KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Same song, last verse.
The San Jose Earthquakes' season ended on Sunday in a 2-0 away loss to Sporting Kansas City -- a match that presented San Jose's frustrating year in a nutshell.
The Earthquakes got off seven shots, four on target -- but were shut out for the second straight match and 11th of the year, finishing the season with a league-worst 32 goals.
"Story of the season," said assistant coach Ian Russell, who filled in for head coach Dominic Kinnear in the postmatch news conference. "We defend pretty well, get in good areas to score, and haven't been able to get the end product."
Forward Chris Wondolowski offered the same assessment.
"Yeah, I think it's just a microcosm of our season," Wondolowski told reporters. "It's very frustrating, but credit to Kansas City, they did a good job and they are very hard to break down defensively. I thought at times, we possessed well and got it down to the final third and we're just missing again that final pass and that final shot, that final idea.
"Again, kind of story of our year."
San Jose, who dropped from eighth to ninth in the final Western Conference standings, were already eliminated from postseason consideration going into Sunday's match. Still, Russell said, that didn't reflect in the team's play.
"I will say one thing about this team," he said. "They fight. They've given everything they have every game. That's never been in question. They want to win every game, and it didn't happen."
San Jose won only once in their last 11 matches, though, and ended the year as the only team in the league to average less than a goal a game.
"Instead of getting a draw or a win, [games] became a draw or a loss," Russell said. "Those points all add up."
What's next for a club who haven't made the postseason since winning the Supporters' Shield in 2012?
A lot of work without a lot of time out, Russell said.
"We have a meeting on Tuesday, and that's where we will start planning," he said. "There's no rest, especially when you don't make the playoffs. It's motivation to get it going for next year."
