The 2016 season officially in the books for the Earthquakes. The team’s second year at Avaya Stadium featured plenty of ups and downs, with sustained periods of success and frustration to keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Let’s take a look at what went right and what went wrong for the Quakes in 2016.
Right: The team kicked off the year in tremendous fashion, winning the first two matches against quality opponents (1-0 vs. COL; 2-1 vs. POR). In fact, San Jose lost just one of their first six contests (3-1-2) – coming at the notoriously difficult StubHub Center in LA – resulting in the team’s fifth best start through six games in club history and best since 2012 (4-1-1).
Wrong: A couple times this season, the Quakes fell into a rut and weren’t able to right the ship quickly. From April 30 to July 8, the team won just one of their 10 games (1-4-5) and later finished the season with just one win in their last 11 (1-6-4).
Right: Goalkeeper David Bingham keeps getting better. After a tremendous first season as the starter in 2015, Bingham continued to ascend up the Major League Soccer ranks in 2016 and earned multiple call-ups to the U.S. National Team in the process. Even head coach Dominic Kinnear has alluded to the fact that teams overseas are interested in the Castro Valley, Calif. native, likely due to his athleticism, poise and confidence.
Wrong: The club didn’t get much contribution from two of its three Designated Players. Innocent and Matias Perez Garcia, who was traded for Darwin Ceren midseason, played in 20 total games (10 starts) and tallied one assist for San Jose this season.
Right: Forward Chris Wondolowski reached a double-digit scoring total… again. For the record seventh consecutive year, Wondo found the back of the net more than 10 times, scoring a team-best 12 goals.
Wrong: Henok Goitom didn’t have the kind of immediate goal-scoring impact the team had hoped for. A striker with a lengthy scoring history overseas, Goitom finished the season with one spectacular assist against Sporting Kansas City on Sept. 24, but no goals.
Right:
Several acquisitions made their mark on the 2016 season, including preseason signing Andres Imperiale and midseason acquisition Darwin Ceren. Imperiale started in 10 of his 11 appearances and helped the team overcome the early season loss of center back Clarence Goodson. Ceren appeared in 12 games (9 starts) and became part of the three-headed monster in the center of the team’s midfield along with Anibal Godoy and Fatai Alashe.
Wrong: The Quakes didn’t have trouble creating chances, but found difficulty in finishing as the club ranked at the bottom of the league in goals scored. Despite the team’s prowess keeping opponents off the board, the inability to put teams away left a razor-thin margin for error.
Right:
Despite their overall record, San Jose proved they could hang with any team in Major League Soccer. Against the top 10 teams in the final Supporters’ Shield standings, the Quakes went 5-6-9, picking up points in 14 of 20 total matches.
Wrong: Conversely, the team struggled against bottom-of-the-table teams, finishing 1-3-1 against the three lowest ranked clubs (Columbus, Houston, Chicago).
Right: The team seems to have done well on draft day back in January. First round pick goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell looks like the real deal despite playing just 45 minutes all season due to Bingham’s ownership of the starting spot. Third round pick defender Kip Colvey appeared in four matches, tallying one assist. His talent was quickly recognized by the New Zealand National Team, who have made Colvey a regular call-up for the All-Whites. Colvey even played 90 minutes against the United States during an October friendly, helping the All-Whites earn a 1-1 draw.
Wrong: Injuries crushed the team’s depth that was lauded in preseason. Defender Clarence Goodson (back), midfielder Marc Pelosi (knee) and forward Mark Sherrod (knee) made a combined total of two appearances all season, while forward Quincy Amarikwa also suffered a season-ending injury in September.
Right: Simon Dawkins’ return was to great fanfare after his successful stint with the club in 2011-12. Heading to San Jose after receiving sparse minutes in England, Dawkins was bound to go through a catch-up period and scored just once in his first 15 appearances from March 6 to July 8. However, the Jamaican international came on strong at the end of the season, finding the net four times in his final 14 games. Dawkins also proved to be a vital asset to San Jose, who compiled a winless 0-3-2 record in the five matches in which he did not appear.
