There will be plenty on the line for the San Jose Earthquakes when they host playoff-bound Austin FC on Saturday evening in a Decision Day match.
The match means a lot more to the Earthquakes (10-15-8, 38 points), who head to the final game of the regular season in 11th place in the Western Conference and needing a victory to have any chance at all of making the postseason.
Even with a win, San Jose would need help to earn a wild-card playoff berth. An Earthquakes win paired with losses by both Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas would send San Jose into a wild-card playoff match. An Earthquakes win joined by a loss by either Salt Lake or Dallas plus a loss or draw by the Colorado Rapids also would extend San Jose’s campaign.
The Earthquakes left themselves vulnerable by taking a 4-1 road loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Oct. 5. That setback was San Jose’s fourth in the past five games, with the late-season swoon all but dooming the team’s chances for the postseason.
“We’re going to do everything we can to try to win in the last game of the season,” Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena said. “We don’t have control of things. All we can do is in the last game of the season go out and try to get three points and see where we stand when all the dust clears. Hopefully, it’s positive.”
Cristian Arango is tied with Myrto Uzuni for the Earthquakes’ lead with six goals, and Arango also shares second on the club with eight assists.
Austin (13-12-8, 47 points) heads to the Bay Area having already clinched its first playoff berth since 2022. The Verde will be the sixth seed in the West and will play at the third seed — either Los Angeles FC, San Diego FC or Minnesota United — in the first game of a best-of-three-series on late next week.
“We’re going to approach it in a way that we have to win because it can prepare us better for the playoffs,” Austin coach Nico Estevez said. “Obviously, we’ll have to check how different players, how their statuses are, (if) everyone is feeling OK.”
The Verde will carry some momentum into the regular-season finale after recording a 1-0 home win over LAFC on Oct. 12. Owen Wolff provided the deciding tally in the 83rd minute by being in the right place at the right time to head home a deflected corner kick. It was the 20-year-old’s team-leading 14th goal contribution of the campaign in league play.
“I think this group can go a long way,” Wolff told mlssoccer.com when asked about a potential postseason run for the Verde. “It just has to do with how we approach the next few games and keep it going with our mentality.”
Austin prevailed in the meetings with the Earthquakes this season, winning 3-1 at home in MLS play on Aug. 30 and taking a shootout decision in San Jose after the sides battled to a 2-2 draw in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on July 8.
–Field Level Media
