The San Jose Earthquakes host Real Salt Lake at Avaya Stadium on Saturday, July 6., presented by Chevron. It marks the fourth match for San Jose in an 11-day stretch, who are 2-1-0 in the previous three.
Despite pouring on 27 shots, the most the Quakes have ever taken in a road match, San Jose fell to Minnesota United FC 3-1 on Wednesday evening. The Western Conference is so congested that the result, combined with others around the league, saw the Earthquakes tumble from fifth to eighth in the process.
But San Jose doesn’t have to wait long to rebound, facing RSL on Saturday night in a match that will see the victor finish the contest above the playoff line. Real Salt Lake is currently one spot higher in the standings, having earned one more point through 18 matches.
A win would allow the Quakes to surge anywhere from fifth to seventh, depending on results by Minnesota (at MTL 7/6) and Houston (at CIN 7/6).
Real Salt Lake recovered from their slow start to the season (1-4-1) to be one of the hotter teams in the league, going 7-4-1 in their last 12 matches, including back-to-back victories in their last two.
RSL has struggled away from home this season. Their two road victories came against flailing expansion side FC Cincinnati and Colorado, who had lost seven straight prior to their May 11 meeting. They did, however, earn a good 1-1 draw against Chicago in their most recent road match on June 22.
On the field, the club is led by Designated Player Sam Johnson (8 goals) and creative midfielder Albert Rusnak (6 goals). Rusnak, a Slovakian international, is a former teammate of Quakes forward Danny Hoesen in the Netherlands. Meanwhile legendary goalkeeper Nick Rimando is set to make his 500th career start and appearance on Saturday.
The match kicks off at 7:15 p.m. and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports California Plus, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KSZF. Tickets are available here.
