward,” Gonzalez said. “I already see the group in two days of training responding. Not waiting until Saturday to respond, but doing it in the week together, in the locker room, in video, with feedback, and then on the field competing right now. I am really confident in this group. I have zero doubt in how we are working and what the potential is. I am excited for us to take on the next test against Vancouver.”
