The San Jose Earthquakes return to PayPal Park for the first game in a three-match homestand Saturday night to face Houston Dynamo FC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally via Apple TV (English/Spanish), as well as local radio on KSFO 810 AM (English) and La Kaliente 1370 AM (Spanish).Â
The Quakes finished an unbeaten three-game road trip after traveling to Snapdragon Stadium on Wednesday and winning 3-2 over San Diego FC. San Jose was the protagaonist for most of the night and looked like the team that had taken the league by storm in the first half of the season. Homegrown 21-year-old midfielder Niko Tsakiris continues to make his case for a U.S. Men’s National Team call-up, dazzling fans with his involvement in all three goals, including the last one—a mesmerizing trivela assist to Ousseni Bouda headed in from just inside the box. Beau Leroux notched his second straight goal contribution in as many weeks with an assist and Preston Judd also rediscovered his scoring form, netting his team-leading 12th goal of the season and first since the FIFA World Cup break.Â
Meanwhile, Houston enters the match on a roll after climbing all the way up to second place in the Western Conference, with a record of 13-7-4 and an electric run of form after the league's return to play. On Wednesday, they outlasted Real Salt Lake 2-1 thanks to a late goal from forward Mateusz Bogusz. Overall, their strong defense has led them to seven clean sheets in 10 matches since MLS play has returned. Â
One of those Dynamo shutouts occurred recently at Shell Energy Stadium when the Quakes came to town on Aug. 29. But it should be noted that San Jose also earned the clean sheet and arguably dominated the action in a 0-0 draw. Quakes Head Coach Bruce Arena shook things up in Houston by switching formations to a three-man back line that stymied the Dynamo attack so much they failed to register a single shot on goal.Â
With two weeks to prepare for the rematch, it begs the question if Dynamo Head Coach Ben Olsen—an Arena protege whom the former once recruited as a player to the University of Virginia and coached on the U.S. Men’s National Team—will take a different approach up front. The weapons at his disposal include MLS All-Star Guilherme (13g/8a) and Bogusz (5g/2a), the former LAFC star who returned to the league after a short stint with Liga MX side Cruz Azul. Speedy German wingback Lawrence Ennali is a threat when he comes forward and has added six goal contributions (3g/3a) for Houston. Â
The upcoming three-game September homestand presents a substantial opportunity for the Quakes to bolster their playoff positioning going into the final month of the season. Can San Jose take advantage of this stretch and push their way back up the standings?