SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Earthquakes defender Nathan and goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski have been selected to Major League Soccer’s Team of the Week for Week 10 following the Earthquakes’ 1-0 home win against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
After a scoreless first half, San Jose took the lead through Nathan in the 64th minute. A corner kick taken short was driven into the box by Cristian Espinoza. Nathan beat his man to the ball and volleyed it past goalkeeper William Yarbrough. His goal marked his first goal of the season and third of his MLS career. It also marks the first game-winning goal of his MLS career. JT Marcinkowski made five saves to earn his first shoutout of the season and 11th of his MLS career.
The Team of the Week selections are the first of the season for both players. It also marks Marcinkowski’s second and Nathan’s fourth TOTW selections all-time. The Earthquakes have now had six different players selected in TOTW recognitions so far this season, with the two players joining Francisco Calvo (Week 2), Cade Cowell (Week 5), Jeremy Ebobisse (Weeks 6 and 7), and Cristian Espinoza (Week 8).
MLS TEAM OF THE WEEK FOR WEEK 10
F: Paul Arriola (DAL), Ronaldo Cisneros (ATL), Joaquin Torres (MTL)
M: Daniel Gazdag (PHI), Mark Delgado (LA), Luciano Acosta (CIN), Taxi Fountas (DC)
D: Dave Romney (NSH), Aaron Long (RBNY), Nathan (SJ)
GK: Roman Celentano (CIN)
Coach: Pat Noonan (CIN)
Bench: JT Marcinkowski (SJ), Brendan Hines-Ike (DC), Derrick Etienne Jr. (CLB), Dax McCarty (NSH), Santiago Moreno (POR), Tosaint Ricketts (VAN), Andre Shinyashiki (CLT)
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER JT MARCINKOWSKI (5/7)
On if tonight is a sign of things to come:
“Yeah, absolutely. I think the guys have done a great job during the transition. It’s definitely not easy. We owe a lot to Matias [Almeyda] and his staff. A lot of the way that we pressure and the way that we defend can be credited to them for teaching us over the past three and a half, four years. But, with [Alex] Covelo’s system, I think it’s a little more structured, a little more less-is-more approach, I would say. I think this is a good indication of how we’ll play moving forward. I think every game presents a different challenge, so it’s not going to be exactly the same thing every single time, but just adjusting on the fly. We’ll look back on the film and there’s plenty of things to correct and there’s plenty of things to work on, and we’ll get right back on it tomorrow.”
On the team’s first shutout of the season:
“I think the clean sheet is a great representation of how well the team defended. I thought we really worked together tonight, and we clicked on a lot of cylinders that we’d kind of been missing. I think having a zero in the back is just a culmination of all the effort the guys put in in front of me. I’m just out there to try and help the team in any way that I can, whether that’s a clean sheet or whether that’s a 4-3 victory, doesn’t really matter to me as long as we get a win.”
