Avaya Stadium is ready for it’s second season.
Image Credit : John Hefti
A busy offseason for the San Jose Earthquakes has the team excited about the possibilities for 2016 as they look to secure just their second postseason berth since rejoining the league in 2008.
Hope #1: Dawkins boosts scoring.
The last time Simon Dawkins played with the Quakes, he helped lead the team win the Supporters Shield and Chris Wondolowski won the Golden Boot with 27 goals. Dawkins contributed 8 goals of his own that season to go along with Alan Gordon’s 13 and Steven Lenhart’s 10. Last season Wondo only managed 16 goals and the midseason acquisition, Quincy Amarikwa, was the second leading scorer with 6.
This season will have to be different for San Jose as they look to improve on last year’s 7th place finish. Having Amarikwa for a full season will help increase the goal scoring but there will need to be another player on this squad who can help carry the goal scoring load. Dawkins was signed this offseason to be that player and to create chances for the offense. If he can be a double figure scorer, San Jose can be a real contender in the Western Conference
Hope #2: Find a will to win games late.
Last year San Jose lost a heartbreaker at home to Philadelphia 2-1 by giving up two goals in the last 16 minutes of the game. The very next match at home against Seattle, Fatai Alashe scored in the 70th minute, only for Obafemi Martins to score the tying goal in the 82nd minute. The next match, a first half goal against 10 man Montreal was negated by a 65th minute goal for the visitors as again points were dropped late in a match.
Especially at home, San Jose has to stay focused and take all three points. Wondolowski has the leadership up front to lead this team but someone in the defense will need to step up and take command of the back four. David Bingham has grown immensely after his first full season in goal and time in the January United States Men’s National Team camp and could be that person. Veteran Clarence Goodson should be a player who can step into that role as well. Ultimately coach Dominic Kinnear will have to find a way to keep his team focused for all 90 minutes
Hope #3: More Tommy Thompson appearances.
Anyone who has watched his games with the Under-21 National Team knows that Tommy Thompson is extremely talented. His ball handling skills are on display every game for any fan who shows up for warmups. His juggling warm up is something akin to Stephen Curry’s dribbling warm up, although nowhere near the spectacle that the NBA MVP receives. He’s capable of making mistakes in a match but also capable of doing something spectacular, although his goal-scoring ability has yet to show.
Last year though, Thompson only played 465 minutes in 17 appearances many of those very late substitutions. Much of the situation wasn’t helped by the Quakes drafting Fatai Alashe and signing Marc Pelosi and Anibal Godoy last year and Simon Dawkins this year as it looks like Thompson is buried in a stacked midfield. Thompson is going to need to get meaningful minutes this year so that he can get more experience and become a more developed player.
To Thompson’s credit, he’s put in the work this offseason preparing for his third year as a professional. Hopefully his training and dedication off the pitch, will lead to more minutes on it.
One Fear: Injuries derail season again.
The last two years in San Jose have been full of injuries, many to some of the biggest names on the roster. Two years ago, newly signed Designated Player Matias Perez Garcia played a total of 6 games before tearing his meniscus, and struggled with fitness all last year. Steven Lenhart has had multiple setbacks since the 2014 campaign, spraining his MCL and later suffering a foot laceration that kept him out the rest of the 2014 season and then making zero appearances last year due to a knee injury. Last year’s DP signing Innocent only managed to play 7 games before having his season ended by a knee injury that still seems to be bothering the talented Swiss international.
Goodson only played 10 games in 2014 due to injury; Jordan Stewart had 2015 cut short due to injury; both Marc Pelosi and Fatai Alashe will be on the bench to start the season after procedures to resolve chronic tendonitis and a sports hernia respectively. The list of untimely and unfortunate injuries seems to go on and on for San Jose and the club will be hoping to avoid the same issues this year.
If the injury bug is here to stay in San Jose, it could be another year recovering from injuries at home come MLS playoffs.
