August 14, 2015: San Jose Earthquakes defender Clarence Goodson (21) celebrates scoring in the 53rd minute, during the MLS soccer game between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Colorado Rapids at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California, USA.
After a much needed 1-0 win against Colorado, the San Jose Earthquakes travel to Kansas City for their first of 2 road games this week. Sporting has been one of the best teams in the league this season, posting the highest points per game to this point and an unbeaten record at home. San Jose sits in 8th place in the West, 2 points behind Houston and 6 point behind 6th place Seattle, while Sporting is in 3rd, just 3 points back of 1st place LA and 4 points back of league leaders DC.
San Jose will have Fatai Alashe back from suspension after missing the Colorado match on Friday. It could be the first time we see Fatai and Anibal Godoy on the field together although with another game on Saturday in DC, it’s possible coach Dominic Kinnear choses to rest Godoy. San Jose will be missing Jordan Stewart after the club confirmed the defender is undergoing surgery for a torn Achilles tendon suffered against Colorado and it’s been noted that Matias Perez Garcia is still nursing a hamstring injury that has forced him to make early exits in recent games. The Quakes will have to overcome their health issues if they want to steal a result on Wednesday.
Tactically, San Jose needs to find a way to contain Sporting’s wealth of attacking options to try and keep a clean sheet. Benny Feilhaber, Dom Dwyer, and Krisztian Nemeth have each scored 8 goals this season to lead the team in scoring and set one of the best goals per game mark in the league. Godoy and Alashe will have their hands full in the midfield trying to contain Dwyer and Feilhaber in the center of the field and it’s likely that the match will hinge on their performance.
Defensively Sporting Kansas City will need contain Quincy Amarikwa and prevent him from continuing his road goal scoring streak. Through 3 road games with San Jose, Amarikwa has scored 4 goals although his team failed to win in any of those games. If Matt Besler and Kevin Ellis can limit Amarikwa’s chances and touches, they could shut down the Quakes offense altogether as Clarence Goodson’s goal last week was the only goal not scored by Amarikwa in the last 6 games. The Quakes have also struggled when opponents pressure them on the ball, forcing them into mistakes and poor passing. Dwyer and Nemeth will be all too happy to capitalize on those mistakes and get their team all three points.
For San Jose to have any chance in this game they’ll have to find a way to reignite their attack and keep the Sporting defense on their heels. Chris Wondolowski has to find the form he had before leaving for the Gold Cup and become a dangerous presence again. If Godoy and Alashe do play together, Wondolowski will have much more freedom to play further up the field and not have to be so concerned about defensive responsibilities which should make him a more dangerous scoring threat.
The match will be broadcast at 5:30 PDT on Wednesday, August 19th on CSN-CA in San Jose and KMCI-38 in Kansas City.
