Enemy Scouting Report - San Jose Earthquakes
(image via San Jose Earthquakes/Twitter)
The Houston Dynamo remained perfect at home after beating NYCFC 1-0 last week thanks to a penalty converted by Amine Bassi. Now, can Ben Olsen’s squad get points on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes?
The Earthquakes haven’t lost a match in PayPal Park this season. The Quakes couldn’t fully bounce back last weekend after getting pummeled by the red-hot newcomers, St. Louis CITY, as they dropped points against Toronto FC in a goalless draw.
However, even after losing their best defender Nathan a few weeks before the start of the season to an ACL injury, head coach Luchi Gonzalez has his team in the mix early in the season. Jonathan Mensah was quickly acquired from the Columbus Crew via trade to replace Nathan at center back and Gonzalez has a team with lots of fire power. Even if their quick feet DP winger Jamiro Monteiro is limited due to recently playing for his national team of Cape Verde, expect a lot of dangerous action in front of Steve Clark’s goal. Players like Cade Cowell and Jeremy Ebobisse have the pace to find the open space and make deep runs in behind center backs to get shots on goal. Cade is hungry to get his first goal of the season.
The Quakes most dangerous player is Cristian Espinoza. The Argentine number 10 is just relentless. Espinoza’s pace and endurance is almost not human. His qualities on the dribble, wide vision, and passing range will get his name on the stat sheet in any game. He is also not afraid to let it rip from any distance. While Houston will need to keep tabs on him at all times, the defense will also want to limit the set pieces given away because the Earthquakes have players that are aerial threats.
San Jose Earthquakes Record: 2W-2L-1D
Results in the last 30 days:
Feb. 25 – Atlanta United 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes
Mar. 4 - San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
Mar. 11 - San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 Colorado Rapids
Mar. 18 - St. Louis CITY SC 3-0 San Jose Earthquakes
Mar. 25 - San Jose Earthquakes 0-0 Toronto FC
Past Match Staring XI (from mlssoccer.com)
There will likely be some variation but look to see many of the players in the graphic starting.
2023 Active Roster
Goalkeepers: JT Marcinkowski, Emi Ochoa, Daniel
Defenders: Paul Marie, Jonathan Mensah, Nathan, Tanner Beason, Keegan Tingey, Miguel Trauco, Tommy Thompson, Oskar Agren, Daniel Munie, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo, Casey Walls
Midfielders: Carlos Gruezo, Jackson Yueill, Jack Skahan, Cam Cilley, Will Richmond, Niko Tsakiris, Jamiro Monteiro, Michael Baldisimo, Judson, Cruz Medina
Forwards: Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse, Ousseni Bouda, Benjamin Kikanovic, Cade Cowell
Will the Houston Dynamo leave the Bay Area with their first road points of the season?
