Quakes have no room for error vs. Galaxy (Aug 27, 2017)
If familiarity breeds contempt, then the competition between the San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy has to be very strained.
Sunday's match between the Earthquakes and Galaxy at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., will be the fourth and final time the rivals meet in the regular season, with San Jose winning twice, including a victory in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.
It will be the first time this season the two sides have played in the Los Angeles suburbs.
The fact that this match will be the deciding game in this season's Cali Clasico only adds fuel to the fire.
The Earthquakes are 1-2-1 in their last four matches and head to Southern California on the heels of a 4-0 loss on Wednesday at Real Salt Lake. San Jose has lost six straight road matches and has been outscored 21-3 in those outings, including shutouts in its past three contests away from home.
"The things that have made us successful at home and at times away is that we tackle, we track runners and connect our passes," Earthquakes captain Chris Wondolowski said.
"The last few games on the road we haven't done that. We need to get back to playing simple and playing effective."
San Jose can still make a run to the postseason if it can stay together and reverse the recent trend on the road. While getting back to basics is a priority, the Earthquakes are aware of the need to stick together and fight through the current adversity.
The Earthquakes (9-11-6, 33 points in 26 matches) are two points behind Vancouver for the sixth seed in the Western Conference and can't afford to leave points on the table against a Los Angeles team that has struggled at home.
"We have a belief that we can make the playoffs and that we will, but this is a situation where we have our backs against the wall, and it's time to show what we're made of and see who (are) men in this locker room," Wondolowski said.
"I'm excited to see how we respond. I'm hoping we have some fighters in the locker room and if we do we're going to come out swinging on Sunday and if not we have some other problems."
If there's a time to win on the road, it's now for the Earthquakes.
Los Angeles (6-13-5, 23 points in 24 matches) has been disappointing and head to Sunday's match on the heels of a 2-0 loss at Columbus that extended the Galaxy's winless streak to nine games, stretching all the way back to May.
Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid issued a challenge to his players following Wednesday's loss, imploring someone to step up and take a leadership role on the field.
"You either have it or you don't have it as a player," Schmid said. "You either have the willingness to direct others or you don't want to direct others. If you look at the guys and their pedigree and their background, they've played enough games, and some guys have done very well when they're in supporting roles.
"But now, their role has changed and they've got to be leaders and that hasn't necessarily fallen into place. Confidence is also short. If you won a game or two, maybe somebody's chest puffs out, and they're more willing and able to be a leader, but that is certainly one of the things that we have to work through right now."
The Galaxy has uncharacteristically struggled at home, winning only once (with four draws) in 12 matches at StubHub Center.
