SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes (13-15-5; 44 points) find themselves in eighth place in the Western Conference standings heading into their final regular-season match on Sunday afternoon against the Portland Timbers (13-13-7; 46 points). Needing to finish top-seven to reach the postseason for the second time since 2017, the Earthquakes would leapfrog the sixth-place Timbers with a win on Sunday.
The match will be broadcast live on ESPN (1 p.m. PT) and is the only Decision Day contest to air on national television. The Quakes will be hosting a viewing party at Avaya Stadium, with food and drinks available for purchase as well as numerous fun activations in the 7UP Epicenter. For more information and to RSVP, click here.
“After four games, if you would have asked us if we could play the last game and win it to be in the playoffs, every one of us would have said yes,” said Earthquakes midfielder Shea Salinas following Wednesday night’s match against Seattle. “We went on a string of results that was great. We were not expecting to be in this situation, but here we are. Now we just have to get our heads around one game. We can battle for one game. We can play all out for one game and get the win.”
The Earthquakes hold three scenarios to qualify for the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs:
- A win at Portland.
- A draw at Portland AND an FC Dallas loss vs. Sporting Kansas City AND a Colorado Rapids loss or draw at LAFC.
- A draw at Portland AND an FC Dallas loss vs. Sporting Kansas City AND a Colorado Rapids win at LAFC by one goal.
The Quakes could also potentially host a second-round playoff match should they finish in sixth place. For this scenario to happen, the Earthquakes would need to defeat the Timbers and FC Dallas would need to fail to win at home against Sporting Kansas City. San Jose and the seventh seed would then both need to earn upset victories in the first round of the playoffs.
San Jose will need to make club history in order to reach the playoffs, having never defeated the Timbers in 11 prior road matches (0-8-3). In their only previous meeting in 2019, the Quakes prevailed 3-0 on April 6 at Avaya Stadium to earn their first win of the season.
Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski has scored 10 goals in his career against the Timbers, most by any player in MLS history. He has scored four goals in eight prior appearances at Providence Park, including the 27th and final goal of his 2012 MVP campaign to tie the then single-season MLS scoring record.
