SAN JOSE, Calif. - Chris Wondolowski scored the game-tying goal, David Bingham made the big save, and the Earthquakes moved above the red line in the Western Conference by rallying for a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
The Quakes (12-12-8, 44 points) are holding the sixth spot in the wild, wild west, and it took a gritty effort to get there on a chilly night at Avaya Stadium.
Wondolowski, San Jose's superstar dad, sealed his clutch goal in the 62nd minute with a kiss, planting one on his baby daughter, Emersyn -- the sweet celebration scene capturing the essence of the team's family friendly style.
But Bingham saved the day and the critical point.
On a breakaway in the final minute of stoppage time with the Quakes pushing forward, Bingham raced out to take the ball from speedy Kekuta Manneh, who obliged him with a touch too much.
"It's so nice to have David back there. He's so quick," Wondolowski said. "Great job coming off of his line to save that. He's very good at breakaways. He's a very good goalkeeper."
Bingham, who had four saves in the match, simply seized on a mental mistake by an excited attacker.
"I saw a bit of a heavy touch, and I thought that was my best chance to go on and stop their counter, and it worked out," Bingham said. "If he was going to beat me, he was going to beat me, but I didn't want to beat myself in that situation. I didn't want to give him an easy goal, so I stood up and saw my chance and took it."
Overall, San Jose was disappointed not to get three points with two games left in the regular season. But Portland (12-11-8, 44 points), which had held a one-point cushion on San Jose, helped out by stumbling at home against Sporting Kansas City.
The tying goal seemed to reflect the Quakes' season: It had speed out wide, passion, ingenuity, and, of course, it had Wondo, who scored his 16th goal of the season and the 109th of his career, moving to No. 5 all time in MLS. It marked his 10th career goal against Whitecaps FC, tops among MLS players.
Marvell Wynne hit a magnificent, well-weighted pass to Cordell Cato, who accelerated past the last defender on the right and shot low off keeper David Ousted, as the nimble midfielder vaulted over the keeper. Wondolowski pounced on the loose ball and shot into the near corner.
With the Quakes midfield thinned out, ex-Stanford star JJ Koval got the start alongside Anibal Godoy in the center. Koval was effective at switching the play and holding his ground. The resilient Quakes were without U-23 national team players Marc Pelosi and Fatai Alashe, along with DPs Matias Perez Garcia and Innocent.
Coach Dominic Kinnear upped the ante in the final stages, subbing in attacker Tommy Thompson for Wynne in the 74th minute, which nearly generated a goal. The Quakes knew they needed more after a difficult first 45 minutes against a highly skilled opponent.
"The first half we didn't play our best," Bingham said. "We came into the locker room and we knew that. We were able to sort it out in the second half. Obviously, they had a lot of set pieces and crosses in the first half. In the second half we were able to limit those. I thought we did a really good job and left it all out on the field."
The game offered some memorable battles between Quakes 6-foot-4 center back Clarence Goodson and 6-foot-5 Vancouver center back Kendall Waston of Costa Rica on both ends. Target forward Quincy Amarikwa, who stands 5-foot-9, also tested Waston with his lower center of gravity.
Kinnear thought the Quakes fouled too much in the first half and put themselves in difficult positions, but the second half was better. He cited a great sliding takeaway by wing Shea Salinas on Manneh as epitomizing the team's second-half effort.
The Quakes chose to work the wings with the middle clogged up with big bodies, Waston and Tim Parker.
"We kind of had Anibal and JJ sit in there a little bit to fight for second balls, and if we could kind of switch it out there quick, we knew it would be a good idea," Kinnear said. "So, I thought we did OK. It was a real physical game. It was a bit of a Ping-Pong match to be honest with you. And it was just a real physical test, so any time we could try and get possession of the ball, we looked wide because that's where the space was."
The Whitecaps (15-12-4, 49 points) put the Quakes on the ropes with a creative goal by Cristian Techera in the 39th minute. The diminutive Techera, after receiving a heel pass from Mauro Rosales, made several quick moves in the box before hitting a shot off Shaun Francis, the ball dipping into the corner.
The Quakes got a little more business-like in the second half, and began knocking the ball around better.
"Vancouver's a great team, but we wanted to get three points and that was our mind frame from the first whistle," Wondolowski said. "I thought we came out with good energy, but kind of in the wrong places. I thought we were a bit jittery at times, giving away silly fouls, silly set pieces and got punished."
The Quakes' high-wire act continues against Sporting Kansas City on Oct. 16 at Avaya Stadium. They conclude the regular season at FC Dallas on Oct. 25
