One point. One simple, solitary point. It doesn’t sound like much, but it can be the determining factor between preparing for a first round playoff matchup or packing up the locker room for winter.
San Jose picked up a crucial point on Saturday night against FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium with a 2-2 draw. The Frisco, Texas venue has been unkind to the Earthquakes, who both opened and closed the 2015 season with heartbreaking losses on that very pitch. Then again, it has been unfair to most visitors of late, with FC Dallas now holding a 27-6-5 record at home since the start of the 2014 season.
Road matches in general around Major League Soccer are different than in other sports around the country. Last season, the best road team in the league, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, scraped together a .500 record (7-7-3). For comparisons sake, seven teams in the National Basketball Association currently have more road wins than losses. It’s tough to head out on the road and return with anything to show from it, especially when you’re going up against a team that failed to win just four of its seventeen home contests a season ago.
San Jose held a 1-0 lead early and a 2-1 lead late, so it seems rather easy to say they let the game slip away. But the fight San Jose showed, not to just hang onto the draw, but to also continue to push for a game-winner until the final whistle, has to be admired.
“There were times we could have just dropped back and tried to defend, but we kept pressing and looking for a winner,” said forward Chris Wondolowski. “It showed in Dom’s substitutions – he brought in Innocent, Shea [Salinas] and Adam [Jahn] - offensive subs to try to make a difference. I love it. It’s frustrating we couldn’t get a winner, but it’s good we at least got a point.”
The two goal-scorers for the Earthquakes couldn’t be much different. Midfielder Alberto Quintero tallied his first-career MLS goal and forward Chris Wondolowski notched his 113th. The two dangerous playmakers nearly gave San Jose enough to snap FC Dallas’ eight-game unbeaten streak at home, but a first-half penalty kick by Tesho Akindele and an second-half own goal by Victor Bernardez helped the team from the Lone Star State equalize.
At the end of the day, both teams feel they could have won the match, with FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja and multiple players reiterating the fact that they rarely drop points at home. Credit to the Earthquakes players and coaches for going in and taking a point from somewhere that they, and most, are not expected to do so.
The Quakes return to action on Wednesday, April 13 against the defending Supporters’ Shield-winner New York Red Bulls. San Jose, having claimed points in four of their five games so far in 2016, will be looking to continue their hot start this season.
