Have the Quakes had a better stretch in recent memory than they’re on right now?
Fresh off a 4-1 victory at home against Sporting Kansas City (4/20) and two hard-fought draws on the road against Seattle Sounders FC (4/24) and FC Dallas (4/27), the Earthquakes look to extend their unbeaten streak to four on Saturday night when they welcome in expansion side FC Cincinnati for the first time ever.
San Jose has played the underdog role for much, if not all, of this season. The club wasn’t favored in any of their last three matches but earned a good result in each and played well enough to win them all.
Now the Quakes return home with an unprecedented amount momentum, a full week to prepare, and a visiting team that will be less than 72 hours removed from a match and cross-country flight. All are good factors heading into Saturday, but unfortunately games aren’t won on paper.
Fans in the Bay Area likely don’t know too much about FC Cincinnati, MLS’ newest club. After starting their inaugural season with a 2-1-1 record, turning heads all around the league, the club has come back down to earth in recent weeks. Cincy has failed to win any of their previous five matches, earning just one point across that span in a 1-1 home draw to SKC. Even worse, their goal in that match was the only one they’ve scored since their last win on March 24.
Cincinnati will have to travel east to take on the upstart Philadelphia Union on Wednesday, May 1 before flying west to San Jose the following day, a similar challenge the Quakes faced last week.
Regardless of their recent form, Major League Soccer has proven to be impossible to predict. It’s not an exaggeration to say any team can beat any other team on any field on any day.
FC Cincinnati was constructed with a heavy focus on MLS-proven talent, likely a good choice for a team looking to navigate the choppy waters for the first time. Their roster has league staples such as Fanendo Adi, Kekuta Manneh, Darren Mattocks, Victor Ulloa and Kendall Waston, who have more than 700 MLS appearances between them. CIN also has former Quakes SuperDraft pick Fatai Alashe, who scored the first goal in Avaya Stadium history more than four years ago.
No one on Cincinnati has yet to score multiple goals, although eight different players have gotten on the scoresheet once. Midfielder Kenny Saief, who has several caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team, is an intriguing new import to MLS. He’s played his entire career in Israel and Belgium, including stints at two of Belgium’s biggest clubs Gent and Anderlecht.
Fans can follow their match tomorrow in Philadelphia here.
Edit: FC Cincinnati fell to the Union 2-0 on Wednesday night, extending their winless streak to six matches.
