On Saturday, Earthquakes forward Chad Barrett will face off against one of his former teams. For some that might be a momentous occasion, but for Barrett it’s another day at the office.
A journeyman, Barrett has circled the country playing for a handful of MLS clubs. Drafted with the third overall pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, he got his start in the Windy City with the Chicago Fire. It took him three games to tally his first assist and just seven more to score his first goal. The rest, as they say, is history.
In his three and a half seasons with the Fire, Barrett would score a total of 18 goals and add 11 assists before his journey took him north of the border to Canada. He’d continue his scoring trend there, adding another 16 goals and 8 assists to his growing stats sheet in two and a half seasons with Toronto FC.
Joining the Galaxy in 2011, Barrett had one of his best offensive seasons to date, scoring seven goals while recording career-high five assists. He’d stay in California one more season before trekking back to the East Coast to spend a year with the Revolution. Barrett would then return to the West Coast to play for another one of the Quakes’ foes, Seattle Sounders FC, where he would score another 12 goals and add an assist before landing in San Jose last December.
After Barrett scored his first goal for the Earthquakes on Saturday night against Orlando City SC, his reaction told it all. As he figuratively ripped the monkey off his back and stomped the turf, the relief of finally getting that elusive first goal for San Jose was clear. The game only marked his sixth appearance with the Quakes this season, but that was five games too late for Barrett, who expected to see his name on the scoresheet earlier.
“It took way longer than I wanted it to, but it finally came,” said Barrett. “Hopefully now it’ll open up the floodgates for me personally.”
As Barrett prepares to face one of his many former clubs, the LA Galaxy, this weekend, he’s acutely aware of his success against them. With three goals and three assists in nine appearances in the past, he is confident that this could be just another start to another upward scoring trend.
“I think I have a good track record against LA," said Barrett. “I tend to score against the same teams, so I’d love to be able to continue that tradition.”
