The San Jose Earthquakes are looking to snap a seven-game winless streak this weekend when they finish their Texas road trip with a stop in Austin.
Despite a dominant 5-1 victory in the Earthquakes' last matchup against Austin FC back in April, defender Jamar Ricketts made it clear that they're not going to get ahead of themselves when he met with the media on Wednesday.
"We're going to keep going out and working hard," Ricketts said. "Everything is tough, especially in this league and in this conference. The message is we need to win, we need to keep gaining points. We need to be focused at every moment of the game because all it takes is one slip-up and we could concede. I think as long as everybody's in it together, especially playing away and in a hotter climate, we'll be ready."
The Earthquakes had one of the best starts imaginable this season, as they began the season by going 8-1-1 in their first ten matches and were fighting for the top spot in the Western Conference. Now, they're sitting in fourth place in the conference and if they don't get results in their next two games, they could drop entirely out of a playoff spot.
Looking forward, the Quakes know what they need to do to get things back on track. "We based most of our success in the beginning part of the year on our work ethic, being dogs, and being in everybody's face," Ricketts said. "Then I think we were kind of getting away from that, and that was the thing we were reiterating. Being able to get back to that starts in practice, so I think that's been the constant message."
Although there are relatively few positives to take away from a 0-0 draw, the Earthquakes picked up a point this past weekend against the Houston Dash to break a four-game losing streak.
"Teams go through slumps," Ricketts said. "It's not always forward progress. Sometimes you've got to take a step back to move forward. Being able to take a step back, see what's not working, and then adjust with everybody buying into that, I think that's what gave us the confidence in the last game to go out and take the game."
One key area of improvement in the Earthquakes' last outing was the defense in front of goalkeeper Angus Gunn. The Quakes held the Dash, the second place team in the Western Conference, without a shot to help the Scottish international pick up his first clean sheet.
" I think the result that we got on the road is what's driving us and helping everybody band together," Ricketts went on to add.
According to SofaScore, Ricketts' performance against the Dash was his best individual showing since May as he earned his first rating of 7.0 or higher since May 16, when the Quakes faced Dallas FC.
San Jose's game against Austin will kick off at 5:30 PM (PT) on Apple TV. Heading into the match, one thing is certain for the Earthquakes: they need a result.
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