SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- No MLS team has had a longer unbeaten streak this year than San Jose's current run of eight games, and while their offense, powered by newcomers Darren Huckerby, Francisco Lima, Scott Sealy and Arturo Alvarez, has been getting plenty of the credit, the Earthquakes strong play on the defensive side of the ball has been just as critical to their climb toward a playoff spot.
Going into Saturday night's 2-1 win over D.C. United, San Jose sported the second lowest goals-against total in the league (tied with Houston). In the 10 games since a 3-1 loss at D.C. on June 22, the Quakes have allowed just seven goals.
"We don't seem to give up many easy chances. That's the sign of a good back four and goalkeeper," Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop said. "But the team defends as a team. It starts with the guys up front, and then the guys in midfield have to work real hard to make it difficult for the opposition to play. Then obviously our back line is solid and strong and brave, and we have probably the best goalkeeper in the league right now. Things are good at that end."
From the day the Quakes were reformed in the expansion draft, the club's defense was expected to be its strong suit. That is now coming to fruition.
"I think Frank (Yallop) and (general manager) John (Doyle), from day one, wanted to put together a good defensive unit," defender Nick Garcia said. "Defense is what's going to lead us to a championship. I think we've had it all year, we've finetuned it, and we've done better and better. Tonight, we would've liked to have shutout, but a win's a win, as pretty or as ugly as it might be."
San Jose controlled the run of play for the first 75 minutes Saturday night, and enjoyed a 2-0 lead through goals by Alvarez and Huckerby before a late goal by Santino Quaranta got United back in the match.
"Darren could've scored five tonight," Yallop said. "We should've scored more before halftime to see the game out. We didn't, and then they get that one goal and it makes a difference. At 2-1 they were throwing everything forward and were a little unlucky not to squeak something. I thought D.C., to be fair to them, could've gotten a draw out of the game in the end."
With the win, San Jose now has 28 points and sits in fourth place in the Western Conference, just two points shy of a playoff spot.
"I'm probably the worst guy to talk to after a win like this because I'm a little disgruntled and upset we didn't get the shutout, and we made it so hard on ourselves," goalkeeper Joe Cannon said. "It's good that we got three points, but at the same time, I expect perfection out of this defense. These guys are all professional and I think we all understand that defense is first and foremost the strength of our team. I demand even better than what we've been seeing, not only from them, but from myself."
The Earthquakes next face the division leaders, two-time defending MLS Cup champions Houston, in a home-and-home series.
"Since the new guys have come, we've played great at home. And now we've got an absolute war with the best team in our league coming up," Cannon said. "It's good to test what we're about against the best and see what we can do at home against those guys. They're playing really well right now, and we're playing pretty well right now.
"But I'll tell you what, if we come out like we did tonight against a Houston team that's on all cylinders, it's not going to be pretty. So this week, we're going to have to get back to our blue-collar ways, spend a little more time at the office, and win some games."
At the start of August, the Quakes were firmly entrenched in last place, eight full points out of a playoff spot. Then came a 3-2 win against arch-rival Los Angeles at home, and the forward surge began.
"We control our destiny," Garcia said. "We have two important games coming up, Houston home and away, and for us, two big games. Our destiny is in our hands. We've got the guys to do it. We've got to keep on fine tuning things, and work hard. If we do that, we should be in the playoffs."
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