Latest / Tectonic Takes / Episode 165: Niko and Judd Supremacy

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Episode 165: Niko and Judd Supremacy · Tectonic Takes

• Tectonic Takes: What is up Quakes fans? We're back with another episode of Tectronic Takes. We are here after a 3-0 win against San Diego. Devin, how are you doing today? How are you feeling after that win? It is a beautiful Monday afternoon. San Jose Earthquakes win 3-0 versus San Diego FC. You know one of the the highest scoring teams in the league and yet we still managed to shut them out at home While scoring three goals as well. I don't know. I haven't been able to wipe this smile off my face nor have I been able to Stop thinking about that Nico Tsikaras first goal of the game like oh my god Like I think we had talked about in the in the press box But like that game had so much to offer. Did you want to talk about it? I mean Yeah, there was the multiple things going on. It was a Obviously a very good quakes win. There was plenty of goals, but there was also a broken sprinkler And and they had to like squeeze you all the water off the field and the start of second half ⁓ Yeah, it was a great great press conference as well, ⁓ you know, there was Bruce did get a little bit chippy with some guys, but it was fun at least And didn't happen to me. So I mean, that's a plus. Yeah. Well, you certainly called something Abram. There was a question I wanted to ask Bruce and you're like, no, Devin, you're going to get yelled at. Yeah. Devin was like, should I just ask about ⁓ Rickett's injury? And I was like, I don't think Bruce considers it injured. I think you'll find more value asking something else. And then somebody else asked like, hey, what's up with Rickett's injury? You're like, he was enablin. You're crazy. Maybe mentally he was hobbling, but physically, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, we can put that clip up. Any concern about Ricketts coming out? was one of your last two left backs. Ricketts coming out? Yeah, walked off the pitch. Of course, he was substituted. ⁓ so that was an intentional substitution I was I thought because he was hobbling a little bit before that and was there any Is there any concern about him moving forward or he was not hobbling maybe a little mentally but not physically Very good. That was my misunderstanding. Obviously I felt really bad for that guy because Ricketts did take like a Contact before that and like shortly after he was substituted. So I don't think it's the craziest assumption to make ⁓ And he'd been running all game. It was it was obviously a sub for more fitness than it was for like an injury But it wasn't a crazy question. You have the same question Yeah, I had noticed that he was somewhat limping off the field when he got substituted too So it wasn't too far-fetched of a question to ask but you know when it comes to Bruce arena, you got to ask the right questions and and you know, I think you you channeled your inner Bruce arena and helped us both out with asking the right questions during the press conference. So thank you for that, Abram. Of course. I've, it's not that I've been yelled at, but I've learned kind of what to not ask him. I still don't know what I should ask him. Uh, I think the right answer to that is he doesn't, prefers if you don't ask any questions, his, his ideal press conference would be to just show up and leave. Um, and if that's too mean to say about, about him. I'm sorry, but that's what that's the vibes. He doesn't seem to want to answer a lot of questions So, you know, is it what it is on the flip side? Niko's Karis was the player that we interviewed I'm really glad that you got the opportunity to ask the question you did because I think I was a question a lot of people's mind where we were talking about it Devon when it happened when Niko squared that first goal we were like, okay, well he probably just expected a corner out of that like that's the kind of way you shoot it because What else are you gonna do? But you don't expect to score it. Like you shoot it in hopes that you get a corner and you bring more players up the field, whatever, you have a better attacking chance. And yet like it went in and like his initial reaction was kind of shock. Like, did that really just go in? But I'm going to go celebrate like I knew it was going to happen. Like, I don't know, I could be misreading it. But, you know, from that angle, almost no striker expects for that ball to go in. That was the most Perfectly placed shot you can ask for and well done by by Nico Tsukeras Yeah, I think the keeper was just as shocked as Nico was because you don't usually get beat out your near post But you'd also don't expect it to go top bins from the near post like that He probably could have done better, but I I don't know. I think that that's a very well struck shot and ⁓ I if I'm not mistaken the XG on target for that goal was like point seven two Pretty high actually on target not high actually overall, but when you shoot from there and get it into that top corner It's a pretty high ⁓ percentage that you're gonna end up scoring that ⁓ Yeah, very surprising. I will put the clip in of nico talking about that goal because I thought that was a very good question And ⁓ I thought he gave really well thought out answer Yeah, I think you shoot to score you shoot to score always But yeah, I think it was just a transition moment. We knew that we were going to get chances off a transition. Preston played me the ball, and I had to get a shot off. And yeah, I just, I tagged it. So was, yeah, great. ⁓ We love hearing from Nikos Kyrgios on these press conferences. I hope that he gets the opportunity to get more. And obviously, the way to do that is to. ⁓ You know play well in the games and and get on the score sheet or getting the system stuff like that is what gets you into these press conferences ⁓ We also we brought up the fact that before this match we had been saying ⁓ We want to see more from Nico, right? Not that he'd been playing poorly or anything But like we just there's just a little bit more that we'd like to see from our starting number 10 in terms of like assists and goals and stuff And then he really brought it against San Diego. Do have anything to say on that, Devin? Yeah, I think you're right. He brought his A game for sure. it wasn't just like, I think we had some criticisms for Nico and just more of like the development of play, bringing the ball forward and maybe adding more of a final touch to, you know, a scoring chance or scoring opportunity or laying the final pass off for someone. Obviously he led the league in the first couple of game weeks of key passes. You know, he really stepped his game up and had a really good tandem with Preston Judd. You know, he'd made a lot of wall passes, one-twos, two-touch plays. ⁓ He really put himself in the middle part of the field. ⁓ He was a threat, centrally. And I don't think we've seen as much of a threat as we did versus San Diego with Nico. And, you know, maybe we can contribute the red card in the 33rd minute to the advancement of... or the importance of Nico in the middle, but also, you know, two of those goals were before the red card. So, or I guess one was before the red card and then the second one was because of the red card. So, yeah, the results of the red. So, you know, I really do think that the red card did have, you know, somewhat of a factor in the overall look of how good Nico played in the middle, but also at the same time, he dominated the play. you know, lateral passing, forward movement, going back on defense, tracking back, tracking your man, you all those little things that we had seen Nico kind of progressively excel at. I think tonight, or not tonight, but Saturday night was the very first time where we kind of saw Nico provide 100 % of what we were asking him to do. What are your thoughts? Yeah, I mean, for me, this is We saw the Nico that I would like to see all the time like the finished product looks similar to this It you know that that's good thing right like he played Like a player who's like you know beyond his years. He was super effective and efficient and and like you were saying he didn't have a brace because San Diego was that ten men he got a brace before that Technically speaking like the penalty kick wasn't like ⁓ we got that because you know the one left player on the pitch for them He got that when there was they got the penalty when there was 11 players on the field for San Diego No, this was a great performance from Niko. I think that ⁓ If you look at this performance and you take away every goal say this is zero zero game I still think that Niko is probably mad at match just because of how he's conducting the play How often is getting involved how good he looked? ⁓ You know, he could have gotten a hat trick. He could have scored more There was one chance in particular where he kind of got the ball stuck under him on a 1v1 and if he was just like It felt like he was too excited if he was just like a little bit more present and collected I think that he would have scored that no problem ⁓ I think he also had another chance to in the second half where it was like a ⁓ close to the top of the box ⁓ Curler to the top left corner and the keeper barely had like a know a tip save over the top of the bar ⁓ So, you know those two chances alone could have given Nico a hat trick ⁓ but yeah, no to your point like he was dominating the field and Generated his own chances and not just for others, 100 % and You know, we can't lie and say that this game doesn't you know We can't say that is not impacted by the red card. You know, this isn't a 3-0 game necessarily without that red card because San Diego looked good. They they they're a good team. ⁓ But you know, when you lose a man and and not only lose a man, but you you can see the penalty and then you're down to know and you lose a man that you're you're you're pretty much done there. But. ⁓ My dad and I were talking about this before when on the drive home. My dad's watching this. What's up, Juan? Shout out, Juan. He says that if that penalty isn't called, which there is a world in which that penalty is not called. We've seen more egregious calls. Then we're 1-0, and we don't necessarily have a penalty to go to ahead. And they're at 11 men still. This isn't necessarily like a game where guaranteed to blow them out in right? We'd scored a goal Nico got that goal and it was really good But up until that penalty was called we're like, well, you know San Diego saw the chance. They're very much in this game. They look good ⁓ They could you know, pull it together dryers could pull something out of the hat and wear one one and You know If we had tied one one that wouldn't be the worst ⁓ result for us considering how good San Diego has been this season lose their first loss in MLS play. ⁓ You know, not ideal, but it wouldn't be the worst result, I'll think, considered. ⁓ But no, we did get those calls going our way, something that doesn't always happen for us. And no, we took advantage of our opportunities. I think that that sprinkler, Devin, probably ⁓ took away some focus. Going into the second half and they looked kind of like it took them like maybe 10 minutes to get back into the game ⁓ I didn't think that they were the bloodthirsty team that went into halftime when they came back They were kind of just juggling around hanging out and they were three zero up You know every reason to feel complacent and confident and winning this game I think that if that sprinkler thing doesn't happen we could have win this game by like five zero like no problem Yeah, I think you're right. know, first of all, shout out squeegee. That was a really fun moment. ⁓ But, you know, second, yeah, I think you're right. The squeegee slash broken sprinkler definitely had a major factor to our performance in the first 10 minutes. ⁓ You know, kind of piggybacking off of what you said, like the players seem to struggle to find a rhythm. And there was a lot of misplaced passes. San Diego was picking up a lot. a lot of opportunities to move the ball forward. Thankfully they didn't, you looking at the shots and shots on target here, San Diego still ended up only with one shot on target and six shots. So they didn't generate too much to, you know, to give Daniel, Daniela a hard time. But nonetheless, you know, the earthquakes weren't what they were in the first half. you know, misplaced a lot of passes. There seemed to be like a lack of communication. pleasures weren't on the same mindset. And then after the 10 minutes, you can finally see them getting back into the rhythm, making those normal passes, bringing the ball, progressing the ball forward. what I liked most actually was after we found our rhythm again, we found a lot of opportunities to play the ball centrally and then redistribute that wide. And I know that has a lot to do with Niko Tsikaris and we just finished talking about him, but I think it has a lot to do with Bolaroos as well. you know, we had touched up on this earlier today, but Boleru wasn't necessarily just found in the middle. He was also moving his self out wide and generating spaces, not just for himself, but for others who would also, ⁓ kind of make underlaps centrally and, and, you know, create his own space, whether he's in possession or he's off the ball. ⁓ something that I was really impressed with in the first half was the fact that Boleru just Like he was, he was dancing. He was dancing with his feet, with the ball. You know, there was a good opportunity where I thought the ball was, you know, ⁓ he had the ball on his feet and he was just dancing through the San Diego back line, maybe two or three guys and then found a shot. Unfortunately, it didn't go on target, but you know, he created that opportunity for himself when others may not have been available. And those are the kind of individual creativities, chances that I've been asking for at least for the last couple of years now, you you see a lot of ⁓ selfless play, but also that selfless play kind of results in just like a ⁓ dead ball scenario or possession leading the other direction. This is something I've kind of like thought about maybe about five minutes ago, but it was almost like a Valko-esque moment. And I know a lot of Earthquakes fans don't like Valko, but Valko was known for his individual creativity. And it brought me back those kind of memories watching Bolaru dribbling through most of that defense and also like individual skill in the midfield third of the field. You know, we don't we we didn't really see too much of that from any other player on the team as part from, you know, the select couple ⁓ like Osani Buddha and whatnot. ⁓ But Bolaru stepped up his game and sure enough versus San Diego, he I would say he shined maybe third best player on the field. Well, so who's your second best because for me obviously nico's first, I'm sorry if you said it and I was looking at stats. ⁓ who's number two for you. I did not But I think number two would be preston judd. He was directly involved in all three goals Sure. ⁓ yeah, I mean numerically Of course judd. I mean we're gonna so let me break this now. ⁓ just ⁓ we're gonna talk to judd About his his charity. It will be uploaded separate from the podcast this time because our upload schedule is different from when we're able to actually record that show Very excited to do that. It's gonna be we're gonna highlight the the charity and poppies named poppy is Preston Judge dog who he honored it with a celebration where he pretended to urinate on the corner flag ⁓ Very very very cool. He told him he told sas shout out sad that he was gonna do that before the game He said when I score I'm going to do this and he did end up scoring and you know, that's very cool. But for me, it's just the way I like to judge games. So this is completely biased and people are free to disagree. I think that Ballou had a massive impact on this match. And I know that numerically in terms of like goals and assists Judd did do better, but Bo like is everywhere and Judd missed too many chances. He missed a header. missed a few chances. So again, that's where this game could have been like 5-0 if Judd is like, he scored obviously. And that was a really good pass from Bo to find Judd in that spot. Great for Judd to find himself in that position. But for me, it's hard for me to look at a performance like that from Bo LaRue and then put Judd ahead of him. ⁓ But I totally understand why you would. I'm not arguing with you. I'm just like, I'm offering a different perspective because ⁓ if he doesn't square that goal, I don't know if that's, you know, well, if he doesn't quite that goal, then maybe Bolloui doesn't get that assist. So, you know, that's another prerogative to that. But ⁓ let us know what you guys think in the comments. Who is your top three in this game? Yeah, I think another shout out could be to Benji Kukanovic because Benji had that one opportunity in the first half. That led to that, you know, Preston Judd first time miss in front of goal, which I think to your point was unguarded by any defenders. know, nobody was anywhere near Preston Judd. He could have taken a touch if he wanted to. ⁓ But, you know, when you're in front of goal, you're not thinking about, ⁓ should I take another touch? I just want to score. Which, unfortunately, he missed the net. It happens. It's a striker moment. ⁓ If anyone's going to miss the net, it's going to be a striker. But you know kudos to Benji Kekanovic Benji put himself in the right position Had a great pass. I think it was by I don't want to name names, but it was a great pass out wide to Benji took a couple touches forward crossed it right into Preston Judd and You know situation happened, but I don't want to give you a hard time But that that pass that you're talking to which I'd on his left foot first time was a scan Let's game pass. Okay. Yeah, but there were they a ⁓ Cross that was in the air a really nice whip cross ⁓ by the end line from Benji and I think that you're you're completing the two because then you did have a really good crosses game as well But I think that opportunity just just to not get us roasted online by the trolls out there that that specific one was ⁓ a Scane cross which I think is like one of the the biggest contributions you had to that game in terms of chance creation? ⁓ Well, either way, think, you know, Kitkanovic had himself a really good game, especially as a right back. Still, it's six games in. Benji still has not conceded a goal from his side of the field. ⁓ And I think that that's telling and there's a lot of layers to that as to why Benji has improved his right back game and why he's not conceding any goals. think the dynamic between him and Roberts and Muni whenever they interchange ⁓ is really important and valuable to their comfort in the back line. And now that we don't have DeJuan Jones, he's, ⁓ you know, all members of the back line have to adapt to that loss. But Benji specifically is furthest away from that. So he has the least worry. ⁓ But to your point. Jack Skean, he was Benji's partner for the game, you know, as the right winger. And I think those two had a really good combination throughout the 90 minutes play. And, you know, we had normally seen that with Osani Buda and Benji Kakanovic. And I think that that goes to Benji's character, that he's able to adapt to different player kind of roles ⁓ or character types. ⁓ Throughout each game whether you put Jamar Ricketts in front of Benji whether you put Osani Buddha ⁓ It's almost the same result Benji performs game in game out What were your thoughts Abram? No, I think Benji has been huge You know the I do I would be remiss in not mentioning that That's the article the only goal we've considered all season ⁓ was It wasn't from his side. Duann was caught out, but he was held onside by Benji just being a little bit behind. But that's not really like, ⁓ Benji is a terrible right back now. Like that's not what that means. He has been extremely solid. And you know, he might not have made that cross into Judd that we were talking about earlier, but I think that his contribution defensively is massive. Nobody gets by him because they're not faster than him. They're not stronger than him. They can't win the ball from him in the air And he's not even a right back really like he's playing there because he's really good at it but like if you ask them what what position he is, know, just just He'd probably tell you that he's a forward just because how he is but but no he he's adopted this right back position and it's kind of like ⁓ An aura of I don't care. I don't care where you put me. I'm just gonna do do Benji things, you know, and he does those things really well. Super happy that, you know, we found a good place for Benji because he was kind of on the island of Missit Toys a little bit where it's like, where are we going to fit him right now? But I think once Bruce saw what he had to offer, we'd been saying it all last year. I was like, I think Benji is a Bruce type player. I think Bruce would really like Benji if he gave him a chance. And he did, he gave him a few runs right back and then he hit his head on the advertising board. And so he had to be out for a little bit, but now we saw the season, now he's fully fit. We're using him a lot. ⁓ And ever since we saw him in Coachella pocket, Wilfred Zaha, we've been, you know, singing Benji's praises because he's really hard to get by and it's been working in our favor. You know, not just having Danny Meany who's the fastest defender in MLS. Reed Roberts has been, you know, very solid. And obviously, Dowan Jones, we love Dowan Jones and Ricketts who played really well. Benji has been like, for me, probably one of the most consistent players throughout the whole team this season. Yeah. And also I do stand corrected. I just watched the highlight of Jack Skane. passing it to Preston Judd, so I apologize for the misidentification. ⁓ you know, the next person I actually wanted to talk about was Jack Skate. ⁓ And Jack, for me, he had a five to six out of a 10 performance. There was that moment that we just talked about with the pass to Preston Judd. ⁓ And there were small moments of progression up the field where Benchy kind of laid him a through ball and then... ⁓ Jack kind of held that play to bring the rest of the team forward, which I think was great and creative to... helpful for the rest of the team. ⁓ But I didn't sense much danger when Skein was in, you know, in possession. And that's not to say Skein is bad. A bad player during the game, I just think he didn't contribute consistently. throughout the 90 minutes time to give him anything more than a six and a half at a time. at least in comparison to the rest of the team who played, you know, out of their minds. ⁓ And, you know, Buddha on the other side had a I'm looking at the Foutmob ratings right now. He had a seven point four. Skade had a six point eight, which is not bad. It's just like it wasn't an outstanding performance is pretty average. And I think that's a really like you said, six out of 10. I think that, you know. I think that ⁓ accurately describes ⁓ the game for Scan. I think that there's obviously value in Scan. We've always said that he's really good value. ⁓ He was always available to help progress the ball when, ⁓ you know, Nico would get in the midfield or Vera or LaRue, Benji. They had him open to play him into space and then he would give the bombino a really hard time. In terms of having me track back and and make sure that he's preoccupied on defense in that capacity and there was a little segment where Dua and and skein had a like a duel and Dua ended up going down Which cowards move that's why you got sent off later ⁓ But but a game almost got the ball back man, like do it threw himself on the ground. We saw the replay And it didn't look like a foul of that It just looked like he tossed himself down. He tossed himself down and obviously we are biased but we watched it and I don't know you look like he jumped down there was contact of course, but he He didn't have to fall over Is what we're saying ⁓ So yeah, not a bad game at all from scan. I think that again there's value Paul Marie came on for him in the 57th minute and I liked the way that he combined ⁓ in like the half bases in the lanes in between. ⁓ And you know, maybe he wasn't as fast to ⁓ in terms of like the transition. Skane is a faster player probably overall. So you can play him into space and then he'll be able to run onto it. But Palmery isn't quite as quick in the transition. ⁓ But what did you think of Palmery's performance at right wing overall? ⁓ I think he contributed. ⁓ decent amount. mean the the difference between he and Skein is I think the 1v1 success rate or at least the visual test, the eye test in terms of 1v1 success rate. I saw Paul Marie with a lot more composure on the ball and trying to take on his man 1v1 and generate space for himself. There are a lot of moments I think in the obviously the second half when he was subbed but when when Paul faked to the end line and then cut inside and found a man to pass to or found a shot for himself. ⁓ You know, I think Paul Marie did a really good job with generating opportunities and then leading to potential rebounds from the San Diego goalkeeper. That's something that like, if I were a coach, I would love to see more of in players is to create your own chances and to have the composure and and confidence to take on your man. ⁓ I mean, soccer is an entertainment sport. You know, and one of the things that provides entertainment is the intensity. And Paul Marie brings that intensity. And I know we talked about it last week with his comparative stats, attacking stats with, you know, a couple of other players. But that's something that you see out of Paul Marie's game. You don't see out of, you know, maybe a couple of others is, is that intensity and intensity rate. throughout the 90 minutes period. ⁓ And that's why he also scores bangers because he wants to bring the ball forward and he wants to, you he wants to win the game. And that's how he wins the game is by putting the ball on target and moving it forward. So ⁓ I liked what I saw out of Paul Marie and I liked his defensive work rate as well. ⁓ I saw him tracking back a couple of times and supporting, you know, the back line with ⁓ a couple of challenges or at least, you know, blocking the passing lanes. centrally, which is, think, you know, helping disrupt the flow of play that San Diego was so used to, especially through, you know, like the midfielders like ⁓ Annabel Godoy, who didn't really have that good of a game as a substitute late in the game. think ⁓ there were several moments where, you know, Paul Marie was ⁓ kind of like manmarking. I don't remember who it was, but he was manmarking a player. And, you know, something I guess, now that I bring it up, Our back line was also man marking, you know, we can talk about that in a minute, but specifically to Paul Marie, he provided a lot more offensively and defensively ⁓ for San Jose. And I really hope that next game versus Sporting Kansas City, a team that isn't, you know, is going through a bit of a struggle right now. ⁓ Hopefully we can see more of Paul Marie next game because I really liked what I saw. Yeah, I agree. ⁓ You know the stats favor scan here who did play it twice as much so not surprising ⁓ But you know, Paul Marie didn't have a bad game from what I'm looking at on a Fought mob but what I what I liked from the eye test that the numbers can't really tell you is the Just the the the mentality when approaching the opposition box ⁓ Paul Marie looked kind of He looked more interested in finding a penetrating ball or or dribbling and moving player that are positioned to make something happen. You know, not that scan doesn't penetrate, but he is more looking to do the safe thing. ⁓ He will go to online, put a cross in. If he sees someone in the box, he'll pass it to them or he'll recycle. And nothing wrong with that at all. It's very good to have somebody who can do that for you on a consistent basis. especially somebody again with a lot of speed that will give you verticality. So having both those things very valuable to have. ⁓ But Palmarie, you know, also being an option, I don't think that it would be too detrimental to the squad if we wanted to, ⁓ you know, give Paul the start and then bring Skean off the bench to ⁓ give tired legs, you know, more trouble. Reason why I liked having Jamar off the bench at times ⁓ Being of Jamar he played well in my opinion he was the second player with the lowest ⁓ Stats here on a rating on FATMOB. He got a 6.8 as long with Jax Gain ⁓ But I don't he didn't play poorly at all. I thought that he looked really threatening on the left hand side And he wasn't challenged too often defensively, but he did There was many times where I was like, where's Jamar? Like where is he at and he was on the other side of the pitch. He was too far up ⁓ And obviously he's very fast, but he's not always going to be able to get back and get to that position So I think that in a different game that could have been really difficult for us like say we're playing Nashville and Jamar just like leaves and Frickin Christian Espinosa is by himself you know, running at our back line. That's a very scary thought. Yeah, and something I wanted to touch up on, as mentioned maybe a couple of minutes ago, but do you think that may have had to, obviously we're not going to like watch the footage now, but do you think that could have had something to do with the observation we made in the first half where some of our back line players were playing more of a man marking Almeda-ish role ⁓ in their positions? Because we had seen Reed Roberts, All the way out in the left backside and then also, you know, jamar rickets moving into center back following specific men Do you think that may have may have had something to do with it approaching this game? I mean it could just be like a specific thing for this game. I did see that ⁓ that is like something that was very ⁓ palpable ⁓ where Yeah, there was like there were there they weren't going according to their position. It was like they were following a certain player and Dreier's was marked pretty heavily, which he should be. ⁓ That's the correct thing to do. ⁓ I don't know, because we see a bunch of different things defensively. I've seen three different ⁓ defenses over the season so far. We've played six games. So it's not something where I'm like, ⁓ we're a man-marking team now. We're a team who can man-mark. And then against a team like ⁓ San Diego who like to play out from the back who like to to move the ball around It could work But it really you know it's gonna be a situational kind of thing Yeah, I don't expect the man marking situation to continue on to sporting Kansas City. I mean maybe LAFC You know with Benji man marking Buonga or something like that I can see that happening especially with how good Benji has been lately ⁓ you know, both players with good speed and Benji with good defense. I could see a potential man marking situation in LA FC, but you know, the point being versus San Diego specifically, it's not, I don't expect it to continue into the following week or even versus, you know, in the US Open Cup where we play, you know, Phoenix Rising FC. ⁓ This seemed to be like a one-off thing and to kind of, you know, dig those, those attacking claws by Dreier kind of further into the ground so he's got less movement. And it seemed to have worked, given that they only had one shot on target, six shots, and total team XG of one throughout their entire game. think, you know, our back line, ⁓ you know, whatever Bruce's tactics were approaching the San Diego game definitely paid off. And obviously the the red card contributed to our success. ⁓ But it was just an interesting to know. And I kept an observation of that man marking situation all into the second half. And I didn't see it as much into the second half. And maybe we were just playing with a more calm, calm stance ⁓ throughout the second half. the fact that we were man up, we didn't have to follow a specific man and we can kind of sit back and absorb pressure and then counter. ⁓ Maybe that was a factor, but yeah, it seemed to have been a significant factor in disrupting play in the first half. And I was quite satisfied with it. I think versus big teams that maybe something you see out of the Santa's earthquakes again. Yeah, I mean, I think that it's really a case by case kind of thing. ⁓ You know something that might be illuminating from Nikos Keris in the press conference was he said It might have been during your question that they knew that they were gonna get chances off the transition like the the counter-attack They didn't obviously know that a terrible plot a terrible pass would be played back to the back land like that Which is how that that first goal happened? but They they were you know manufacturing their defensive formation to make ⁓ attacks on the transition happen. ⁓ Just from the words that Nico said in the press conference. And I think that that's pretty telling because that's what happened in this game and how we got those goals. Molaru, ⁓ he was in the spot and he put the ball around the defense because they weren't set yet. You know on on the judge's goal Just kind of putting them on their back foot and then you know striking while while we have momentum is is seemingly how we got the goals against them I got San Diego here But obviously if we were to ask Bruce any of these things to see if if he agrees with our tactical analysis We're not getting much So you're just gonna have to take it from us. That's what we're seeing if you guys agree like great if you disagree Pick up your microphone. Let us know. Yeah But no, mentioned the game against ⁓ Sporting Kansas City coming up ⁓ We beat them earlier this year. I don't Have a lot of worries about this game ⁓ This was a game where I was I Was looking forward to this game after this cup this really rough shush that we just had You know looking into it ⁓ in the past I was like, that Vancouver game is going to be hard. The San Diego game is going to be hard. And the Sporting County City game, that's going to be breath of fresh air. ⁓ And we're coming into it having won our last two games without conceding. And then, know, Sporting going into this, losing 3-1 to Terrell Salt Lake. And I got to watch the highlights for that match. They didn't look good. Their defense looked like they didn't want to be there. ⁓ I don't know if you got a chance to watch the highlights, but I don't I'm pretty confident about this game. What do think? I did not get the chance to watch the highlights, but I will state, you know, that was our opening game. We also scored three goals. Guess who was a goal scorer in that game? Preston Judd. So, you know, Preston's in good form. As I said earlier, I think he's he's got, ⁓ you know, coming off. a win with three direct involvement of three goals. ⁓ I think his form will continue into sporting Kansas City and I'm not expecting Preston Judd to score, but despite my, ⁓ you know, slight, you know, fires of criticism here and there about his game, I think he's in good form right now and I think Preston Judd is something that we need or someone that we need. versus sporting Kansas City because he's the grit that we need in a game where maybe skill isn't necessarily the number one thing to pull out a win. I think it's just simple passing, simple movement, and simple finishing in front of net, and that's what Press and Judd mostly provided ⁓ versus San Diego that I think will carry into sporting Kansas City. What do you think, Abram? Yeah, and and I agree. I think that is the type of layer he is but ⁓ if not the full picture I think that you know, he also has a lot of skill we saw him take on players with more success in this match for me That's something that has been kind of mixed. No offense Preston ⁓ But he looked really good dribbling the ball against against San Diego ⁓ He got the assist on that nickel goal ⁓ he in the second half. I remember he had a a really cool dribbling kind of moment. ⁓ So, you know, we might, I don't think we've seen the best of him yet. And that's not to say that he hasn't been good yet. He has been very good. ⁓ But I think that there is more to come. ⁓ I think that he just has to get hot. And we've seen it before. He gets a goal here and he'll keep going. He likes to chain them together. This is a really good game for him. I think that we will be able to find him in good spots He just has to finish. I think I'm really it Abram tell me if I'm wrong too, you can you can correct me but you know in in the second half versus San Diego I saw a lot of What I've criticized press and Judd for is the lack of 1v1s and the lack of take-ons and when his body is pushed away from goal And he's not facing goal, you know he was used or we're used to seeing him kind of struggle in terms of like what to do next. But I think the second half of Preston, he could have actually had maybe two, one or two assists because there were moments where his back was turned to goal, but he also found the composure to turn his body and create space for himself and then pass it across ⁓ goal and no one, you know, ended up being there to slot it home. But I think. You know, there's an elevation to his game that he picked up comparative to the last couple of games where, you know, he was able to create space for himself and put the ball in locations that, you know, are dangerous and other players could have slotted at home. But unfortunately they didn't and Preston didn't get any assist or credit for anything. But I think the opportunities were there and Preston put himself in good position for success. Yeah, I mean, the main criticism I have is just the fact that he missed a few, but that's going to happen when you're a striker. You're going to miss because you're going to be shooting a lot. And the only thing I would say is that like some of those were were to be scored. I think that that header, you know, even if it's just on target, I would have been very happy if it was on target and the keeper saves it. I'm like, well, yeah, he's a threat. ⁓ just the fact that he kind of whiffed the the header i'm not there. I didn't see it like Sometimes headers are weird, right? They're just a little bit off All you have is your neck to kind of angle yourself, you know, but for me i'm like you should have done a little bit better there I think that he can like I think that he's fully capable of doing a lot better. ⁓ and I think that like this He had a really good season last season. I think seven goals I think this could This year we can see him easily surpass that um, you know with up to double digits even I was gonna say even more like triple digits like oh my god, preston's up for ball on door He's almost halfway there and you know, he's a starter after six games I I think you know, he's technically on track for a What half of 34 17 goal? 17 season, so I don't think it's gonna happen. Obviously. don't expect preston to score 17 goals, but he's Scored, you know on average one goal every two games. So there's a chance Yeah, there's every chance and you know, there's there's he he's also somebody who can score multiple goals in one game So yeah, uh, I think that we like I said, we haven't seen the the limit for a question I think that you know, the reason we're talking about him is because of what he has to offer us um, and he he's our main striker right now, uh, and you know, it's A lot of teams when they get a striker, it's like a DP guy like Petar Moussa. I don't know if he's actually DP, but he came from Europe like a big signing. ⁓ know, who's another one? ⁓ Cavasita was ⁓ a big name signing. Chichararrango when we got him. And then for other clubs who've been a DP. It's just that kind of thing in this league. ⁓ You know, it's not the norm to have like an ⁓ American. ⁓ You know playing striker and and you know winning all these games. We have a lot of Americans in the squad right now, which is something that Bruce touched on ⁓ That we're doing this with domestic players, which ⁓ is not the norm across the league where they have like South Americans Europeans everywhere ⁓ So yeah, I mean it's really cool to see what we're able to do with this squad because it's I don't know where we rank in in terms of like the highest paid but nowhere near where some of those teams are, like Miami, LAFC, even Vancouver. I think it's funny because a couple of years ago, our squad was completely filled with Brazilians and Argentinians. And now we have the highest, I think, percentage of Americans on the team. ⁓ I'm not trying to say anything, obviously, because I just think it's an interesting thing to notice. in terms of like changes over the course of years after a couple of, you know, a couple of seasons and management changes that, you know, kind of like what you said, a couple of other teams in the league are kind of reliant on those DP nines. We have Preston Judd, who's making around like a hundred K something a year and is nowhere near DP salary, but is also putting in the hard work and putting in numbers for the team and, and, you know, is generating good chemistry with Usaini Buddha, Timo Werner, Jack Skean, Nico Tsikaris, especially Nico Tsikaris. The tandem of the two, whenever they play with each other, it seems like there's fireworks going on in both their heads and they're just firing on all cylinders. ⁓ I think that's a ⁓ relationship I'm looking forward to assessing next week to see kind of what their impact is as a duo. ⁓ and what they can do ⁓ to a struggling SKC defense. Yeah, and they are struggling. was really a lot of the goals, I was like, what are you doing? Are you not paying attention? And obviously, it's the highlight, so you don't get the full picture. But if you're doubting what I'm saying, go ahead and watch them. ⁓ The main thing that They have that does give me some pause and make me a little bit worried is jovalich They have day on jovalich very good tracker in this league He looked really good in that game as well that goal. He ended up scoring Was a banger and then he almost had a second goal, which was just allowed because he was offside but ⁓ no very good player and also Not just not just a good player this league that likes to score against us specifically ⁓ you know, it didn't happen in the last game against Sporting Kansas City, but ⁓ he was knocking on the door. So ⁓ That is something that I am looking at and that could be where the threat comes from but overall I'm pretty confident in this game. We have somebody in the discord. Shout out Sam The first thing because that's what he what he calls himself on the discord He says that this is a very scary game. He was more scared against ⁓ of Sporting Kansas City than San Diego. I'm like no Because he said that like, you know, very historic team were playing at their stadium and whatever I'm like sure but they look really bad right now and you know, I don't think that you can ⁓ Predict that we're going to lose just based off of what they were before Yeah, I think that argument does have some merit though I'll give Sam some credit because you know going in MLS specifically Away games are much tougher to win. However, we already have two wins away. We've beaten Philadelphia Union, which every team seems to be beating this year. They haven't gotten a single win in six games, but you know, we've beat Vancouver at BC place 1-0. ⁓ If there's a team to perform away, it's the San Jose Earthquakes. Don't count us out. Don't count us out. Yeah, that's 100%. And you know, yeah, I agree. There is definitely a very strong home field advantage here in this league. I don't think it's quite strong enough to make supporting Kansas City that much better. Like they looked really bad. They couldn't feel, they didn't have their bench full last time we played them. ⁓ And you know, I'm not trying to dog on them, but like that's just a fact of where they are and how much they're struggling right now. They're going through a rebuild and you know, we've been there, it's very tough. ⁓ just if I'm looking at who should win this match, it should be the sign of the earthquakes. Yeah, I think a really good meme to accurately depict Sporting Kansas City's current form this season is that one video of the, I think it was the SKC fan of, ain't nobody gonna stop us now. And then they get hit in the back of the head and everyone goes, oh, that's what it feels like to be an SKC fan right now. Yeah, if we could find the clip, you should put that in, because that's funny. But yeah, like we said, looking into this match, we should ⁓ be looking at a good result. We will be back ⁓ next week on Thursday for the live audience. ⁓ The Patreon will get it one day early on Wednesday. Also, keep a lookout for the Preston Judd interview. ⁓ That's something that we're very excited to do. Again, that's something that the Patreon members will get early access to. And they will. get to submit questions as well. ⁓ We'll be back ⁓ before the LAFC game on April 19th to preview that game and also give you the recap for the Sporty Kansas City game. Because of the way that our schedule works for the, ⁓ we won't be able to preview the Open Cup game and get you the episode on time. ⁓ Just because we release on Thursday and that game happens on a Wednesday. ⁓ But also looking forward to that game. think we should be the favorites in that as well, seeing as we are playing at home against a USL team. But I'm kind of more nervous about that game than I am about supporting Kansas City. I'll have real quick any thoughts on that I am too. Yeah, I'm a lot more nervous than SKC. Specifically because of the unknown of, you know, we don't know who Bruce Arena is going to play. We don't know. what the level of priority is going to be like for us heading into US Open Cup. We don't know if, you know, Nico Siqueiras will be our number 10 for the game or if it will be Jack Skean or if, you know, we're going to do some squad rotation and instead of ⁓ Viera on the Roo, could be ⁓ Harks and... Harks and... Gonzalez? Gonzalez. Jonah. ⁓ So I think that that part alone... The factor of the unknown is what scares me the most and it's not necessarily Phoenix Rising that makes me nervous because I think it's a USL team and we should be able to beat USL teams, especially at home. It's the confusion of importance heading into the game. And if we feel the good starting 11 like we see right now, ⁓ like versus San Diego. and we take the tournament seriously, which I know a lot of our fans and our Discord are asking us to do, or not us specifically as hosts of this podcast, but the earthquakes management and players. You know, it's been a long time since we've held and lifted a trophy. I think it's about time that we start somewhere and somewhere as US Open Cup. I hope we fueled a strong starting 11 with maybe one or two tweaks and changes. But hopefully that's about it. I know it's a midweek game and we've got LAFC right after, which you want to have a specifically set of fit players to compete versus LAFC because they're just an attacking team. And you want to have that 90 minute stamina, but also it's understanding that importance of wanting to make it into the next round. I'm not sure. I'm really unsure of where we want to go with this. That whole LAFC game has kind of thrown me into the mud here. No, yeah. I think that wanting us to field our returning 11 against Phoenix and then also win or get any sort of result in LA, too much. You're asking too much. You're deluded. You can want that. Of course, you can want that, but that's not going to happen. It's great for us that we get an extra day for the LFC game. It's on a Sunday instead of Saturday ⁓ No, we're either going to put in our second team like be some seed players for the Phoenix game or We are going to accept the loss Against LA FC and just and and because there has to be rotation at some point. We have a thin squad We have a thin squad And so it's not going to be a squad where we can like, you know, make rotations and have a ⁓ MLS competent team. We have a squad that's like, we didn't think that, you know, Roberts would be a MLS quality player at this stage. ⁓ And we're lucky that he is because we only have one other center back on the roster. ⁓ And the first team right now, that's Romney, right? Who's any other center backs? We do have Max Floriani, but we haven't seen him on the roster at all this season. ⁓ But, you know, kind of going back to Kurt Floriani's state, where is he playing? Quakes 2. Yeah. There's another player on Quakes 2 that I'm really hoping that we see in US Open Cup since we're on this topic. that is Nani Adimabua. I hope that Nani gets some chances because he seems to fit the mold of playing against USL teams. ⁓ MLS Next Pro, he does a really good job with finding space in, you know, in between defenders. And, you know, if you want to give Preston Judd a rest, whom, you know, has played for the Galaxy, you may also have a chip on his shoulder. He may not like the Galaxy anymore now, but, you know, he's played for two teams that rival LAFC. Who knows what he's going through and what he might bring to the table for that. I... I honestly would hope that we rest Press and Judd quite a lot ⁓ in the midweek game against Phoenix Rising FC ⁓ and play Nani. I really want to see Nani and I know a lot of other fans are speaking up in favor of a Nani appearance too. What are you thinking? Well, I mean, that's what I'm getting at with what I'm saying. You can't expect Judd to play and then Judd to play and then Judd to play and then Judd to play. It's not sustainable. We have a Wednesday game three days after that the LAFC game Guys like our front line is thin. We need to put a Dima boa on in this in the Subway Cup game He's a very good striker. He he's not just like a big dude like a rock in the box He he can make chances for teammates. He's well rounded I I'm really hoping to see him. I hope that there's a rotation in that aspect And know, a lot of people will be like, why are we playing this guy's never played for us before the open cup? Don't we want to win the open cup? Yeah Yeah, but like it's not it's not guaranteed. We win the open cup and it's just because we put Preston Judd So, you know, we could lose that game. We could start pressing Judd lose that game And then Preston Judd's hired for the LFC game. We lose that game and then he's hired for some ⁓ Austin game we lose that game like it we have there has to be some give somewhere And I think this is a good opportunity for that because as much as I would love to win the open cup, we look really good in MLS right now. And so it's hard to sacrifice that. And I know some people saying that we should because we want to, they see the open cup as something that is like, their name written on it. ⁓ I would love to win the open cup, but I just, think that a lot of teams have the same mentality as us, but they have more depth than us. So they see the open cup with their name on it and they're gonna be cutting for it so I don't think it's like necessarily like an easy achievement just because we Just cuz we want it, you know, I don't think it's gonna work that way. Yeah, are there are there any players Abram? You're hoping to see on quakes to right now for the US Open Cup versus Phoenix I have an answer but I want to I want to see what your answer is first I mean, no need is the main guy for me that I want to see because just for the overall season logistics I think that ⁓ Edmund Mendoza would be really nice to see because I think that people would be surprised. Although I'm not sure if he's fit right now. ⁓ You know, he's playing for the first team, but ⁓ Fernandez would be really nice to have at the number 10 if Nico is not available. ⁓ One more player, Max Floriani, I think will be there. I think that's like a pretty given, you know, you want to touch on Floriani? No, I mean. complete agreement with you. you know, there was the player in 2025 that I thought was going to have a breakout season this season and it was Max Floriani and he hasn't had it. He hasn't seen the field at all for the first team yet and I hope that you know, maybe we can keep Daniel Muni in there or Max and Roberts. ⁓ I mean both our current centerbacks have kept a clean sheet for five out of six games that I don't really think it matters to me. too much who we replace in the back line. I just want to see Max get some minutes, but also maybe we rest Benji Kukanovic. Maybe we have some injury preservation and hold off Benji and we played Jack Juzinski on right back. What are your thoughts on that? I think Jack Juzinski would be a really good pick. I was surprised with his mobility. The few times I've been able to watch him. But it's been a lot busier for me this year. So I haven't been able to keep an eye on quicks to as much as I'd like But he looks pretty good big big fella. That would be great to have him. He can play center back as well. I believe Yeah, versatile player overall I Wouldn't be mad at Jackson's get all I think that you know Romney left center back Floriania right center back and then Jack Juzinski at right back would be pretty good. I'd be happy with that Just because like, you know, Florida has a good amount of experience Romney is Romney, you know, very solid I'm not sure who you put at left back there. You could put Marie you could put you know, I mean I was hoping for Marie anyways, so obviously gonna say Marie but I'm with you I'm with you. I think for you should get some minutes, but also who would who would come on for me? Marie is a sub, you know, I I genuinely don't know and I'll have to study the rules here about like rosters and who we get to play or field but if I remember correctly I think last year we were able to call up a couple of like non-contracted Quakes 2 players for like four games or something like that and maybe we give a Quakes 2 player that I can't name right now a chance to ⁓ be substituted in in the second half of the game, you know, just to see what we can get. And since we're already a thinly drawn out team, I expect us to give our substitutes some time to prove themselves in US Open Cup, because that's what the Cup is mainly about. Obviously winning a trophy and getting yourself qualified into CONCACAP Champions Cup and whatnot, but you know. Give give the young guys who haven't been given an opportunity a chance to play Yeah, I could see Martin Quinday ⁓ jr You know making appearance ⁓ He's been left back pretty consistently for quicks to ⁓ If it wasn't him, I wouldn't be super surprised just because of the the way that that you know ends up working ⁓ but I also It would be a pleasant surprise if we did see Martin Quinday jr. Making appearance in the open cup ⁓ But yeah, we said we were going to end it about like five minutes ago. So for all this time, we gave you a mini preview on the Phoenix Rising game. Looking forward to that one. It's going to be very interesting. I'm doing stats for that one. So it's going to be a rough day for me. ⁓ anyways, thank you guys so much for watching this episode of Tecronautics. Make sure to subscribe and go ahead and look at the Discord if you haven't already. Quakes 2, playing Minnesota United. FC to this Sunday PayPal part I will be there hoping to see some familiar faces to yeah Say hi to Devin if ⁓ if you end up going to that one We'll be back after the old back before the LAFC game ⁓ But until then go quakes go quakes