Latest / Tectonic Takes / Episode 153: Where was this in August?

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Episode 153: Where was this in August? · Tectonic Takes

• speaker-0: Welcome back to the Tectonic Takes Podcast. For the first time in forever we get to talk about a win, but where was this in August? Where was this for the last ten games? We'll talk about all of that. It's Ivan, it's Abram, and it's Devin. And we got to witness a win, but it was among the most stressful variety, but we will take any variety we can get. Abram, your initial thoughts and how are you doing? speaker-1: I'm doing well, thank you. ⁓ I mean, it was just, you're right, it was very stressful. don't think that I can say that it's like there's any reason besides ⁓ the other team really lacking in their chances. I think that they underestimated us and, you know, with good reason, there's reason to like not think that they're going to be that formidable of an opponent. But I feel like they didn't come with their A game and we were able to punish them for that with some good defensive displays, which is not something we could say every game. But I think our defense and midfield, everyone tried really hard and I think that's what ended up getting us to win. speaker-0: Yeah, Devon, this is like needing air essentially, but how's it feel now that we've had a little bit of time to process this unique win? speaker-2: It's like at the end of a diving trip, you get to take the mask off, you get to take all the heavy equipment behind you from your shoulders and just relieve yourself of all that stress that's been building up to this game because we all admittedly walked in thinking, we're gonna lose this. Abram came over, we had a little bit of food while watching the game, it was pretty fun. But all expectations were driving to that destination of a loss. And somehow the San Jose earthquakes, despite having not rookie centerbacks on the back line, but just having kind of, yeah, well, just inexperienced in the back line and other factors we'll get into. I think it's impressive that we walked away against supporters shield candidates with a clean sheet and a one nothing win. speaker-0: Yeah, our back three had an average age of just under 23 years old and it's not like we were the only ones using youth for our back line. When we first played San Diego this season, we emphasize how much San Diego had to lean into some younger players and arguably their player of the match, Manu Dua, he's only 20 years old, the center back from Ghana. And that's what this game was, a lot of defense, not a lot of goal scoring opportunities, but the biggest one that ended up finding the back of the net it was Arango Martinez answering the call of duty in a very perilous game. Arango the assist Martinez the goal. ⁓ Abram can you walk us through that goal? speaker-1: Yeah, what I remember was ⁓ that Chichou got the ball and he had a bit of pressure on him. But ⁓ Martina's made a very good run, well timed run. And Chichou is always going to attempt that pass when ⁓ Josef Martinez is available. then Josef Martinez, there's not much to say. He's squared up the keeper and he's done this a hundred and something times now in the MLS. very very calm in that situation ended up ⁓ he did hit the keeper on the way but what matters that it ended up in the back of the net it crossed over the line so ⁓ very very good finish ⁓ he had an opportunity later in the match to do a very similar thing but he missed that one but it doesn't matter he scored one of the two and they don't score any you end up winning the game speaker-0: Yep, and we'll dive deeper into the stats of course. I know you love to do that, but I'll give you some of the headlines. 72 % possession for San Diego. They had 2.3 XG to R, 0.9. They out shot us 19 to 7. Three shots on target for them, two for us. Four big chances to San Diego, two for the Quakes, and one big chance missed for us, and they missed all four of theirs. So it was very much smash and grab. and this usually ends badly for the Sounds of Earthquakes because this requires a big defensive effort and she simply hasn't been there for much of this season. That's been the story this season more so than their goal scoring and I think it just feels good to know that this team can grind out a win again no matter what happens with the playoff standings. We know it's out of our hands since our competitors have a game in hand on us but All you can do is give yourself a chance and it will look very silly if we do make the playoffs with the ⁓ funeral we gave this team last week, but it will be the best kind of silly, Devon. speaker-2: If there's one team to do it, I feel like the San Jose Earthquakes ever since we've moved back to San Jose and took back a rightful place here, we always seem to play poor against other low-tier teams. And then all of a sudden when we play teams like, for example, Seattle Sounders of the last seven years, we seem to play really well against them. And the same thing applies to both San Diego and guess Vancouver now. We've already walked away with, I think, a draw? Or was it a win? It was a win against Vancouver. speaker-1: They beat them, yeah. speaker-2: Yeah, we beat Vancouver and so like, you know, things like that. It just seems like we seem to, we seem to fare well. Like we drew against Miami this year and we we've competed really well against top, top performing teams. I don't want to say that I think we're going to do it again because I know the curse and I'm sure people who have watched, but ⁓ if there's a team to do it and to perform, ⁓ it is, it is us. It is the quakes. And I think Ivan, you could probably talk a little bit about. you know, Vancouver's upcoming schedule, it's looking favorable for us. speaker-0: I think the big thing in that favorability is the fact that they have a Wednesday game in the Canadian Championship final and congratulations to Vancouver FC making it an all Vancouver affair. So not bad for the CPL team, but that does mean that they have to derive some of their attention away from the San Jose earthquakes. And it will be very interesting to see because the two teams that we faced most recently looking forward to that game. the two teams at the top of the Western Conference so Vancouver Whitecaps have a game in hand on San Diego and Minnesota those are the three teams they were really focusing on mainly because we don't want to give LAFC that much credit but they are only four points off but it's San Diego 57 Vancouver 57 in Minnesota 55 but If you ask them, think that silverware is the most important thing and you have a chance to guarantee silverware on Wednesday. you take care of business as you should, the MLS team against the CPL team, you beat Vancouver FC, you win a Canadian Championship. And granted, for the most part, ever since Vancouver and Montreal have entered MLS in 2011, it's a one in three chance at silverware. So it's probably not the biggest deal for them, but you'd still like to win it when you get the chance. Or a shield, can't guarantee you have that chance. And frankly, they might fancy their chances. Even looking at the San Diego result, they can look at that as a what not to do against the San Jose Earthquakes guide. And they can still field a competitive team that wins the Canadian Championship and they can beat us. Like they have a little bit more depth now. They didn't lose some players in the summer like Pedro Vite, but they also gained some reinforcements led by Thomas Muller, of course. So it's going to be very interesting to see what happens. there. For San Diego FC it was a very frustrating game for them and their attacking options such as Chucky Lozano he did get subbed off late but that was mainly preservation for the remaining games and you want to keep him fresh for the playoff run knowing that he's going to be very important but A lot of San Jose Earthquakes ties between the two teams. We've already discussed the Verhoeven, Godoy, of it all. But of course, the big storyline was Amal Pellegrino giving a very familiar performance in this one, Devon. speaker-2: I think we all saw the Pellegrino that we knew for the earthquakes. Not the same Pellegrino we saw last year, but the Pellegrino we know of this year. Kind of a shame because I, Loki, admittedly wanted to see him perform really well. I was kind of hoping to see him score a goal, even though if he did score a goal, we'd only walk away with a point. But nonetheless, like, yeah, it's cool to see him start for another team, first and foremost, and to see him giving it his all and actually having a couple of really good chances and playing at that nine position that I guess he might not be entirely familiar with. ⁓ It was cool to see that connection ⁓ playing against us anyway. speaker-0: Yeah, San Diego, they've rarely put a foot wrong on the field and they've rarely made bad decisions this season in terms of their roster construction. But they didn't ⁓ formalize the loan for Milan Iliowski and he really was a proficient goal scorer in the minutes he had in MLS this season. Instead, he goes on to Philadelphia Union and at this time he's listed as having one goal in three games. So I'm assuming it's limited minutes there as well, so he's similarly efficient. And I think with all due respect to Pellegrino, that might have been a downgrade having him there instead of Iliaski. And it was a double quakes sub out of the game as both Godoy and Pellegrino were the first ones out for San Diego as they were chasing the game. And thankfully, Devin, you used up your one wish for a good San Diego performance on Andrews Dreher in the reverse fixture. So Pellegrino didn't. ⁓ turn into ⁓ Norwegian League Pellegrino in this one. But Abram, a little bit of relief knowing that Pellegrino wasn't going to just randomly show up in this revenge game opportunity. speaker-1: Right, I think that there's always the fear that happening because there's the heightened tensions, you know, I think that there's, you know, drama there. ⁓ I'm glad it didn't end up happening. he, you know, we all called it. I don't think anyone would have, you know, looked at his form and, you know, without the storyline predicted that he would be the one, you know, making a difference for them. But obviously the fact that he did just come from us and it was such an abrupt end, you know, brings more to the narrative. ⁓ no, I mean, he hasn't scored since April and I believe that was the Open Cup game. you know, that continued. wasn't just us. We have a good attack. We have one of the highest scoring attacks in the league. Pellegrino didn't contribute to that and he continues to not contribute. to another good attack in San Diego who's just struggled to make use of their opportunities against us, partly due to his, I don't wanna say wastefulness, because it seems really rude, but he isn't efficient in front of goal in the last year. He hasn't been, and so glad to see that continued. But I do wish overall that the story had been that he was performing consistently at the beginning of the season and stayed on our team. and whether would have had a difference for us when we needed it but unfortunately not to be speaker-0: Yeah, the idea of signing Pellegrino at the time was inspired. look at his track record and with the knowledge that it is still a competitive league. It may not be a league that is on a lot of American soccer fans' radars, the Norwegian league, but those Nordic leagues are underrated in my opinion and I think that it just didn't translate and that can happen from any change in league, whether it's from a reputable league or not and I think that... We'll see, maybe he'll have some more chances ⁓ to redeem himself a little bit, but he was helped with the fact that ⁓ Ingvartsson remains injured and that's been one of the other storylines for San Diego Sea this season that he hasn't been able to feature nearly as much as they had hoped. And another player that I imagine will feature a lot more if he gets to recover in time before the playoffs for Hoeven. I don't see Hiranji or Pilcher as players that are necessarily leading. ahead of him that he could definitely claim his spot back. Bambino will be a factor ⁓ when he returns as well and maybe Negri as well so definitely not a full strength but this is still very strong lineup but De Santos is their clear number one goalkeeper they have their strong midfield three and with Lozano and Dreher it shouldn't matter too much who the third person is in this attack except for the reasons we stayed above with Pellegrino but With the goal coming in the 14th minute, much of the remaining 76 minutes plus stoppage was holding on for dear life. Any standout moments in this game for either of you? Maybe some saves from the player of the game, Danielle? speaker-2: I mean, yeah, Daniel came up huge on that one-on-one chance where he just kind of threw his body flop to the side and, and, know, the, the San Diego player shot it straight to his stomach. I'm very fortunate for Daniel. I'm incredibly thankful that our scouting team found him, brought him to San Jose and he's continuing to be the exact same Daniel that we knew since, you know, day one. ⁓ Other, other key moments, you know, I thought it was kind of unfortunate. thought, ⁓ Joseph could have had maybe two. at least two more goals than him last night, well, at the time of the game. ⁓ tripped over himself, I think, at one point in the first opportunity, then he scored the second, and then there was the third one, shot it straight to the keeper's hands. ⁓ He played well, he played well, made the necessary runs as a starter that we wanted to see. And I think in the last episode where Abram and I were, maybe the last two episodes where at least I was kind of criticizing him for a lack of effort, ⁓ he improved. I think he improved a little bit better than we had seen him in weeks prior. So I do want to give kudos where it's due to Josef Martinez. He got the goal in the run of play instead of just a penalty. ⁓ At least as a team, I'm not like saying it just for Josef, but. You know, we're finally getting goals now in the run of play. And he's contributing to that again. And then also kind of, it's like a 50-50 for Chicho. I didn't think he had the best game. ⁓ But some of those passes he made to Yosef were pretty key in creating dangerous opportunities. And I don't think that should go unnoticed. ⁓ And then I think that we've also mentioned in like the back line, you know, we have two rookies who stood up. Two Pellegrino, two Chucky Lozano, two Dreyer, two all these big name players who make a difference for San Diego day in day out and we locked it down. Those two guys plus Daniel Muni locked it down. And that's impressive because we've kind of been on their throats for a couple of months now and they've proved their worth in a game where it really mattered the most. speaker-1: Yeah I'll continue in praising the defenders. I remember when we first signed down in Muni a lot of people gave us a really hard time. I believe that might have been the same draft we lost Arfton not that we were ever gonna get Arfton but I believe that if we didn't If Columbus didn't get him then we were gonna come back for Arson in the second round. Anyways, that doesn't matter. We got Muni and I remember at the time people were confused because we had like five centerbacks in the team and Doesn't seem so crazy now does it he's been? a very consistent player for us he was the leader in that back line, which is weird to say Ivan you mentioned how young that back line was and Meanie was at the center of it and didn't look out of place in my opinion and hasn't really Looked too out of place throughout the year except for some maybe some hiccups here and there ⁓ There was one play that ⁓ it was max floriani who he came in with a very crazy, ⁓ slight tackle, ⁓ he ended up getting the ball very good challenge, but I was telling devin I would never ever in my life attempt that if I was like a ⁓ six foot two Athletic fast center back. I still would never in my life ever attempt that So that's kind of the thing that separates an athlete versus ⁓ a soccer player that knows what he's doing and has confidence in his body and is able to... speaker-2: saying like it separates gold from pirate in a way speaker-1: Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, he was able to because it takes a lot of control to slide across the frickin ground and get a very precise touch on the ball when if you miss, if you make any wrong move there, you take out that attacker's legs, you're probably getting your red card. There's a penalty. There's so many things that can go wrong if you mess that up. So huge props to Max Florani and Reed Roberts, who ⁓ had lot of doubters before this game, including myself. They've had very poor games this season. So it's not crazy to look at this lineup and be kind of nervous about what the outcome might be against the San Diego attack. But they were able to hold their own. I felt like they didn't seem that green. They seemed like regular run of the mill MLS defenders, if not more than that. So that's the praise that I think we can give them. They did do their job. I do think that we won this game because San Diego didn't show up to do their job. But it doesn't matter because who are the guys that got the clean sheet? It was those three. speaker-0: With how rare clean sheets have been, each of them has to be stardust, huge confidence boost, especially for these young careers. hasn't been easy for them, and it was very great to see both Florianni and Roberts have their best games of the season in the same game. Maybe recency bias plays a factor into that, but I think for a lot of these games when they've played that you have to kind of game plan around them and see where you can kind of cover for potential mistakes. but now that they can pull this off, keep a clean sheet against one of the best teams in the West, we can give them a little bit more grace and some higher expectations next time they see the field. And with Bruce Arena's tendencies to not change a winning team, regardless of who's filling in, regardless of someone's back comeback from suspension or injuries, then we might have to see them again and hopefully they have a good encore performance because while it's great we can rest Easy for a couple days and enjoy this win and Quakes fans absolutely deserve to enjoy it because it's been rough The reality is I think they have to repeat this trick two more times in their remaining two games. When you're coming down to the wire and your rivals for that playoff spot have a game in hand, you have to maximize your points and that's going to be easier said than done. Vancouver, their resume speaks for themselves this season, incredible season. Even if we've already beat them once, it's going to take some doing to do it again in their backyard. And we've already lost to Austin a couple times. So there's no guarantees. whatsoever and it was a positive thing that there wasn't guaranteed because many people would have guaranteed we'd lost this game so you have to keep that same energy and hopefully they'll be competitive to the end and they can at least fight their way in or out of the playoffs rather than go out ⁓ with no fanfare. speaker-2: You know, think with the Vancouver game coming up, I'm ⁓ like very briefly browsing their statistics with 59 goals for and 34 goals against the earthquakes. We need to bring our a game offensively. We're going to have to score more than one goal, more than two goals to to seep out a win. I think this game, ⁓ despite the fact that we just got a clean sheet versus versus San Diego and Vancouver has a game on Wednesday. ⁓ I know that they have a lot of attacking prowess some players returning from injury I took a very brief deep dive into our attacking play as well, and I think it's it's been since June Approximately maybe 14 or 13 games since we scored more than two goals in a game And I think as I voice crack here, I think we need to we need to step it up offensively We have attacking players we have you know albeit Benji Konkettavich was not necessarily an attacker, was more of a ⁓ backline player. ⁓ We have the likes of Josef Martinez, Chichorango, Senni Buda. We have quality up there. We just need to put these chances away ⁓ in order to sneak a win versus these top contenders. speaker-0: There will be some reshuffling of the deck for Vancouver in these upcoming games. They'll be getting Kubas and Ocampo back from suspension. ⁓ They'll probably get maybe some run in the midweek game against Vancouver FC. Then some key injuries include Veselinovich, Gold, ⁓ Muller, and Blackman. So that was a similar story when we faced them the first time. They've shown tremendous depth though, so they are capable players. So if we look at their lineup in their last home game against Portland, and that was interesting because their attendance was 20,000. So it's not looking like they're opening the upper level of BC Place for every game just because they have Thomas Muller now. But they're still able to pack out the lower level with no problems, and their fans are very loud. a anchored by Matias Laborda who's being goal contribution schools and assists and then US men's national team player Sebastian Berhalter is in there with Ralf Piso and Bogue and they have two very fast wingers that are gonna give us a big trouble and they're more youthful they're more athletic perhaps than the likes of Dreyer and Lozano so it's gonna be a different kind of challenge and they also have Kenji Cabrera 22 year old from Peru ⁓ They're showing the intensity they need to ramp up for the playoffs and this is a team that they haven't appeared in MLS Cup final yet I think they've had one conference final appearance. Maybe that if that It's a little bit hazy, but this is a team that's primed to make some positive history in the playoffs and even if we can just stall that momentum by getting a regular season win it would be very important to do so and Looking at some of the wingback and the midfield positions for the quakes that's what's going to be very intriguing. We had two very attacking minded fullbacks in Buda and Kekanovic for this game. What did you make of their performance Abram? speaker-1: uh... yeah i mean we were talking about benji a lot uh... devin and i uh... just because uh... you know he he had a very uh... strange trajectory uh... for the earthquakes uh... unfortunately due to injury but he puts in a really good shift whenever he is called upon uh... in this wing back position which we wouldn't have expected when he started off as a striker uh... he he's very attacking minded Off the ball, he's very strong and he's very aggressive. Those two things. And also very big, very fast. And so it's very hard to stay away from him and keep him off the ball. Or even try to get the ball off him when he's holding you off. ⁓ And I think that Bruce probably is surprised by the quality that he had. ⁓ We were saying on the podcast that, you know, Benji I think is a Bruce guy. I think that once Bruce sees what he could do, he's going to really like him. And I think that is finally coming to fruition because it was a big game. ⁓ I don't know if Dwayne Jones is still injured, but we have a lot of guys, right? We have a lot of guys who have been in and out of that fullback position. And ⁓ Benji has at times, you know, not been the first guy on the team sheet. So it's good to see him, ⁓ you know, called up first and foremost, also backing it up with a strong performance. I don't feel like he set a foot wrong. feel like he's always going to give 100 % effort and then it really showed. ⁓ I think he was the type of player with the right profile that we needed to get a win. Yeah, we did get a win, yeah. speaker-2: Yeah, I think the matchup provided too with Benji and correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't it Chuki or was it the other winger? speaker-0: So Billy Dreyer's was the right winger, so that was probably Buda's matchup, and Lozano was left winger, so that was Kukanovic's. speaker-2: Yeah, so I mean that matchup alone, the fact that Benji hasn't normally played left wing back or a full back position for most of this season. I know during the Reno 1868 days he played with Ian Russell in a back line position. But that being said, he hasn't had much time this season in being matched up as a starter against Juki Lozano is a tough ask. for someone like Benji and sure enough he rose to the occasion. He's like, if I want to place myself into a starting 11 spot, I'm going to perform. And sure enough, he did just that. And like Abram said, he's got the speed, tenacity, the agility, everything that you would want ⁓ in a tall-ish fullback in a way. ⁓ You got it in Benji. speaker-0: If you need more XD X dog in him Benji Kakanovic can definitely provide that He usually has one of more grass stained jerseys at the end of a game and that was the case in this one ⁓ There was times where he got beat but he made sure that he recovered he made up for in other areas and That's what you can ask for and yeah a couple of our players picked up yellow cards Buddha and Viera But I think that in the event that there's yellow card Accumulation or you just need to sub someone off in You have Laruri come in for a midfield as well as K is now the fourth option in midfield behind three other capable options Feel good about that some of the defensive substitutions though would have liked to see more of an impact in terms of closing it out from Costa and Romney there's some shaky moments for them when they had fresh legs in this one any cause for concerns or just champagne problems and Otherwise, we got the result we needed. speaker-1: I mean nothing wrong happened. ⁓ You know, who am I to? Single cost I don't I don't Remember anything he did wrong. I'm not gonna look for anything he did wrong ⁓ You know, he came in did his job and that's basically all we can ask for him speaker-2: I would like a little touch in there though. I like being a voice of our Tectonic Takes Discord server people. You can find the link to our Discord server in the link below in our description. that being said, I think fans, once Costa was subbed on, think there's already gonna be somewhat of a bias of, Costa's not shown us the right Costa this year. So we're just gonna keep looking for things to kind of criticize them for. ⁓ He didn't, again, he didn't really have a very favorable opinion from our fans, you know, as the game progressed after he was subbed on. So, ⁓ it seemed like he kept getting beat by the San Diego wingers and attacking midfielders. But, you know, that being said, we did walk away with a clean sheet. So, the things that he provided to the team may not have been completely useful in the naked eye for a fan, but it provided use for the team as a whole. And it got us over that line. speaker-0: Right, any other closing thoughts on this particular game? Any standout moments or performances that we haven't covered? speaker-1: I mean, I feel like it's pretty cut and dry. think that ⁓ players really needed a win. I think this is a good time to get it. We need confidence more than ever right now. And, you know, it might be all for not ⁓ potentially based on how things go and, you know, we'll see what happens. But this is a really big boost in morale, I think, at a very ⁓ crucial moment because we have difficult games coming up we have ⁓ a tough schedule no doubt about that and you know it also provided I think some insight on on players and how they're doing the status that they're at I think Benji is one of those players where Bruce you know is gonna feel more confident about ⁓ having him as an option when ⁓ Nikklima is not playing when Dewan is not playing ⁓ and Going forward, think that Jose Martinez is a player that gets hot, right? ⁓ He's a player that confidence is huge for him. And if he can get on a hot streak at this tail end of the season, that would be really nice to see. And also, I was thinking to myself while working earlier today that if he told me last year that we'd get two show around, go Jose Martinez, and they would both have 13 goals each. at this point in the season. I'm not counting assists. I don't know how many assists they each have, but that's a really good return, I feel like, for the investment that we put in for them. speaker-2: I think given the fact that we have two players now that have surpassed the 10-goal marker before the end of the season, usually we only just see Wando crossing that threshold and then maybe a couple of others as the years go by like Vakka or Danny Hoosen from back in the day and of course I'm going to bring Danny Hoosen up because I need my dog after the guy. you know, ⁓ that being said, we don't usually see more than one player crossing that 10-goal threshold and it's nice to see that the two guys that we brought in at the start of the season are now making due for those performances. think, you know, adding to Abram's point, we need more. We need more. In order to make playoffs, as we're one game ahead of both FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake, we need more points. If they were to get points, they'd both surpass us in the table. ⁓ So no matter what, you know, it's winner go home at this point. speaker-0: Yeah, looking at some of the goal scoring stats around Major League Soccer, there's one team, Nashville, that has a phenomenal duo. Sam Surge, 22 goals, and Anu Mukhtar, 16 goals. that is just like a very high standard. ⁓ More than happy that we've gotten 13 and 13 from our top two goal scorers. But the point I was making was that you look at the top 12 goal scorers, they each represent 12 different MLBs. teams ranging from Lino Messi's 24 to Diego Rossi 16 before getting into Mukhtar and then also in that tie for 16 ⁓ Eric Maxx and Chippo Moteng so it is very special to have two very quality goal scorers even if it hasn't looked pretty and even though there's been some droughts here and there droughts are always expected for even the top scorers barring very few exceptions so They've come as advertised at least they're coming as advertised at the right time But ⁓ we'd like to see them finish strong for sure any other player that we think needs ⁓ to find another gear or We're just happy to see you know that grit and determination speaker-1: I I worry about this backline. I can't single out a specific player, but I don't think that we can look at these two rookies in Roberts and Florianni and expect them to produce this kind of quality every game. I think that would be irresponsible. ⁓ And you're right that Bruce does like to stick with the winning lineup and I do expect we'll see one or both of them in the next lineup. ⁓ But I'm not sure if that's good. And hey, Think they did great, right? I'm not gonna you know sit here and and dog on them and say that we can't see them ever play again But they they have shown us that they are prone to mistakes and I think that if we get too caught up in the hype, which is very possible ⁓ We could see some more mistakes in the back line, but with that being said ⁓ The veterans that we've got that aren't playing Rodriguez ⁓ Bruno Wilson ⁓ Romney I would probably mit Romney, not that guy. They're not ⁓ necessarily the solid dudes that we'd expect, because this defense in general has let in too many goals. And so we can't look at these centerbacks and be like, ⁓ these guys are going to fix it, right? So it's scary. No matter who you want to go with, there is still the possibility of of having a game where we just like are blown out just because we we let him more goals and we score. speaker-0: Yep, ⁓ well said there. If you want to do the full scoreboard watch for the relevant games for the San Jose Earthquakes this Saturday, October 4th, it'll start at 5.30pm Pacific, so Austin take on St. Louis. ⁓ Actually it'll start at 1.30pm, that's when FC Dallas hosts Galaxy. ⁓ Austin will be our final opponent and they'll also be in the US Open Cup Finals, so I'm sure our friends at We Austin TV are so hyped for that one. It should be a great US Open Cup final between Nashville and Austin. But back to MLS is also Houston hosting San Diego FC and rounding out the relevant fixtures for the sounds of earthquakes. We're also at Lake are hosting Colorado Rapids. So it is a nerving that a lot of the teams that were in that spot with in the table are all hosting games and we know how important home field advantage can be particularly in Major League Soccer with all the travel. and how regionalized the fan base is. There are not a lot of traveling ⁓ fans or diasporas really in Major League Soccer compared to NFL which has a lot more history than Major League Soccer but that's going to be key to look at. ⁓ Regardless of what happens on Saturday Sunday just focus on the task at hand at 3 p.m. There's gonna be a lot more eyes on that game being a Sunday game being a standalone fixture We'll see if that ⁓ ⁓ increases the pressure but I think the pressure is already sky-high. The San Jose Airquakes players, know what they are capable of, they know what they need to do. ⁓ Bruce Arena pushed the right buttons for this game and I know that he will own both the successes and the failures and he's always looking to improve the team. It doesn't matter win or lose, he's always trying to find different ways to approach the game and to optimize the game and no coach is going to be completely happy winning in the fashion that we did. Of course the result is great but you want to have a little bit more control in this game but I have a feeling it'll be a similar script against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Maybe not 70-30 possession, 60-40 maybe? Possible? speaker-2: I ⁓ think I was telling Abram during the game, we're used to seeing this team have more possession. Our team have more possession, playing through the back line, which is I alluded to mid-game as well. At least versus San Diego, I believe that there were a couple of opportunities where we could have progressed the ball a little bit further or faster up the field, but we chose to take that step back and then play it to our outside backs and then just ring it around the back line. The fact that we did that but still didn't win the possession game is slightly concerning to me as we move into Vancouver and Austin where we kept getting blown out by counterattacks. think a lot of Vancouver's chances when they had played us, when they went down a man were like 90 % counterattacks against us. And if that's the way we play and the way we played against LAFC in combination of those, I can see... can see worry in Quigs fan's eyes. ⁓ That's something we have to clean up. If we really want to win that possession game, we have to own our possession, but we also have to make our chances count. And that's not just like bringing the ball up the field and crossing. It's taking shots when we have the opportunity to and making, ensuring that those chances test the keeper. I think a lot of Chitose's opportunities in San Diego. Kind of missed the target entirely and he was definitely visibly upset with himself, but you know those are are things that we can't we can't waste speaker-1: ⁓ no, I'm sorry. I saw your thing. ⁓ no, I, I, do, I do agree. think that while you were speaking, Devin, I think that, I, I, a theory popped into my mind and I think that the reason that we ended up recycling possessions so much and, and, ⁓ we, made a joke, like, it's almost like Bruce made a rule where they can't go too many touches without, ⁓ hitting someone from the back line. Like they had to, as they're attacking, they started to look back and go back towards the back line. speaker-2: I remember we had a minute where Muni ran up and we were like, okay, well at least we could pass the ball forward now because we have a center back in the striker duo. speaker-1: Exactly and we didn't and we didn't we went back to the the guys who were in the back back land ⁓ and You're right that we do get caught on counter-attack. So I think that that could be like a way to mitigate the the counter-attack problem where if you see the the attack that you're currently forming and it's only like, ⁓ know 40 % chance of success. I think that they were choosing to recycle those chances Look at it in a different way and then you know when? ⁓ You know San Diego has the ball I feel like that they they let them have the ball in areas where they were more comfortable in You know defending where you can have the ball but because we're in this spot where we're ready And so you can have the ball cuz we're ready rather than we're gonna attack. ⁓ no, we don't have the ball ⁓ shit, they're they're they're coming up the field, you know and getting us off balance. So I feel like the It could have been, you know, a tactical decision to allow San Diego to have that possession with the caveat that when they have the possession, we are ready to, you know, defend them rather than try and, and, you know, take those risks and, you know, to get another goal and then potentially lose possession in a, you know, ⁓ a disadvantageous position, which would allow them to, you know, maybe get behind us, which obviously we don't let them do. this might have been a Bruce Masterclass. It might have just been me having fantasies while Devin was explaining. ⁓ If that's up to you to decide, you guys at home. speaker-0: Sweet, sweet fantasy, baby. So I feel like this game against Vancouver, I think that we'll probably get a goal contribution from least one of Arango or Martinez, but I also think that it could also be a pressing Judd game. I think that Judd rightfully got a contract extension, and it wasn't a little annoying to see the negative reaction just because it was Quakes news and the Quakes weren't doing so well. it kind of got redirected at Preston Judd but I think that he was gonna have one more goal before the end of the season and I think Vancouver it just ⁓ works out maybe it's because I imagine him as kind of a similar player to one of their forwards Brian White so I think it would kind of be a nice little mirror match thing to have going on but that's my tectonic take for that game ⁓ win by any score necessary and Preston Judd will have something to say about it speaker-1: Yeah, I mean when we first got Judd, a friend of the show, Jamon Moore, ⁓ who used to be over at Quicksniper Center, he said that he went to watch a training and his ⁓ opinion of Judd is that he scores all the goals, right? And that's like different types of goals. He can dribble, he can shoot, he can head the ball, a variety of different finishes. And so I think that's Why we want a guy like him because he can fit into different types of he's a very versatile player He he he stretches defenses. I think that he's necessary. You need a guy like him in this league ⁓ And you know, he might not be this exact same mold as someone like Alan Gordon or Stephen Leonhart But he's a big dude. He's gonna cause chaos. He's a very similar idea, right? You can kill a man. can't kill the idea, right? ⁓ So I do think it's a positive that we kept him and I think that there is no game where you can rule him out. So he can definitely get on the scoreboard in that Vancouver game. wouldn't, you know, I don't think that's a crazy take at all. I'm stepping on the Tachanka take with you. I think that he could definitely score against that because there's no game where Preston Judd can't score in. speaker-0: Any closing thoughts on anything Quakes related? ⁓ One final thing I'll add before I'll give you the opportunity to answer that. ⁓ Two things, Justin Martinez was a sub for the team of the week and Nico Shakiris was among many goal scorers earlier today with the US U20s thoroughly beating New Caledonia. Tougher battles ahead of course, but ⁓ good to see Nico Shakiris score. speaker-2: I think anytime Nico's on the score sheet, I get really excited. And it paints a picture of like, why is Nico starting for the Town FC when he's producing for the U.S. U-20 national team? Any World Cup scenario. ⁓ You know, they have Benjamin Kramaski. Hopefully I'm mis-saying that, mispronouncing it, but ⁓ they have Benjamin Kramaski as the captain and Nico did start for the team. ⁓ What does that say to the earthquakes? Why isn't Niko getting much time for the first team? mean, things that we may not know, ⁓ we're just kind of putting out there into the yonder of... Speakville, I don't know what I'm saying. But anyways, ⁓ it'd be nice to see Niko back in our starting 11 or just in the lineup in general. ⁓ But it is nice to see him thrive for the U-20 national team. And I know that's where a lot of those... international eyes kind of appeal to ⁓ if we were to hopefully, you know, transfer them on to a bigger name club at a bigger venue in bigger city. speaker-0: Yeah, it was a bit of a minute squeeze, only so many minutes to go around in midfield. One of the recipients of some of those minutes in this last game was Noel Buck, so yeah, we've got plenty of players to play in those positions and we'll see what Niko Shakira's role is. At the very least, I'd like to see him in the lineup for the Quakes playoffs rather than the Towns playoffs, but I do think the Town are primed for a good run as well in those playoffs. Aram, any final words? speaker-1: ⁓ On the town? They're doing really well. If you guys are looking for a playoff run and you're like, the Quakes aren't going to make playoffs, who do I watch now? The town is a great team. Definitely watch the town. It comes with the Apple TV subscription. Watch them. ⁓ On Niko's cares, I do want to touch a little bit on it. We've talked about him a few times. ⁓ He just doesn't seem like a Bruce arena player. I like Nico Chacaraz a lot I think that the type of midfielder he is is someone who can really control tempo and really dictate the flow of a game But he just doesn't do boost things I feel like he when he's the playing a 10 he wants to be an 8 and Drop all the way down and get the ball and build up really slowly like that He's someone who's like you can't tell him not to come deep for the ball He's gonna want to, he wants the ball every time. And I applaud that in a player, but it kind of destabilizes the formation maybe a little bit. also in the attacking end, ⁓ he's really had a block in his ⁓ ability to finish a play. When he enters the box, can just, something happened in his head, he gets way too nervous. He just can't finish. And That's something where if he was able to do that when he enters the box, when he gets those opportunities, we'd be getting offers from no problem because he is a fantastic player. One of the most talented players that we have at the club, in my opinion. And it's just those things. It's just a fit thing because I don't think that he fits as an eight in this system. He's a little bit too squishy. I think that he is an eight overall. But I think that when you're looking at what he brings to the table. You want him as an eight in a midfield three rather than a midfield two because he's going to be taking risks with the ball. He's going to be, you know, driving forward with it rather than being like Ian Harks or a Viera who are, you know, more solid defensively. Not that Nico doesn't provide defensive, you know, stuff, but he is not like, that's not the thing about Shakira's as it is with Viera. So. I think that with those things in mind, it's hard to see him breaking into this lineup unless we change the shape a little bit. Because I do think that he's a very capable 10. And if next season something happens, I don't know. But if he does not come back, I see Nico as a very good replacement option in whenever the fitness issues arise, whatever the case is. because he's obviously a very good player and has the left footed profile that Hernan has so it's like ⁓ a very similar kind of fit there. ⁓ But man, I think that ultimately the, sorry I'm talking so much but I do want, I have thoughts, a lot of thoughts. ⁓ The best ⁓ outcome for Nico Chacaraz is probably a move away. And I know that we don't like to hear that but I think that we can really catapult his career. And send him to a team that is going to give him the system where he could thrive under. Because I do think, obviously I said many times that he has incredible ability. And I think in the right team, with the right coach, right system, he can really be a centerpiece of lot of teams. We see it with USMNT, USMNYT, so many letters. And I think that he could easily become like a star for the US once he's being able to be showcased. ⁓ you know the same way that like maybe ⁓ reyna was for for darman he was getting chances and we got to see what he was capable of i think we need to see what nico's capable of at the right level speaker-2: You know, I just want to make a quick notion here, but ⁓ obviously this is a Monday as we're recording this. Tomorrow is my birthday. ⁓ You know, I'm not saying you need to give me a birthday shout out, but I did want to mention that in our server, ⁓ the Town FC is playing at PayPal Park on Wednesday at 7 p.m. If you were looking for a midweek game to go to and to enjoy your time with buddies, friends, and to watch, you know, some earthquakes players. Come out to PayPal park on Wednesday. Hopefully this will be uploaded by Tuesday and you guys have some time to hear it, but who knows? It's a busy schedule over here. ⁓ yes, TideFC, PayPal park, Wednesday at 7 p.m. Go watch the team, go support our earthquakes guys over there. yeah, have yourself a good night. speaker-0: Yep, and Abram do you know if we're still doing the MLS Next Pro thing where the one seed picks their opponent and then you go down the list because I like that. speaker-1: I think so. think it has the same structure as the previous but I don't know 100 % ⁓ but ⁓ it is a very cool structure, I agree. speaker-2: I believe yes, the answer is yes. I'm looking at a message here, it just says my guess is they'll start picking their opponents at the beginning of next week. So it looks like that format is still alive and well for you, Ivan. speaker-0: Perfect. Yeah, the last two regular season games are against the two teams of the Quakes last two regular season opponents Vancouver and Austin. That'll wrap up on Sunday, October 5th including that midweek game as Devin alluded to and yeah, I would respect that if they were bold and they picked a five or six seed if assuming St. Louis finishes first and they pick the ⁓ they will finish first. No doubt first to Quakes the has to finish second still that's not guaranteed but if the event that they do it would be a little spicy if they pick a fifth or sixth seed but we'll see what happens someone's gonna take a big swing they always do in that format and that will take us to the end of our episode thank you for staying with us for 50 plus minutes of your day thank you as always for your support follow us on blue sky on Twitter on Instagram join some discord server and as always Go Quicks. speaker-1: Go Quicks.