The San Jose Earthquakes continue to find a way to snatch points from games that they should arguably be losing. They may not have won a game in the month of October to this point, but they haven't lost since August 22 either.
In the 70th minute of San Jose's match against Nashville SC, a team that have dominated the Eastern Conference and have already secured the top seed, striker Preston Judd scored an equalizing goal that secured the Earthquakes' third straight 1-1 draw. With that result, the Earthquakes not only clinched a playoff spot, but they also extended their unbeaten streak to nine games.
The Earthquakes aren't dominating the MLS or winning in convincing fashion on a nightly basis. Instead, they're sneaking away with points either through narrow victories or stealing a tie in a game that they likely should have lost. Over the course of their unbeaten streak, the largest margin of victory for the Earthquakes was a 3-1 win over the Portland Timbers in their final game of September.
Outside of that game against Portland, every game in San Jose's current streak has been decided by one goal or less. They've had six draws in the last nine games, which is certainly less than ideal, but one point is better than none. Their only other wins since August 22 have been one-goal victories over San Diego FC and the Houston Dynamo in mid-September.
At the end of the season, all that truly matters is how many points a team finishes with. They don't ask how they got them, they just ask how many. As a result, the Earthquakes have clinched a playoff spot with four games remaining in the season.
There are currently five Western Conference teams that have clinched a spot in the postseason. Along with the Earthquakes, the Vancouver Whitecaps, St. Louis City FC, FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo have all punched their ticket to the playoffs. Despite the fact that they aren't winning with wide margins, San Jose is actually third in goal differential among those teams trailing just the Whitecaps and St. Louis.
Now that the Earthquakes' unbeaten streak has officially reached nine games, they've surpassed their unbeaten streak from the beginning of the season even though it's been much less dominant. On March 21, the Earthquakes defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 at BC Place in Vancouver. From there, they were able to pick up eight straight wins with some significant wins in the process.
They had a 5-1 victory over Austin FC, a 4-1 win over their interstate rivals, LAFC, and a 3-0 win over the MLS's newest team, San Diego FC.
Even though their streak at the beginning of the season was much more notable, as it put them on the map as a serious contender after years of disappointing performances, it's been surpassed in terms of length. With that being said, the Earthquakes still have time to build on it as they'll continue their season against FC Dallas next weekend.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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