First-place San Diego FC out to derail Quakes' playoff hopes

For San Diego FC, it's been a banner expansion season. They have clinched a playoff spot and sit atop the Western Conference table with three matches remaining.

Now the trick is to stay atop the West and perhaps win the Supporters' Shield that goes to MLS' top regular-season squad. San Diego will look for three points on Saturday night when it hosts the desperate San Jose Earthquakes.

San Diego (17-8-6, 57 points) is coming off a 1-1 draw on Sept. 20 at Atlanta in which the visitors took a 1-0 halftime lead on Anders Dreyer's 32nd-minute goal. However, a penalty kick after halftime tied the score, and San Diego wound up with a tie after getting outshot 17-7.

"I think we're fortunate to come out with a point," San Diego coach Mikey Varas said. "That's part of the learning process. And we'll take the learning lessons from this."

Learning lessons aside, San Diego tied the 2018 LAFC for most points by an expansion team with 57. One more win would break St. Louis City's expansion record of 17, set two years ago.

While San Diego tries to maintain its position atop the table, San Jose (9-14-8, 35 points) finds itself scrambling to secure a playoff berth. A 3-1 loss to St. Louis on Sept. 20, the Earthquakes' third consecutive defeat, made the task even tougher.

San Jose starts the weekend 11th in the West, two points behind FC Dallas for the final postseason spot. The Earthquakes' schedule isn't exactly forgiving. After this match, San Jose visits Vancouver on Oct. 5 and hosts Austin FC on Oct. 18.

To get the results it needs to reach the postseason, San Jose has to fix its leaky defense. The Earthquakes have allowed 58 goals in 31 fixtures, tied for the third-highest figure in MLS, much to coach Bruce Arena's dismay.

"The same problem we've had all year," he said after the loss to St. Louis. "We've had a very difficult time with defending in front of the goal."

San Diego earned a 2-1 win at San Jose in the teams' first meeting on Aug. 17. Dreyer scored the tiebreaking goal in the 84th minute, three minutes after Marcus Ingvartsen pulled San Diego even. The Earthquakes struck first on Josef Martinez's tally in the 72nd minute.

--Field Level Media