In a do-or-die game with unique rules that incentivized teams to push forward and go for the win, the San Jose Earthquakes might have played a bit too cautiously in their first MLS playoff game since 2020.
Playing against Sporting KC in the MLS Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday night in Kansas City, the Quakes failed to score a goal and ended up tied after 90 minutes.
But there was no extra time to be played; the play-in games are designed to go straight to penalty kicks. And Sporting KC featured a goalie, Tim Melia, who entered the game with the highest PK save percentage (42%) in MLS history.
The Quakes struggled to score from the spot as they lost to KC, 4-2, in penalty kicks to see their upstart season come to an end.
“I like how we grew into the game,” said first-year coach Luchi Gonzalez. “If we were in extra time, I have no doubt we could’ve had a good effort to win it there if there were no PKs.”
Having finished their season with four straight draws and only one win in their last 11 games, this was exactly the result the Earthquakes must’ve feared.
The Quakes’ conservative, defensive-minded approach is what allowed them to bounce back from a last-place finish a year ago to earn the nine-seed under a new head coach. But when pressed with a must-win game in which they needed to get numbers up the field and push the ball forward, the Quakes struggled to get anything going.
And instead of moving on to a best-of-three series that would’ve guaranteed them their first home playoff game since 2012, and first in the history of PayPal Park, the Earthquakes will watch the rest of the postseason from home.
They weren’t expected to win this game, it should be said. They entered as three-to-one underdogs against a KC team that had finished the year with six wins in its last nine games after starting the season without any wins in its first 10.
Featuring a starting lineup stacked with players who consistently show a quality first touch, and a coach, Peter Vermes, who has been at the helm since 2009, Sporting KC looked like a team that would be tough to break down.
San Jose’s cautious approach, in which they defend with numbers and look for opportunities on the counter attack, offered them little in the first half, when they hardly sniffed any chances at goal.
Their best player all year, Cristian Espinoza was harassed all night and struggled to get any looks at goal. He did create one brilliant chance for Carlos Gruezo with a smooth pass right on the ground towards the penalty spot, but Gruezo shanked it early in the second half.
The bright spot of the game for San Jose was 20-year-old budding talent Cade Cowell, who struggled in the club’s final regular season game against Austin FC and started this game on the bench. But Gonzalez subbed him in for Mathew Hoppe in the 56th minute and Cowell looked dangerous every time he touched the ball.
He nearly scored on a brilliant individual effort when he outran three defenders from the left side of the box through the right side, but he waited a hair too long to capitalize and his shot was deflected wide.
“Cade came in with fantastic energy and confidence,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a great game for him where we’re trying to defend in lower blocks and create space behind and in isolation. He almost scored a great goal driving across the box.”
Other than Cowell, the Quakes didn’t have many players who looked dangerous in this one.
They spent most of the game putting numbers behind the ball on the defensive side. They were out-possessed, 60-40, and outshot, 18-5. They finished the game without a shot on goal.
Gonzalez felt like his guys could’ve had more chances if they took advantage of opportunities to cross the ball into dangerous areas, but the scoring chances rarely materialized.
“I’m proud of the execution and intention,” Gonzalez said. “We can’t control the outcome and the result. We can focus on what we can control. Our attitudes were excellent. We were aggressive. We were willing to work to get behind the ball. First half we had six or seven possessions in or around their box with the ability to cross the ball and with numbers. And we didn’t execute.”
In penalty kicks, Johnny Russell buried his effort to put KC up 1-0, but Espinoza’s first shot was parried by Melia, who made a diving stop to set the tone in the PK shootout.
San Jose captain Jackson Yueill skied the Earthquakes’ second attempt way over the goal and they couldn’t recover.
Melia is “a good keeper on PKs,” said Earthquakes forward Jack Skahan, who converted his opportunity but it was too late to save his squad. “PK shootouts, it’s kind of a crapshoot. It’s tough. The conversation is to be confident, go up there with confidence, try to bury it. Bring energy. And I think we did that. PKs are just a tough way to end the game.”
