The calendar has officially flipped to 2018 and the upcoming Major League Soccer season gets closer with every passing day. Here are a few things for Earthquakes fans to look forward to this month:
Preseason and Regular Season Schedule Release
Sooner rather than later, the Quakes and all their MLS counterparts will be announcing their full preseason and regular season schedules for 2018. The Earthquakes have already announced they will be one of 11 teams to train in Tucson, Arizona – something the team has done for several years now – and will be playing in a few friendlies while they’re there.
San Jose has also announced they will host Minnesota United FC in Week 1 on Saturday, March 3. For more information on league-wide season openers, click here.
MLS Combine and SuperDraft
From Jan. 11-17, a bevy of top college, youth and international players will compete at the MLS Player Combine in Orlando, Florida. With scouts expected to be in attendance from every club, this is the final chance for these amateur athletes to make a good impression ahead of the draft.
Friday, Jan. 19 is the MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia. The Earthquakes currently hold three of the top 35 picks in the draft at No. 12, 30 and 35. San Jose has found a lot of talent in recent years, including Fatai Alashe (2015), Andrew Tarbell (2016) and Jackson Yueill (2017).
U.S. National Team Camps
Taking place from Jan. 2-11 is the first-ever U.S. Youth National Team summit camp, bringing together 153 of the top young players in the country at various age groups. Five members of the Earthquakes were invited, including 16-year-old First Team defender Jacob Akanyirige. More details can be found here.
The senior USMNT will also be hosting their own January Camp from Jan. 10-28. Keep an eye out for any Quakes getting called in.