The Earthquakes and Chicago Fire, who will meet to christen the Quakes’ new Avaya Stadium on Sunday, March 22 in 2015, have a storied rivalry dating back to the 1998 MLS season.
The Quakes beat the Fire 4-2 in an exciting 2003 MLS Cup Final, in what remains the highest scoring league title game.
Thanks to eight saves by Pat Onstad, the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, the Quakes emerged as champions for the second time in three seasons. New Quakes head coach Dominic Kinnear was an assistant coach back then.
Wing Shea Salinas carries many fond memories of facing the Fire, but has mixed emotions about the Quakes’ 1-0 loss to Chicago in 2008 in Oakland.
Salinas missed on a glorious chance to tie the game -- the Quakes’ first home game since their hiatus.
“I remember that game pretty vividly. I think it was my first home game,” recalled Salinas, the Quakes’ second-round draft pick (15th overall) in 2008. “There were a lot of people there, I don’t remember exactly how many, but I got stepped on pretty late in the game and missed a sitter at the very end to tie it up.”
Salinas, who has played five of his seven MLS seasons with the Quakes, describes the unfortunate miss as a “good learning experience.”
“Don’t start celebrating before you shoot, that’s what I learned,” he said with a chuckle.
After one season with the Quakes and time on loan with the Charleston Battery of the USL First Division in 2008, Salinas was selected by the Philadelphia Union in the 2009 Expansion Draft.
He returned to San Jose in 2011 in a trade that sent allocation money to Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Last season Salinas had reason to celebrate in a 5-1 rout of the Fire on July 23 at Buck Shaw Stadium, the teams’ 33rd meeting in the regular season. Salinas touched off a Quakes’ goal-scoring explosion by breaking a scoreless tie in the 45th minute with his first goal of the season. He received a pat on the head from teammate Sam Cronin in the celebration.
The big win marked one of the Quakes’ season highlights.
“That was a big win for us at the time,” Salinas said. “We didn’t get many wins last season, so that definitely stands out.”
Salinas, who has had a career-high eight assists in each of the last two seasons, remembers some exciting road games against Chicago. One time, Mexican star Blanco, who had 16 goals with the Fire from 2007-2009, came into the game with 10 minutes left and got a goal and an assist.
Early in his Quakes career, Salinas got a red card in a 1-0 Quakes’ loss in Chicago -- a game also notable for a spectacular Brian McBride finish.
“I think McBride had an amazing goal in that game,” Salinas recalled. “He chest-trapped over Ryan Cochrane and volleyed it into the back of the net, so a pretty sweet goal. I have lots of memories playing in Chicago. We’ve always enjoyed going to Chicago and playing. It’s always been nice playing against them here.”
While the 2015 opener in March still seems far away, Salinas is only just starting his preseason workouts, the Quakes will be eager to make amends after a tough 2014 season.
They want to set the tone from day one.
“Exactly,” Salinas said. “We need some more wins, so that’s what we’re going for. I think it’s going to happen. I think Avaya Stadium is going to be a tough place to play, especially the opening year. So to get a win streak going there would be nice.”
Moreover, the home opener will represent a huge landmark for the franchise and Northern California soccer.
“A lot of people are going to want to come and see the stadium, and we’re gonna be pumped up,” Salinas said. “We’ve been playing at Buck Shaw Stadium for so many years. The new stadium, there’s gonna be lots of motivation for us.”
