There are sophomore slumps and then there is this.
After a relatively feel-good turnaround season last year under head coach Luchi Gonzalez, the San Jose Earthquakes are off to their worst start in team history, with one win and a staggering seven losses after dropping a 3-0 game at home to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
Most concerning is the league-worst 20 goals conceded already with still a majority of the season left to go. Last year’s team rode a massive improvement in that department—conceding only 43 in 34 games—to put themselves back in the playoff mix. Where is that team?
To be clear, the advanced stats suggest the Earthquakes are better than their record suggests and there are moments where the eye-test bears this out. But right now, every key moment is going against San Jose’s way.
Take their recent two-game Texas road trip for example:
- 2-1 loss at Houston Dynamo: San Jose took the lead early, only to see Preston Judd sent off with a red card and the team concede two late goals in the 81st and 85th minute.
- 4-3 loss at Austin FC: San Jose has a two goal lead heading into the 60th minute and proceeded to concede three goals in six minutes, before new signing Amahl Pellegrino tied the game with his first Major League Soccer goal. Former MVP finalist Sebastian Driussi would win it for Austin in the 101st minute.
Unrelated but perhaps related: The Quakes also lost their season opener in Dallas courtesy of a 94th minute goal. Maybe it’s just Texas?
“The luck will bounce our way if we keep at it,” Gonzalez said after the Rapids game. Despite the lopsided scoreline, the second-year man insists he “didn’t see anyone give up.”
On the night, San Jose enjoyed over 60% possession and took 24 shots to Colorado’s 13. Behind the scenes, this does not feel like a team dejected or bursting at the seams. Whether it’s the lack of jeopardy in MLS or not, the vibes were still, let’s say, nice.
Although time will tell, if the losing persists.
To hear Gonzalez work through the team’s puzzling start in real time, the coach insists that the team is still preparing the right way and approaching each game with the correct mentality. He is also often to remind folks that there are up to six new starters to integrate into the team and potentially another designated player to come.
“I’m confident that the changes we made in the offseason were for the best,” Gonzalez said.
But what of those key moments where his team keeps ending up on the wrong side? The bad referee call, the sudden shift of momentum, or the opening 10 minutes on Saturday when Colorado pressed the Quakes into mistakes.
“It’s not like the guys don’t know what to do in those situations,” Gonzalez lamented. “We have smart players. Even the young ones play beyond their years. It’s just the tempo and pressure of the game… you gotta make split-second decisions as an individual and team. And yeah, there’s been some breakdowns. But what we’re working on is building confidence, getting them to play free again.”
After the loss, Gonzalez shared a moment with new Colorado head coach Chris Armas outside of the teams’ locker rooms. The two spoke of the wild up and down swings of the league and shared commiserations with each other.
This time last year, Armas was in between jobs, cast off after a tumultuous run in England as an assistant with Manchester United and then Leeds United. The Rapids, then fresh off firing Robin Fraser, were easily the worst team in the league.
“I have a lot of respect for Luchi as a coach and person,” Armas said.
In the same week FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited with MLS owners and implored them to “be bold” with spending ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Armas said he was attracted to the Rapids project because of Colorado’s willingness to recruit ambitiously.
The team was re-made around U.S. internationals Zack Steffen, Djordje Mihailovic, Sam Vines, and Brazilian striker Rafael Navarro, all of whom imprinted themselves against San Jose.
Before Armas went into the locker room to celebrate, he put his hand on the shoulder of his opponent, Gonzalez, and said: “Brother, keep going. It could have easily gone the other way.”
The Rapids are new and exciting. The Quakes were once that way too. But now they’re not catching anybody by surprise and they need points in every shape and size.
Will they collect them any soon? Up next: Away to LA Galaxy (April 21), Away to Nashville (April 27), and LAFC at Levi’s Stadium (May 4).
About the Author: Kevin V. Nguyen is a business and sports journalist. He has covered soccer for The Guardian, The Sacramento Bee, and The San Francisco Standard. Follow him on Twitter @KevinNguyen_89
