Just when San Jose threatens to fall into the abyss that nearly everyone pegged them for, the 'Quakes pull out a nice victory. Thursday's 2-1 win over Houston was not only a solid 90-minute effort, it kept the 'Quakes from completely dropping off the Western Conference picture.
Every western side has played eight games with the exception of Houston (nine) and five points separate first-place Colorado from last-place San Jose.
Before the season started, San Jose coach Frank Yallop said that 10 wins would likely be good enough to reach the playoffs. The team's got two already.
Still, the 'Quakes' upcoming stretch is downright brutal. San Jose will hit the road for six of the next seven games, the lone home game a June 14 fixture in Oakland against the Galaxy. The flipside to that is a favorable home slate down the road - San Jose will play 9 of 13 home games after the All-Star Game. Of course, that will only matter if San Jose survives that horrid stretch.
I had counted the 'Quakes out before the season started for the simple fact that Chivas USA, Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC struggled so badly in each of their respective first seasons. And while I still don't think they'll finish with enough points to earn a playoff spot, at least they're hanging in there. So far.
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