SAN JOSE, Calif. – When the results of the weighted lottery for the rights to David Bingham were announced on Jan. 26, 2011, the San Jose Earthquakes’ future between the posts seemed set.
The Quakes would continue with veteran Jon Busch before handing the goalkeeping role over to the Bay Area native and former All-American from Cal.
Almost four seasons later, the transition is still firmly on hold, and Busch is showing no signs of loosening his reins on the Quakes' gig. The 38-year-old 16-year veteran leads the league in saves with 110 – 16 clear of second-place Luis Robles – and, with seven matches left heading into Saturday's away meeting with the Montreal Impact (7:30 pm ET; MLS Live, CSN in Canada), he’s on pace for a season total of 139, which would be the most by an MLS net-minder since Nick Rimando turned aside 146 in 2007.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Bingham – wanting to get match experience after three years primarily spent as Busch’s fill-in for US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League duty – has gone on loan this year to both the NASL’s San Antonio Scorpions and Strommen of Norway’s second division.
“If you look at it when we acquired David, Buschy was getting on in years and Bingham was a young, talented guy with a lot of potential and a bright future,” Quakes coach Mark Watson told reporters this week. “We thought at some point it would be a good situation. But I think Jon has been playing at such a high level for so long, it’s been tough to take him out of the [first] team.”
Busch has been in this situation before; he led MLS with 113 saves for the 2011 Quakes. And it hasn’t simply been a matter of sheer quantity, but quality as well. Among starting ‘keepers, Busch is third in the league in terms of save percentage at 71.9, trailing only D.C. United’s Bill Hamid (75.4) and LA Galaxy’s Jaime Penedo (72.2).
To some extent, it’s a case of practice making perfect for Busch, who has made 21 stops in his last three matches alone, including seven in a 1-1 tie against the Galaxy on Sunday.
“You just kind of get in that rhythm, knowing that you’re going to see shots,” Busch said after that result. “You know against LA, with the amount of firepower that they have and the quality that they have, that you’re going to be a busy man.”
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In fact, Busch admitted that, after making six saves in the first half against LA, his job was a little more difficult when the Galaxy finally unleashed their only shot on target after the break: an 89th-minute drive from outside the box by Juninho that Busch held.
“For me, it’s fun,” Busch said. “It may not be the best way to try to win games, but it’s fun when you’re a goalkeeper and you know it’s coming at you because it’s a challenge.”
