SAN JOSE, Calif. -
The Quakes return home to Avaya Stadium to face Western Conference foe FC Dallas on Sunday, June 7 at 4:00 p.m. With both club's hoping to get back to their winning ways, we take at the three keys to San Jose keeping their two-game home win streak alive.
- TICKETS: Quakes vs. FC Dallas
Bounce-back Factor:
Coming off a tough 3-1 loss at Toronto FC, the Earthquakes have ample motivation for a strong rebound effort. FC Dallas swiped a point from the Quakes’ pocket in the teams’ season openers at Toyota Stadium. A Blas Perez goal in the 92nd minute off a Moises Hernandez assist brought the hosts a 1-0 win. But the Quakes are 3-1-0 at Avaya Stadium, where they have allowed just two goals overall. Red-hot
Chris Wondolowski
is looking to carry over his momentum from May, when he scored in five of six games, including the last four games in a row. The Quakes and FC Dallas had mixed results last season, with the Quakes prevailing 2-1 on a
in Frisco, Texas; and FC Dallas beating the Quakes 5-0 at Buck Shaw Stadium, led by Tesho Akindele’s hat trick. With forwards Perez and Rolando Escobar on national team duty this week, Akindele figures to be FC Dallas’ primary target on an attack, as Dallas looks to bust out of a scoring slump. It has just one goal in its last three matches.
Argentine Angle:
Two polished Argentine playmakers, the Earthquakes’
Matias Perez Garcia
and FC Dallas’ Mauro Diaz, will square off for the second time this season, and the first time at Avaya Stadium. MPG played 81 minutes in the season-opening loss to FC Dallas, when he took three corner kicks, two fewer than Diaz attempted. MPG helped engineer the Quakes’ five-game unbeaten streak, before sitting out a 3-1 loss at Toronto FC at BMO Field last week with an injury. In the Quakes’ 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on May 5 at BBVA Compass Stadium, MPG assisted
Adam Jahn
in the 54th minute with a quick free kick from the right flank that caught the Dynamo defense by surprise. Diaz created several opportunities in FC Dallas’ 2-1 loss at the Montreal Impact on May 23. He played just 71 minutes of a 4-0 road loss to Sporting Kansas City on May 31, in which FCD had just one shot on target. The 24-year-old Diaz, who made his debut for famed Argentine side River Plate at age 17, was dangerous working in combination with Blas Perez in the season-opener against the Quakes.
Back Four-tress:
The Quakes’ stout back four of center backs
Clarence Goodson
and
Victor Bernardez
and wide players
Jordan Stewart
and
Marvell Wynne
will look to rebound from a rare off week for the club in team defending. The Quakes allowed a season-high total of three goals in a game against Toronto FC. But the Quakes’ back line has been a strong point all season. San Jose has held opponents to one or fewer goals in nine of 13 matches, including five out of the past six. Goalkeeper
David Bingham
ranks third in the league with 45 saves, and the back line would surely like to give the active Bingham a little less to do on Sunday.
