Sweet Relief
That was the term I used full time was whistled at the end of Saturday's win over MNUFC. The tension between the loss to Portland and kickoff against the Loons was palpable. The team seemed upset with themselves, the fans were not happy, and morale, everywhere, seemed to dip for a moment. It would have been all to conceivable to watch the Quakes go into Minnesota and get beat, and for things to snowball out of control on the 2018 season, but the moment the team arrived in in Minneapolis, I noticed the mood was markedly lighter than it had been in Orlando or Columbus, and that the frustration, the venting of anger shown by the players after the loss to the Timbers was perhaps a necessary, or cathartic moment for the team. Sometimes in sports, teams and players spend so much time putting up walls to keep the media, fans, and distractions out (during times of struggle) that it only succeeds in making the tension rise even higher. In acknowledging the struggle, the Quakes seemingly took ownership of what had been going on since match one of the season, and in ownership comes responsibility, and the Quakes showed that they indeed had the ability to respond. Was it the prettiest win ever? Of course not, but that's sports. There have been games in 2018 where the Quakes have played better than that and deserved to win or get a point, but it didn't happen for a variety of reasons. On Saturday, the Quakes won ugly, and no matter what, those points don't come off the table.
Florian Jungwirth Worth His Weight In Gold
Flo has been an absolute beat for the Quakes. Left back, right back, center back, defenisve mid, goal scorer, assist man, game saver, head banger, you name it and Flo has done it for San Jose over the past few weeks. That's a huge part of why he played the role of captain this past week with Wondo coming off the bench. I won't say that Florian plays with reckless abandon, because its quite calculated and efficient in true German fashion, but he is without fear of repercussion. He's going to get slammed to the turf, go head to head, make a risky tackle in the area, whatever it takes, because he knows he can get away with it. He knows he's that good. Since his first game for the Quakes, Jungwirth has easily been one of the most enjoyable guys to watch for SJ, and he jut keeps upping the ante with each passing game. He's on a roll right now, I'm not about to bet against him
The Hunter
Chris Wondolowski isn't just ageless, he's timeless. There has never been an era in sports where someone with the fight and drive of number eight would not be an impact player. Starter, sub, captain, whatever, Wondo is the the living embodiment of "Never Say Die." I don't want to take anything away from any other Quake who took part in that win over Minnesota, but it was won because of Wondolowski. After coming off the bench, he sets up Lima on the right wing with a beautiful pass that sets the entire play in motion, wins the ball and fights to the endline, and somehow is able to put the ball across the face of the goal where Danny Hoesen was ready and waiting to slam the ball into the back of the net to give San Jose a 2-1 lead. Hoesen's goal was awesome, but Wondo's efforting was truly spectacular. I would hope that every other player on the team, on both teams, or any player across the entire league took a moment to watch that play and appreciate why Wondo is Wondo. Then, when he gets his own opportunity to score, he strikes, gives SJ a 3-1 lead, draws one closer to Landon Donovan, and get's himself a spot on the bench for Major League Soccer's "Team of the Week (though, if he played for Atlanta, he'd have been player of the week this week, and next, and have won "Save of the Week" as well, maybe). That's really just Chris Wondolowski doing Chris Wondolowski things. Oh, he scores goals in bunches, so pay attention.
Returning To 2017's End
I agree, a 5-0 drubbing to get emphatically knocked out of the knock out round in Major League Soccer's playoffs is not a memory I often think about (what if Godoy's early free kick from on top of the area was an inch lower???), but I do think about how much buzz and excitement there was in that building in the hour before the match. I was down on the pitch with Joe Cannon, we were high fiving the guys as they arrived at the stadium, doing social media hits before the match, just soaking up the entire atmosphere, and it was one of those moments I'll never ever forget. The weekend before, a trip to the dance was on the line against Minnesota, but now the Quakes were in, and the potential of finality was on the line. The run continued, or it ended. That was it. Consequence. And that was it, truly, the run ended, the season came to an end. But now, coming off a road win, and with the feeling of a correction happening for San Jose, they find themselves in Vancouver against a team that is good by way of the table right now, but a team San Jose could beat. The entire dynamic and view of the first part of the season changes immensely if San Jose can get six points out of this road trip. The early hole they've dug gets considerably more shallow, and you feel like momentum is building. I'll gladly take a draw as well, but I think the team feels they finally got some breaks in Minnesota, and that it's time to play their best game, and get a win that way.
