SANDY, UTAH — with three points in mind, the San Jose Earthquakes (10-11-8) head to Real Tinto Stadium to take on their Western Conference Rivals, Real Salt Lake (14-9-6). RSL, after their loss last week to the Seattle Sounders, are out of the first place spot in the West for the first time in months. San Jose, five spots out of the final playoff spot, needs to overcome their road woes and get the three points.
Everyone knows the Quakes can go unbeaten at home, but this season the road has proven to be challenging. San Jose has not won on the road since June 15th at Colorado. RSL is going to be no walk in the park either. Currently second place in the Western Conference, RSL boast a confident 13 wins at home, in all competitions.
So far this season, RSL has had San Jose’s number. Tonight’s match will be the third and final game of the season for the two, with RSL leading the series 2-0. Fortunately for the Quakes, RSL leading scorer Alvaro Saborio is ruled out for tonight’s game after suffering an injury on international play. With just five games left in the regular season, San Jose needs to not let history repeat itself, and get the win.
Last week on Tuesday, the Earthquakes were able to keep their CONCACAF Champions League hopes alive, defeating the visiting Montreal Impact 3-0. The Quakes are currently tied for second in the CCL. Goals from Chris Wondolowski, Marvin Chavez, and Shea Salinas gave San Jose their first win in the group stage.
Tonight’s match will kick off at 6PM PDT.
