Photo by Denny Medley/USA Today Sports

By CLIFF STARKEY

While many across the country seek to desperately cling to the last few weeks of summer, the San Jose Earthquakes are ready for fall.

And, hopefully, the early part of winter.

After an abysmal summer—including a forgettable July in which the team lost four straight league games—the Earthquakes are putting together a great run of form as summer winds to a close. After this weekend’s victory at D.C. United, the Earthquakes seem to have it figured out. Dominic Kinnear’s side have now won three games in a row—a season best.

“It’s definitely a good time to be on a streak,” defender Marvell Wynne said. “We really needed it after a month like July.”

“It’s a huge accomplishment—but it just shows our belief in the locker room,” added forward Chris Wondolowski. “It’s nice to finally get some results to keep us going.”

What the Earthquakes are even more excited about is the manner in which their recent victories have been won.

Firstly, Wondolowski is returning to form. The team captain and MLS stalwart now has three goals in his last two games—including a historic 105^th career strike, moving him ahead of Dwayne De Rosario for sixth-place all time.

Earthquakes defender Clarence Goodson is quick to praise his captain’s accomplishments, but says the entire offense—including newcomer Quincy Amarikwa’s four goals and three assists in eight games—is key to their turnaround.

“I think the front six are playing really well right now,” Goodson says. “They’ve done an excellent job, making it hard on other team’s defenses. And it’s up to us to close up shop.”

The prolific goal scorers may grab the headlines, but Goodson and the rest of San Jose’s defense have been instrumental in the team’s turnaround. The Earthquakes have shut out every team on their current win streak.

With six points separating fifth and ninth place in the Western Conference, the Earthquakes now consider themselves right back in the thick of the playoff race. As things stand, the Quakes are currently level with the sixth-place Seattle Sounders while also possessing a game in hand.

Some coaches—and by extension, their players—will shy away from discussing league position and results elsewhere, but Kinnear and his players know that weak midseason form means that they have no choice.

“For us—looking at where we’re at in the standings—we need to win games,” Kinnear said. “Now you watch the scoreboard and watch to see what happens to the guys ahead of you.”

Goodson is happy about the recent results, but says the season’s far from over.

“We need tons of wins to make the playoffs,” Goodson said. “And we’ve won three on the trot, so we gotta keep it going.”

One more thing that the Earthquakes have to be confident about is their remaining schedule. With seven of San Jose’s final nine games at home—and with fellow playoff hopefuls like the Sounders continuing their freefall, the final playoff spot could be theirs for the taking.

“I think when we looked at the schedule at the beginning of the year, the thought of the team was that we need to be within touch [going into the final stretch of games], and we’re very much in touch of a playoff spot,” Goodson said. “To be where we are is excellent. If you look up the table, a lot of those teams have away games. There’s a lot of soccer left to be played.”

San Jose’s offense is clicking. Their defense is smothering. And with the vast majority of their remaining games at Avaya Stadium, a postseason berth is now a definite possibility. Kinnear is happy now, but urges his team to avoid complacency.

“We’ve won three in a row,” Kinnear said, “…but now the real hard work begins.”