San Jose had high hopes of avenging an early-season loss to FC Dallas, but the Quakes won't complain about picking up a point from a scoreless draw on Saturday after watching other playoff contenders come up short.
Both FC Dallas and the Quakes had their chances at goal, but the scoreless draw seemed a fair result for a match that saw few defensive breakdowns.
San Jose fans might remember Saturday's fixture for something more: The return of the mythical man, the Brazilian striker Eduardo. After injuring his hip in the pre-season, Eduardo made several appearances for the Quakes in 2010. However, the bulky forward never fully recovered and found himself back on the trainer's table after each match played.
Against FC Dallas, the Quakes home crowd finally got a taste of what a healthy Eduardo looked like. Playing up top alongside fellow Brazilian Geovanni, Eduardo had one moment of near brilliance. Geovanni took a pass from his Samba partner then lofted the ball over the FC Dallas backline to a streaking Eduardo. The resulting shot - a right-footed slide kick - went wide of the frame, but drew excitement from the near-capacity crowd on hand.
Saturday's draw pulled San Jose within a point of Colorado for the No. 6 seed and helped put distance between Toronto FC and Chicago, each of which lost over the weekend.
AROUND MLS
The Los Angeles Galaxy broke through for a 3-1 win over Eastern Conference leading Columbus in David Beckham's return to the field. It was a big win for a Galaxy squad that was 1-3-2 in its last six MLS matches.
Sebastien Le Toux and the Philadelphia Union did San Jose a favor by upending the Chicago Fire 1-0 at PPL Park. The Union will play against the Quakes on Wednesday at Buck Shaw Stadium. The Fire now trail Sounders FC and San Jose by seven points with eight games remaining on their slate.
Thierry Henry scored in a 3-1 New York Red Bulls win over visiting Colorado. The Red Bulls are 4-2-2 since signing the French striker.
D.C. United produced a shock result, defeating a struggling Toronto FC side 1-0 at BMO Field. Julius James scored the game winner against his former team in the 81st minute. Toronto FC trails Sounders FC and San Jose by five points with six games remaining. Three of Toronto's remaining six games are against playoff contenders - including the Quakes and Sounders.
Justin Braun tallied in the 6th minute and Chivas USA didn't look back, taking a 2-0 result from New England at the Home Depot Center on Friday.
