Considering it has been 10 years since the Earthquakes opened PayPal Park, it would have been nice for them to finally host a playoff game this year. But alas, the wait continues.
Despite closing their season Saturday with a dramatic 2-1 win over Austin FC, and finishing level on points for the final playoff berth, San Jose was nudged aside of the ninth seed by Real Salt Lake — which managed to win one more game during the year.
Going into the game, Bruce Arena’s team needed a win and two out of the three teams ahead of them in the standings to lose in order to clinch a spot in the play-in. By halftime against Austin, none were happening.
But through sheer will and desperation, the Quakes found their breakthrough. First, in the 74th minute when Josef Martinez snapped in a header to equalize the game. Then, again three minutes later, when Niko Tsakiris, moments after coming into the game, drilled a free kick from outside the box to give the home side the lead — his first-ever professional goal.
The goal was reminiscent to the one he scored for the U.S. Youth National Team just a week earlier.
It’s the hope that kills you.
The 17,000 fans at PayPal Park roared alongside their hometown hero. Elsewhere, the other Western Conference games were starting to turn in San Jose’s favor. Colorado dropped points to LAFC. And St. Louis had equalized at home against RSL. For a moment, there was a chance it could all work out.
After the final whistle, the men in the black and blue stood in the middle of the pitch and watched helplessly as their playoff hopes slipped away. They had played admirably and looked dominant, but Salt Lake would be moving on and not them. The Quakes had put themselves in this position by having a dreadful summer.
“We blew too many games this year, wasted too many points,” Arena said after the match. “I could easily count a half dozen games where we should have walked off with a result.”
The 74-year-old — who just completed his first season in San Jose with 11 wins, 8 draws, and 15 losses — said that the night reminded him of his last game with the U.S. national team in 2017, where a loss to Trinidad & Tobago, combined with some unlucky results elsewhere in the region, meant his team would miss the World Cup in 2018.
“Look, we’re making progress,” he added. “We’re trying to catch up with everyone in the league… Is it disappointing not making the playoffs? Sure. But in reality, you know, we just weren’t good enough or consistent enough throughout the year.”
“We’re not positioned to win the MLS Cup at the moment,” he said.
If it feels like a lifetime ago when Quakes fans could dream of such a thing, that’s because it has been.
Barack Obama was still president back when San Jose won the Supporters Shield. The team played home games at Santa Clara University. Chivas USA still existed. The league only had 19 teams.
Since then, the Earthquakes have topped out as a fringe playoff team on occasion. Two out of the last four seasons, they finished last in the Western Conference. Measured by those standards, Arena should be credited for bringing a sense of stability and credibility to an organization in desperate need of some.
Had a ball or two bounced differently or DeJuan Jones not gotten hurt, San Jose might be preparing for a first round series right now. The margins are both small and bewildering. Austin FC, which finished four places above them in 6th place, scored 23 less goals than the Earthquakes, but conceded 20 less.
“I have a pretty good feel for what we need to do,” Arena said of improving the squad this offseason.
Two-thirds of the roster have club options that will need to be decided on by the end of November. Among those players are Josef Martinez, who led the team in scoring, and captain Cristian Espinoza, who Arena compared to Carlos Gil, his MVP talisman in New England.
“He needs to be surrounded, maybe, with a few better players to help him,” Arena said of the Argentinian winger.
Tsakiris was also singled out by the coach as someone he hopes will compete for a more consistent role next season. The 20-year-old came into the season with high expectations, but only played in 11 games because of injury and form. He’ll look to break into a midfield that features the likes of Beau LeRoux and new signing Ronaldo Viera.
“I was saying that Nico has got to take this free kick,” Arena said of the moment his team took the lead in the season finale.
The defense will likely be overhauled in some form. The Quakes scored 60 goals but gave up 63 in the process. Arena trusted Dave Romney and Daniel Munie down the stretch as his starting center backs, while the Portuguese-speaking trio of Vitor Costa, Bruno Wilson and Rodrigues were benched. The latter two are on TAM money with club options next year.
“It’s not just defenders and goalkeepers,” Arena said. “It’s our entire team and the mentality. We don’t have the right makeup right now to consistently defend well as a team.”
Then, there is the peculiar case of Hernan Lopez, the club’s most expensive signing in history, who failed to break into Arena’s lineup and was loaned back to Argentina mid-season. As the Quakes faded down the stretch, surely, they could’ve used someone with his qualities. Will he be reintegrated into the squad?
The microscope will also be on the team’s highest paid player, Cristian Arango, who scored 10 goals before July but only three after that. This marks the second season in a row that the Colombian striker’s form has tailed off in the later portion of the campaign. Arena deployed the 30-year-old in a myriad of positions, including as winger and advanced midfielder. Neither seem like the best use of his skills.
All of these decisions will have to be made in the backdrop of a potential ownership change as John Fisher has listed the team for sale. Although there is no indication that any buyer has emerged.
So Arena and his staff will carry on with the same budget constraints they’ve always had.
“We’re not going to have the spend that a lot of other teams have in the league,” he said. “But we’ll use free agency and we’re looking at players abroad as well.”
“You know the salary cap is always challenging, so we got to deal with that. I’m going to call Inter Miami and figure out how they do it.”
About the Author: Kevin V. Nguyen is a business and sports journalist based in the Bay Area. Follow him on X/Twitter @KevinNguyen_89 or on Bluesky @kevinvnguyen.bsky.social
