SAN JOSE - After seeing their Western Conference title celebrations delayed in midweek, the San Jose Earthquakes will once again look to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs Saturday night at Spartan Stadium when they take on a revived FC Dallas side.
Of course, the Quakes did their bit last Wednesday, defeating the Chicago Fire 2-0 behind two Dwayne De Rosario goals. But the required help needed from Los Angeles to claim the top seed never arrived, as Dallas dismantled the Galaxy 4-1 at Pizza Hut Park.
Strange as it may seem, the San Jose players actually prefer to have the conference race play out this way.
"It's good that we didn't clinch [the No. 1 seed], because now we have to work harder," said De Rosario. "But even if we did, it wouldn't change how we go about things."
Central to the way San Jose goes about things is a work ethic that has resulted in a six-match winning streak. To continue that trend, the Quakes will need to defeat a Dallas side that has just recently moved off life support. A 10-game winless streak had the Hoops reeling, but their U.S. Open Cup semifinal triumph against Chicago seemed to resuscitate the Texas side, and two more league wins have followed.
For San Jose head coach Dominic Kinnear, the Dallas turnaround can be traced to a couple of factors. Defensively, having defender Greg Vanney no longer shuttling between club and country commitments has helped the back line regain some semblance of form, while offensively, the emergence of Ramon Nunez has energized the Dallas attack.
But perhaps the biggest reason for the Hoops' resurgence has been the red-hot play of forward Roberto Mina. The Ecuadorian has tallied four goals in his last two games, making people forget, at least for the moment, that the Hoops are minus their usual strike force of Eddie Johnson and Carlos Ruiz.
Johnson is out for at least the rest of the regular season with a stress fracture in his right foot, while a tender right hamstring has ruled out Ruiz's participation on Saturday. As is always the case with the Quakes, the absence of the two match-winners isn't making them any less wary, and stopping Mina is foremost on their minds.
"If [Mina] drops into midfield, we have to have someone make sure he doesn't have a chance to turn, because he's got pretty good pace and good feet," said Kinnear. "We have to make it difficult for him."
Added defender Danny Califf, "[Mina] is a big strong guy and he's got very good skill for being as big as he is. He knows how to use his body well and he's pretty tenacious. He's not a lazy player."
As for the Quakes, their aim is to keep their current winning streak going, and the expected return of Califf should help their cause. The rugged defender sat out Wednesday's match against Chicago due to a concussion he sustained in last Saturday's win against Chivas USA.
Califf felt that he could have played in midweek, but Kinnear took the safe route and rested his defensive leader. It all worked out in the end, as Ryan Cochrane delivered a solid performance in Califf's stead, but the Montclair, Calif. native is raring to get back in the lineup.
"It's always tough when you miss a game," said Califf. "And I always enjoy the midweek games because as a player you always enjoy playing as opposed to practicing."
Califf's return wasn't the only bit of good news emanating from Spartan Stadium on Friday, as a glimmer of hope emerged regarding injured midfielder Brad Davis.
According to trainer Bruce Morgan, a second reading of Davis' MRI examination will be made in the next few days. This is due to a disparity between the MRI reading, which showed a possible torn groin, and a physical examination, which indicated that the groin was intact. Davis has also been responding positively to medication, reviving hopes that Davis might yet have some part to play in the Quakes' season.
Jeff Carlisle is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
