SAN JOSE, Calif. - We had to be patient for Matias Perez Garcia's deadlock-breaking finish, but boy, it was worth the wait.
The diminutive playmaker was patrolling the grounds at Avaya Stadium, and his goal on a deflection in the 87th minute gave the Earthquakes a must-have 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake. It also electrified the sellout crowd.
With three games left in the regular season, the Quakes (12-12-7, 43 points) are one point behind Portland, which currently holds the final playoff spot in the tightly bunched Western Conference. The Timbers put the pressure on with a road win over Columbus on Saturday.
In a blanket finish, the Quakes are just two points behind fifth-place Sporting Kansas City and three behind fourth-place Seattle.
So this one was massive. Until they play the next one, that is.
"If you had called me (after Portland's win) and said, 'Is this a must-win?' I probably would have said 'yes it is,'" Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear said.
After his first MLS game-winner and third goal of the season, Garcia spontaneously pulled off his blue jersey and waved it wildly. It was as if he'd hit a walk-off home run and scored seven touchdowns.
Then the bad news came.
The referee showed him his second yellow card of the match for removing his jersey, resulting in an ejection and a one-game suspension. It was, literally, a walk-off goal.
"The moment, the joy, I just wasn't thinking about the other card," Garcia said through a translator.
On the goal, center back Victor Bernardez sent a long ball to Quincy Amarikwa, who was shielding RSL defender Jamison Olave with his back to the goal. He knocked the ball back toward a fast-closing Garcia, whose measured left-footed shot banked off Olave, wrong-footing goalkeeper Nick Rimando who had the far corner covered. The ball caromed into the near corner of the net.
Garcia said he took a little off on the shot because he'd shot high about five minutes earlier. While allowing that Garcia's taking off his jersey "wasn't the smartest thing to do," Kinnear added that winning was the "most important thing."
Down a man, the Quakes still had to finish off the game for another six or seven minutes -- no small task against a highly motivated opponent.
The Quakes had so many scoring chances overall, outshooting RSL 20-6, that a tie or loss would have been tough to swallow.
"A huge relief," Chris Wondolowski said of the win. "We needed a full three points, and we definitely had chances. I had a few of them. Credit to Nick. I wish I could say I was surprised. He's a world-class keeper for a reason, and you still got to finishes those, though."
In the 25th minute, Rimando saved the ball off the line on an inswinging Garcia corner kick. Shea Salinas shot off the woodwork in the 35th minute, and Wondolowski was denied by Rimando from point blank range on a diving save in the 52nd minute.
"The one thing was we didn't stop pushing forward," Kinnear said. "And we didn't get frustrated and put our heads down. That was a positive thing. I really liked our determination right from the first minute. I thought we were good for a goal at halftime, and told the guys, 'Look, let's carry that from the first half over to the second half.'"
In the 65th minute, Salinas took a pass from Wondolowski on the left, but his shot rocketed over the bar. Three minutes later, Wondolowski got on the end of a Garcia on a corner kick, but his one-hop shot was fended off by Rimando by the post.
Kinnear said that when you keep seeing chances go by, you start to view things a little bit negatively, believing the other team might get one in. And that almost happened.
But David Bingham saved the day, and maybe the season. After making his first save on a Kyle Beckerman free kick with a lunge to his right, Bingham denied Joao Plata by making himself big on one-on-one chance in the 77th minute. Plata also whiffed on another chance in front of an open net five minutes later.
Bingham, who has 11 shutouts this season, one off the club record, said the team defended "very well," limiting RSL to mostly half-chances from distance.
Marc Pelosi and Anibal Godoy teamed to hold down the central midfield well, with normal midfielder Fatai Alashe continuing to hold down the fort at center back. This time, Alashe merged forces with Bernardez, who returned after missing 3 1/2 weeks with a hamstring injury and was his usual commanding self. Clarence Goodson was out Sunday serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation.
"Fatai's a really good player," outside defender Shaun Francis said. "Him being this young and being able to do what he does playing multiple positions, he's doing a great job. He's becoming a very good player in this league."
Pelosi showed his usual moxie in battling Beckerman, his effort reflecting the significance of the moment.
"We knew we needed three points," Pelosi said. "We had quite a few chances to score in the first half, so it was pretty frustrating going into the half at a draw. We kept our spirits up and knew if we came out the way we finished, we would definitely get a goal. We're happy we came out with the win."
San Jose plays its second of three consecutive matches at Avaya Stadium against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday. They then get a week off before hosting Sporting Kansas City on Oct. 16. They close the regular season at FC Dallas on Oct. 25.
