San Jose Earthquakes

Frank Yallop’s San Jose Earthquakes and Peter Vermes’s Sporting Kansas City duked it out as both teams continued the chase for the 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs at Buck Shaw Stadium. Both sides played it out to a 1-1 draw as both teams left it late.

Chris Wondolowski scored his 12^th goal of the season thanks to a sequence that involved Steven Beitashour and Simon Dawkins in the 85^th minute. However, just as the confetti was falling down, C.J. Sapong found Teal Bunbury for his eighth goal of the season.

“Our first thought wasn’t ‘Oh, let’s put our heads down. The game is over,’” Bunbury told Andrew Wiebe of MLSSoccer.com. “We picked ourselves up, and we went right at them immediately. We kicked it off, C.J. did his magic and I knew that I had to take off, make a good run in behind and finish it.”

"We would like to have won,” Vermes added, “but sometimes you have to battle and scrape and scrap the way we did in the first half. The bottom line is that the game is 90 minutes plus injury time. The guys did a really good job of staying in the game and realizing that it wasn’t over until the end.”

With the result, Sporting improve to 11-9-12 and remain the leaders of the MLS Eastern Conference with 45 points. As for San Jose, their hopes for a postseason spot are all but over as they sit in eighth place in the MLS Western Conference with a record of 6-11-14 and 32 points.

Next weekend, San Jose take on the New England Revolution, while Sporting’s next match is against the New York Red Bulls on Oct. 15.

Depending on the United States's performance against Panama in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals, either one—Donovan or both Donovans—will be available for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy against a team they struggled to get a result against last year, the San Jose Earthquakes.

Not that it really mattered in their last match; both Donovans—midfielder Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts—and David Beckham were not needed in the Galaxy's 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.

"It is a team game," Arena reminded reporters on Saturday. "If you are missing players, you are missing players it is all a part of it. We have missed Landon Donovan for about seven games this year, if you use that as an excuse, you are not putting yourself in a position to win any games."

The good news for the Galaxy is that regardless of what happens Wednesday, Ricketts will be reporting back to work for this important encounter on the campus of Santa Clara University this Saturday.

Los Angeles came into the match with a nine-game unbeaten streak and a 9-2-7 record (34 points), good for the best record in the league, although second-place FC Dallas have two games in hand and can be even with the Galaxy on points if they won out.

San Jose are 5-5-4 (19 points) and have four games in hand over the Galaxy.

The health of Beckham will be key. Hopefully his back issues are sorted out as they make the trip north this weekend. Beckham leads the Galaxy with seven assists and will need to generate some chances for Chad Barrett, Juan Pablo Angel and Juninho.

Defensively, the back line of Sean Franklin, Todd Dunivant, Omar Gonzalez and A.J. De La Garza had a solid performance against the defending MLS Cup Champions and will need to establish consistency against a dangerous Earthquakes attack.

Juninho and Chris Birchall will need to create some chances for Angel and Barrett because they cannot rely on Beckham alone to provide the delivery. They have shown that they can do this without the Englishman's services, and Beckham's return to the lineup will merely be a bonus.

Ricketts has a 6-1-4 record to go with a 78.9 percent save percentage and a 0.55 goals against average. Expect the Jamaican international to take some frustrations out on the home side after the Reggae Boys capitulated 2-0 on Sunday to the USA Men.

San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch is capable of figuring out the offensive tendencies of the Galaxy, and will look to pick up from where he left off. Busch currently has a 5-5-4 record.

A source of good news for the Galaxy is that they will not have to deal with Quakes leading goalscorer Chris Wondolowski if the USA secure payback against Panama. Wondo currently has six goals this season. They will have to worry about players like Simon Dawkins and Steven Lenhart, who each have four goals to their credit this season.

The Earthquakes are balanced with their ball distribution. Players like MLS SuperDraft selection Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Bobby Convey, Wondolowski, Joey Gjertsen and Khari Stephenson have recorded two assists each. Creating some buildup and smart passing will prove critical to the Quakes' fortunes against Los Angeles.

Defenders like team captain Ramiro Corrales, Jason Hernandez, Brandon McDonald, Steven Beitashour and Ike Opara need to neutralize Beckham's set-piece deliveries, whether they are from free kicks or from corners.


Prediction:
Scrappy game on the way, but I like LA's chances here. If the Galaxy can finish their chances and mix things up with their passing, look for the G's to end the MLS portion of June on a winning note. Their June is not over yet; they still have a US Open Cup game to look forward to at Titan Stadium on June 28. A preview of that game will be posted later this week on Bleacher Report and The View From Victoria Street.

Los Angeles Galaxy 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0
Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, June 25 at 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.


INS AND OUTS
Jack McBean and the Young Americans

Even though the USA men's national team are doing the business at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, they could learn a lesson from Galaxy homegrown player Jack McBean and the Young Americans on how to beat the Czech Republic.

"He's very mature physically and a very good finisher in front of the net," Chris Klein, the senior director of the LA Galaxy Youth Academy, told MLSsoccer.com's Noah Davis. "He's able to do that effectively against kids his age or a year or two older. Against his peers, he'll do very well."

Some sort of revenge was issued out at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico, as the USA opened group play with a 3-0 blowout win over the Czechs.

Alejandro Guido scored in the fifth minute for the USA, Esteban Rodriguez made it 2-0 in the 51st minute and Alfred Koroma put the game out of reach in the 89th minute of play. McBean was on the bench for this match.

The USA will next take on Uzbekistan on June 22 before wrapping up group play against New Zealand on June 25.

The San Jose Earthquakes continue to build upon last year's success. It is clear that San Jose is eager and ready to surpass its playoff run from last season. Last season, the Earthquakes finished tied for fifth in the Western Conference with 46 points and a 13-10-7 record.

The Earthquakes fell to the eventual MLS champions, the Colorado Rapids, last season. However, that small margin of defeat has not discouraged any Earthquake players.  

The Earthquakes have been working on improving a handful of areas which will help them advance even further toward an MLS championship. One of those areas is the depth at the goalkeeper position. With Joe Cannon gone, Jon Busch is now ready to assume the starting role.  What will be interesting to watch, as the season progresses, is the competition between David Bingham and Andrew Weber to be backup goalkeeper.  

Also, with the Earthquakes' installation of the 4-3-3 system, many will agree that the team will certainly be making the proper strides to improve upon last year's results.

In the first half, both teams had trouble establishing control of the ball at midfield. With Real Salt Lake’s physical style of play in the middle of the field, Earthquakes midfielder Sam Cronin drew a yellow card in the sixth minute, and Earthquakes defenseman Chris Leitch drew a yellow card in the 36th minute.  

Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch gave great contributions with a key save in the 62nd minute. Unfortunately, he was not able to stop Real Salt Lake’s midfielder and captain Kyle Beckerman’s shot in the 63rd minute of the match.  

The Earthquakes had multiple opportunities via corner kicks in the final 15 minutes of the game, but were unfortunately unable to find the net.

Real Salt Lake escaped with a road victory over the San Jose Earthquakes, 1-0.

The Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer is not the strongest conference in the league by any stretch of the imagination. Only two teams in the entire conference made the postseason. Both of them are out.

In their place: the last two seeds in the whole field: the Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Earthquakes. Both are one victory away from booking a plane to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and BMO Field.

Thus, it is time for us to take a look at the protagonists.


San Jose Earthquakes

It's been a year of reckoning for Frank Yallop's San Jose Earthquakes, who picked up the final MLS Cup Playoff berth over the Kansas City Wizards.

San Jose crushed the MLS East regular season champions 3-1 in the second leg to win 3-2 on aggregate.

Led by Budweiser Golden Boot-winner Chris Wondolowski and a brace from a resurging Bobby Convey, the Quakes overcame a 1-0 deficit to the New York Red Bulls in the first leg.

Convey leads San Jose with 10 assists in the regular season, while Wondolowski, the Northern California product, has 19 goals this year, including the postseason.

Another key offensive player to watch for the Quakes is Ryan Johnson, who had eight assists in the regular season. Watch for Frank Yallop to utilize him in overloading the left side of the field, as was seen in their 3-1 win at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Brazilian import Geovanni will look to make an impact, as will defender Brandon McDonald. McDonald leads a formidable defensive unit for the Quakes, which includes Jason Hernandez, Eduardo and Tim Ward.

Goalkeeper Jon Busch has proven that he can be a netminder in the clutch. In the 2010 regular season, Busch had a 7-6-5 record to go with 81 saves, a 1.06 goals against average and a 77.9 percent save percentage.

San Jose finished the 2010 regular season with a 13-10-7 record (46 points), good for eighth overall in the league and sixth in the MLS Western Conference.

Winning the MLS Cup would be old hat for the Quakes. They won their first MLS Cup in 2001 with a 2-1 overtime win over the Los Angeles Galaxy at Crew Stadium and defeated the Chicago Fire 4-2 in 2003 at the Home Depot Center.


Colorado Rapids

Gary Smith's Rapids have been in the MLS Cup final before: 1997, when they lost to DC United 2-1 at RFK. They are one victory away from being in their first MLS Cup in over a decade.

After winning the first leg 1-0 and losing the second leg 2-1, the Rapids played to extra time at Crew Stadium against Columbus before prevailing 5-4 on penalties

No doubt about it: 13 years is a pretty long wait. But the men in burgundy have a few talismans they can rely on to end it.

Omar Cummings and Conor Casey are two of MLS's most prolific scorers this season. Cummings has 14 goals to his name while Casey has 13 to his credit this year. What also makes Casey dangerous is his role as a key playmaker.

Both Casey and Jamie Smith finished the 2010 regular season with eight assists. Look for Casey and Smith to distribute and get other players involved besides Cummings, such as Jeff Larentowicz (four goals this season) and team captain Pablo Mastroeni (two goals this season).

Wells Thompson, Drew Moor, Kosuke Kimura (three assists this season), Marvell Wynne, Anthony Wallace and Mastroeni form a defensive unit that has the know-how to contain Wondolowski's and Convey's production.

Matt Pickens (who the author of this piece likes to nickname as "Abe Lincoln" due to his trademark sideburns and beard) has done his part as the Rapids' leading goalkeeper. Pickens finished 2010 with a 11-8-10 record, a 1.10 goals against average, 88 saves and a 73.3 percent save percentage.

Colorado ended their 2010 MLS regular season with a 12-8-10 record (46 points).


Prediction

Home field advantage has been key to the success of both the Quakes and the Rapids. Both teams claimed 1-0 victories at home against each other this season.

I expect that this will continue. This will be a defensive showcase, with Colorado ending their 13-year wait. Not often does a team in Major League Soccer claim the East and the West at various points in its history. The Colorado Rapids should be among the first, if not the first, to earn this honor.

Colorado Rapids 2, San Jose Earthquakes 1

The San Jose Earthquakes signed their first designated player, Brazilian midfielder Deiberson Mauricio, on Monday. 

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Geovanni is known as a versatile and creative attacking midfielder who can score. He started playing professionally in Brazil when he was 18. Since then, his career has spanned from Portugal to Spain to England.

Last year he played a crucial role in helping Hull City avoid relegation during the 2008-2009 season. Geovanni scored 13 goals in 65 games with the Tigers during his two year stint there, including a Goal of the Month strike in 2-1 victory against Arsenal.

San Jose is currently in sixth place in the Western Conference with 26 points and have played fewer games every team they trail. They are in ninth place overall, meaning they are the first team out of a playoff spot.

The main question is where he will play as San Jose now have a number of options going forward. These include Khari Stephenson who debuted with an assist and well talked about performance against Kansas City last week.

Despite a season ending injury to Andre Luiz, San Jose is deep going forward, with Arturo Alvarez, Bobby Convey, Sam Cronin, and Chris Wondolowski among others. Each has his own unique strengths and plays a different role in the offense.

There is some speculation about how Frank Yallop will deal with his new embarrassment of riches. One hint is that Bobby Convery started at left back last week, helping to shore up a sore defense.

The 30-year old Brazilian international may not have the name recognition of Thierry Henry or Rafael Marquez, but he might make the biggest MLS wide impact in the shortest amount of time. San Jose need to make a playoff push while the Red Bulls appear to be sitting pretty in fourth place overall.

Only time will tell how the latest foreign star adapts to the confines and quirks of Major League Soccer.

Fredy Montero continued his red hot streak Saturday night in a crucial MLS Western Conference showdown with an adroitly executed header to give visiting Seattle Sounders FC a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes before 10,351 at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.

The Montero goal, the only score of a fiercely contested defensive struggle, came in the 26th minute as the speedy Colombian striker took a cross from Sanna Nyassi in front of the goal and headed it past San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch.

The blazing streak of Montero continued with the game clincher against the Earthquakes.  He has been involved in a score through a goal or assist over eight consecutive MLS games with four goals and five assists.  On the season Montero has seven goals and eight assists.

Montero’s scoring impetus carried into the international realm as well.  Last Wednesday at home against El Salvador’s Metapan in Champions League play Montero came off the bench in the second half to drill home a textbook perfect 40-yard missile to produce the only score of the game in another 1-0 Sounders success.

Since Sana Nyassi has become a regular, he has also been productive in the assist capacity after using his speed on the flank to push the Sounders into the scoring area.  Nyassi has now recorded an assist in three consecutive matches.  This productivity dates back to his first career assist on July 10.  All three have led to game winning goals.

Eyes were squarely focused on the two newly arrived designated players on the Seattle roster, recent World Cup players Blaise Nkufo and Alvaro Fernandez, who performed for Switzerland and Uruguay respectively.

Nkufo started at forward and played into the 86th minute before being replaced by Nate Jaqua, showing that the Dutch League record-setter has neared the point of returning to availability for the full 90 minutes of action.

While Nkufo was unable to break into the scoring column, he came close with two superbly placed shots.  The first was a header in the 2nd minute.  In the 63rd minute he took a pass in the middle of the field and engaged in some shifty footwork before delivering a left-footed drive that almost reached the net.  Both efforts were stopped on timely saves by Busch.

In addition to the near-miss goal efforts, Nkufo displayed solid field generalship.  His dribbling and passing demonstrated the sound technique of a veteran ball handler.

One excellent trait Nkufo evidenced was passing up long low percentage shots to instead pass and keep the ball in play for the Sounders.  He is a player who operates well in the center of the field and promotes goal activity for others when he is not taking shots himself.

Recent arrival Fernandez, acquired July 29, saw his first action in Sounders uniform after replacing Steve Zakuani in the 69th minute.  There was much for Sounders Coach Sigi Schmid to be positive about concerning Fernandez’ effort.

The tall, slender Uruguayan combined quickness and adroit technique in his ball handling, aiding the effort to hang onto the ball and run out the clock for a victory.  His smooth footwork demonstrated skill toward producing future Seattle goals.

There was one Seattle casualty, however.  Jeff Parke sustained a head injury in a collision in front of the Sounders’ goal near the end of the first half.  He was replaced for the entire second half by veteran Jamaican defender Tyrone Marshall, who stopped one San Jose goal effort with a dazzling header, receiving a grateful pat on the back from goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

On the subject of Keller, the former U.S. national team veteran and current MLS All-Star recorded his sixth clean sheet of the season.  He recorded two saves.

The visitors held a 9-8 advantage in total shots, a figure revealing the closeness of the hard fought match.  The breakdown reveals how the contest went as the Sounders held a 7-2 edge on goal shots while the Quakes had a narrow 6-5 advantage on corners.

The set piece game is a staple of San Jose Coach Frank Yallop’s attack.  It is led by former U.S. national team player and current All-Star left winger Bobby Convey.  All night Convey had the Sounders on edge with neatly placed corner shots that produced scoring opportunities near the Seattle goal.

With the win the Sounders stand in MLS play at 7-8-4 with 25 points.  They have won their last three league matches.  Seattle on the strength of the San Jose victory jumped from sixth in the West to fourth.

It was just a short time ago that many skeptics were writing off Seattle playoff chances for 2010 when the team stood at 4-8-4.  Aided by the return of previously injured players, Seattle appears to be in its best shape of the season and is playing its best soccer during the playoff stretch run.

The loss dropped San Jose to 6-5-5.  The Quakes have 23 points.  This was the first San Jose loss since the World Cup break, resulting in a fall to sixth place in the Western Conference.  In an earlier trip to Seattle this season San Jose had edged the Sounders by the identical 1-0 score by which they lost Saturday night.

Right after the match the Sounders departed for San Salvador and a Tuesday match against Metapan.  The teams are vying for a spot in the Champions League group stage.

The San Jose Earthquakes have improved mightily this season through outstanding defense.  Today on the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field before 35,953 onlookers, the visitors scored once early in the contest and made the goal stand up for a 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC.

The San Jose improvement has been meteoric.  Last season the defense was porous as the Northern California team yielded an MLS high of 50 goals.  With today’s victory San Jose sits in second place in the Western Conference behind only the high flying L.A. Galaxy.

The San Jose surge has resulted in four straight triumphs, all via the shutout route.  The loss marked the only time that the Sounders have dropped two straight contests at home.  They remain winless this season against Western opponents going into their next league competition next Saturday at Colorado.

The win put the Earthquakes at 5-2-1 with 16 points.  The loss moved the Sounders under the five hundred mark to 3-4-3 and 12 points.

Chris Wondolowski came into the action as San Jose’s hot point producer with four goals.  In the 11th minute Bobby Convey served a ball headed by Brandon McDonald and Bobby Burling that reached Wondolowski.  His left-footed boot rolled just inside the back post.

While this was not a case of stoppage time blues with the Sounders, who have seen that pattern occur with unnerving frequency, it was accompanied by a highly familiar tendency.

The Sounders ultimately emerged with decisive edges in shots, but coach Sigi Schmid was not about to advance that element in support of a silver lining behind the cloud theory.

“Too many times we have been victimized by lapses of concentration,” Schmid said at the post-match press conference.  “It is like watching a movie.  You close your eyes during a few brief periods of time and you lose the entire thread of the film.”

More will be revealed in a corresponding story about Schmidt’s comments, but to expand his movie analogy, this was clearly a case of a re-run that the Sounders mentor has seen too many times and would love to promptly eliminate.

The bottom line was that San Jose had just a single shot on goal early in the contest by forward Wondolowski and made it pay off.  The visitors had two corner kicks by midfielder Bobby Convey and as many saves by goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

On the other hand, forward Steve Zakuani alone had three of a total seven shots by the home team.  Sanna Nyassi and Zakuani each had a shot on goal while Nathan Sturgis had three corner kicks.

The Sounders move back quickly into action on Wednesday night, hosting international power Boca Juniors of Buenos Aires.

Before a small but dedicated crowd on the first Sunday in August, the Earthquakes hoped to continue their solid play that had granted a draw against Eastern Conference powerhouse, D.C. United.

This day was a bit different. Their opponent—Seattle Sounders FC—was one of the hottest clubs of the 2009 season, surprising the league as their expansion program had placed them in one of the top spots in the East.

Led by international superstars Freddie Ljungberg and Kasey Keller, the Sounders had taken the first two meetings handily, 2-0 and 2-1. This was the first game that San Jose had met them at home. With their faithful crowd on their side, these 'Quakes could not be stopped.

Within the first minute, Cornell Glen forced Seattle keeper Kasey Keller to make a difficult diving save. Seconds later, a good ball from winger Darren Huckerby put through Ryan Johnson down the left wing. His cross was met early by Seattle defender Osvaldo Alonso who deflected Johnson's cross into his own net.

Seattle's chances were few and far between. San Jose continued their deluge of scoring opportunities. The Sounders had one response—getting physical. The game took a nasty turn 30 minutes in as the play got rougher and rougher.

Finally, the consequences hit. A poor challenge from the Sounders' defender James Riley found 'Quake Bobby Convey. The cleats-up tackle earned a direct red card, putting San Jose at a man advantage for the rest of the game.

San Jose seized their chance. With a 11-10 advantage, they were able to pour the pressure on the Sounders. In the 54th minute, continued strong play from center midfielder Ramon Sanchez and right wing Shea Salinas granted San Jose fans a second goal.

The distribution by Sanchez to the right wing set-up an excellent cross from Salinas that helped Cornell Glen find the bottom left corner. It was 2-0.

In the 78th minute, the 'Quakes struck again as a few quick passes from Huckerby and Wondolowski put a dangerous pass near Seattle keeper Kasey Keller. Blocked out by a few of his own defenders, Keller was unable to gather the pass as Huckerby snuck between three Seattle players and tapped the ball in for his third of the season and the San Jose's third of the match.

Shea Salinas continued to shine as he won a 50-50 ball at midfield and exploded into the attacking third. After a beautiful pass to the top of the box, late substitute Chris Wondolowski found the pass and the back of the net, putting the game away at 4-0.

Salinas was given a rare start, but proved himself worthy as the fans voted him Man of the Match. He was able to stay disciplined and did not force too many one-on-ones. He created numerous opportunities for his teammates, gathering two assists.

Salinas rocketed San Jose past a strong opponent in Seattle and continued to step-up his game. The team broke their six-game winless streak and prepared themselves for the opening act of "The Night of Champions" in San Francisco the following week.

It appears that things are looking for this little soccer team from the Bay Area.

Recently reports have surfaced that San Jose Earthqakes midfielder and Houston, TX, native Arturo Alvarez has switched nationalities to play for El Salvador to help "La Selecta" earn a spot in the World Cup.

The player, saying he is "95 to 96 percent sure" that he will be called up by the Aug. 12 WCQ against T&T at the Port of Spain, looks set to make his debut since making the change.

There has been much attention in the U.S. surrounding the new FIFA rule that allows players to switch nationalities even if they've been capped for their host country after a certain age.

Most notably Jermaine Jones of Germany and Edgar Castillo of Mexico, who both played for the German and Mexican national teams at the youth level, but never received a senior national team call up.

Although, Jones, whose father is American, looks set to be joining the National Team sooner than later. It seems that Castillo, was born in the U.S., has a bit of paperwork to clear up and submit before making the move permanent.

That being said, the feeling of players wanting to play for the U.S. after being rejected in a very public manner by Giuseppe Rossi and Neven Subotic has hit a road-bump. When reports came out that Jones and Castillo wanted to switch allegiances, there was definitely a sense of satisfaction and pride.

But has that gone to the wayside?

An argument can be made that Alvarez would not have won a place on Bradley's national team, at least not in front of players like Sacha Kljestan or Clint Dempsey. Further evidence pointed to the fact that Landon Donovan is playing in his position right now, and there's no way he would have won a spot in front of mighty mouse.

But just because Alvarez was an U-23 International for the U.S., does that not make him worthy of a consideration for a roster spot for a competition like the Gold Cup?

Maybe not, mainly when you consider the competition for selection any manager would envy.

It should be important to note, however, that during the Confed. Cup Final with Brazil, it did seem that Bradley was left wanting for solid players to come in during the match as subs and make an impact.

Adding to the argument, you could say that because the player was not the likes of a Rossi or Subotic, who would have come in and contributed immediately, we should not be concerned. I think this attitude, above all others, is America's mentality about the sport at its finest.

So, because the player is not a high impact star playing for a huge club in Europe, it means he is not worthy to play for Bob Bradly?

With the poor form of players like Kljestan, Beasley and Adu; isn't it time we begin looking to groom role players? Players who can come in during a final and give quality minutes doing what they do well without expecting them to carry a team.

As it stands, I don't see any role players on the U.S. squad, just players who Bob Bradley thinks are superstars of American soccer. Let us heed a warning that a move away from America, by Americans means we don't care about supporting this team in America.

Perhaps Rossi and Subotic are the wiser, opting to neglect the tradition of American Soccer to play for their ancestral country instead. I don't blame them, when it appears we are doing the very same thing by neglecting players that our own system produced.

What kind of message are we sending to our youth players if we can't include role players or even hold on to players that are truly gifted?

There is always controversy in selecting a national team side; some players deserve to be selected, some players don't. But when you don't have a plan or an idea of what kind of player you want in your system, it makes your selection look random.

When the former Norwich City stand-out came into the MLS in July of the 2008 season to play for the struggling San Jose Earthquakes, he was unknown to most and ready to make his name known. And boy did he ever.

Catching the hearts of San Jose fans, Huckerby played only half of the MLS season, but captured the highest goal total on his own team, won team MVP, and Newcomer of the Year for 2008.

It seemed that with his addition, the contributions of mid season pick-up Scott Sealy, and rising talent Shea Salinas would springboard the expansion 'Quakes into a successful 2009 season and beyond.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. Most noticeably, the contributions of Darren Huckerby have fallen short. Some can blame his right thigh strain earlier in the season that caused him to miss a handful of games during the opening third of 2009.

A combination of his poor in-game decisions and the league's ability to adapt to his explosive left-wing play have brought about the demise of Huckerby and the 'Quakes this season.

Furthermore, as the team MVP, Huckerby gathered huge expectations from a fan base that lost their successful MLS franchise to Houston after the 2005 season. Recently, it appears that his performance has been less than satisfactory. Unfortunately, he has continued to receive extended playing time and hype from the organization.

With only two goals and two assists so far this season, his success has dwindled. He has underperformed, regardless of what excuse is made by fans, coaches, etc. I'm almost ready to say that he is past his prime in this league.

In recent games, his contributions to the team have been limited to a few selected attacks down the left wing and his ability to draw a foul or two, giving the 'Quakes some dangerous set pieces—nothing compared to his impact in 2008.

His ability to obliterate teams' defense from the outside and create scoring chances for his team have been lost in the glory of his MLS rookie season. He's 33, and maybe his best years are behind him.

As a fan, and someone that wants the best for this team, it only seems right to move on. His finishing has suffered, his impact has lessened, and he is no longer the threat that he was last season.

I believe it's time for fan favorite, rising star, and Furman graduate Shea Salinas to see time on the field. He's 23 and his Huckerby-of-old explosiveness and quick feet are a few sparks the 'Quakes need in the coming seasons to make this club a powerhouse like they were years ago.