Saturday night was a match for the ages. An epic win. Two goals in stoppage time. Two red cards. Awesome Tifo. And, to top it all off, the 100th win for our legendary coach Frank Yallop.
I could not be happier for Frank to achieve such a huge milestone. One-hundred wins is a boatload in any soccer league, especially the young MLS. Frank joins Bruce Arena, Sigi Schmid, Bob Bradley, Steve Nicol, and Dominic Kinnear in the 100 win club. That is an elite group of coaches who have shown over a long period of time the ability to motivate and manage men while focusing their energy on winning for their club. We are fortunate as an organization to have such a great leader. Frank leads with confidence and integrity and everyone associated with the club is proud to have such a presence in the locker room.
I encourage all the fans to reach out to Frank to congratulate him on such a monumental achievement. I am sure folks have a favorite Frank Yallop win over the years. Please email me at president@sjearthquakes.com or tweet to @QuakesPrez with your favorite from his time in San Jose. In a future blog, I will reveal some of your answers.
There were many highlights from the weekend, but after Frank’s 100th win, I think my favorite part of the match was how the fans responded in the last 10 minutes up to Simon Dawkins’ fabulous header to bag our three points. There was a rising buzz of energy at Buck Shaw. Everyone knew that being up two men and getting a draw would have basically been a loss. We needed the three points and we needed to make a statement to an RSL squad that had eaten us for breakfast over the past three years. We needed a goal.
The fans led by the supporters picked the club up and took the atmosphere up a notch with loud chants, cheers, flag waving, and yelling. It was a sight to behold. When Simon sacrificed his body to dive for the winning header, everyone went nuts. It was a great moment and Chris Wondolowski added the cherry on top with a 93rd minute header off of nifty service from Khari Stevenson to make it 3-1.
For the first time in seven years, the Quakes are at the top of the conference. We know how long the road has been to get here and we thank all the fans for their unwavering support no matter where we were in the table. These are the moments to savor, but we’re not just happy to be here. We need to continue the momentum and our march to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Together, we can make history. Join us – I promise it will be a great ride.
GO QUAKES!
Dave Kaval
President
San Jose Earthquakes
Follow @QuakesPrez on Twitter
