Jon Busch says “the boys played great” in front of him in a 0-0 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Oct. 18, as they exited Buck Shaw Stadium with one last clean sheet.
Enjoying a rare slow night, Busch needed just one save for his sixth shutout of the year, which upped his MLS -leading save total to 135 this season.
The veteran keeper needs three saves in the finale against Chivas USA on Sunday at the StubHub Center to surpass the Quakes’ single-season saves mark held by Joe Cannon, the team’s color analyst on 1590 KLIV radio.
Records aside, Busch, a 5-foot-10 native of Queens , N.Y. , is most interested in getting three points.
“First and foremost, we want to end the season with a win,” Busch, 38, said. “It’s not going to be an easy game. It’s funny, because somebody mentioned that (saves) record the other day, and I kind of joked, ‘I’m not sure if that’s one of the records I want to be known for.’”
It’s not the sexiest of marks: Making a lot of saves in a season means your team is facing a lot of shots, but Busch takes things in stride. He’s been peppered a bit more in 2014; it comes with the territory.
Busch, in his 18
th
professional season, and Cannon, who played 15 MLS seasons, have a lot in common. Both Quakes mainstays rank in the top five all-time in virtually every MLS goalkeeping category. They share a mutual respect.
“He’s a very solid goalkeeper,” said Cannon, who helped the Quakes win the 2001 MLS Cup, of Busch. “One of the things that has made Jon such a presence throughout his career has been his work ethic and his ability to focus on and to acknowledge his strengths and to use them in games. They say goalkeepers, as they get older, might lose a little here and there, but they all get better because of their experience.
"He’s a smart individual," Cannon continued. "He’s one of these people that really loves the craft of goalkeeping. It’s a testament to him that he’s able to sustain and to play at the same level.”
Busch credits his work ethic in the offseason and during the season with his ability to continue playing at a high level. He agrees with Cannon’s ‘better-with-age’ keeper assessment.
“They understand situations,” Busch said of keepers in their 30s. “They understand shots. They understand crosses. When you’re younger, you have so much energy and so much athleticism, and you want to take that to the game. As you get older, you learn to allow the game to come to you and not try to overdo things or do too much.”
Cannon, who grew up in Los Altos Hills and starred at St. Francis High School in Mountain View , finished his MLS career in 2013 after three seasons in Vancouver . The two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year returned to the Bay Area with his wife Marisa and their first child, Joseph Reed Cannon, this year.
Cannon landed in the radio booth, and has enjoyed seeing Busch do his thing in a difficult season for the team.
“For the most part Jon should feel very good about the season he’s had,” Cannon said. “I don’t think there’s been too many occasions where you could kind of come away from a game and say, ‘Yeah, that wasn’t good enough.’ He’s had a very solid year.”
Of course, Busch, who has crested the 100 saves mark seven times in his professional career, would love to play in the Quakes’ new stadium in 2015. He’s put a lot into the prep work. He’s a keeper.
