It's 'go' time:
With nine of their final 15 games at home this season, the Earthquakes are well-positioned to begin making a move. San Jose entered the week with at least two games in hand on five of the seven teams ahead of them in the Western Conference. But a win at Vancouver won't come cheaply. In fact, the away team has never won in this series. Vancouver (10-8-3, 33 points) is coming off a gutsy 1-1 road draw with Portland to snap a two-game losing streak. The Quakes are looking to rebound from a subpar effort in a 5-2 loss against the dynamic LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center. The Quakes (7-8-4, 25 points) are reasonably healthy and should be well-fortified for the trip. In the teams' first meeting, Sanna Nyassi scored in a 1-0 win over visiting Vancouver. It marked the San Jose's historic first game under the lights at Avaya Stadium. The Quakes got a lift this week with the return of Cordell Cato from Gold Cup duty with Trinidad & Tobago. Cato looked sharp and confident in a 3-1 loss against Manchester United on Tuesday in the International Champions Cup, and Shea Salinas had a nice assist on rookie Fatai Alashe's goal.
Emerging forces:
After bright performances against Manchester United, the Earthquakes' young midfield trifecta of Fatai Alashe, Tommy Thompson and Marc Pelosi will look to keep things rolling in Vancouver. The trio should have Quakes fans excited about the future. Alashe, who has 15 starts in MLS play this season, logged 62 minutes against the Red Devils and plays a vital role, fronting the back four and making secondary runs on the attack. Pelosi and Alashe helped the U.S. Under-23 men's national team to a 1-0 win over Qatar in the Toulon Tournament on June 2. Thompson, 19, a U.S. Under-20 national team player, showed his usual fearlessness holding possession against some big dudes on Man United's back line. He has seen his role increase over the summer.
'A' for Amarikwa:
Newcomer Quincy Amarikwa will look to build on his eye-popping two-goal effort against the LA Galaxy. The agile and solid former UC Davis star was disappointed his output didn't come in a Quakes victory, but he did provide a welcome spark on the attack. His first goal was a work of art with a one-time blast into the corner off a quick Sanna Nyassi cross from the right. Amarikwa also factored on the goal in a 2-1 loss to Club America in the Champions Cup. Clarence Goodson scored on a header after Amarikwa's initial attempt wasn't cleared out by the harried America defense. Amarikwa and target forwards Mark Sherrod and Adam Jahn are vying for time up top. Their job will be to make runs at the Whitecaps back four along with Matias Perez Garcia, take their chances, and free up the hard-chargers out wide, such as Salinas, Cato, Nyassi and outside backs Jordan Stewart and Marvell Wynne.
