Colorado Rapids vs. San Jose Earthquakes | 2016 MLS Match Preview

COLORADO RAPIDS vs. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
Dick's Sporting Goods Park | Commerce City, Colo.
Saturday, September 17 | Week #28 | MLS Game #289
9 pm ET (MLS LIVE, Altitude, CSN Plus)

A key match in the Western Conference playoff picture is ahead when the Colorado Rapids play host to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids are firmly in control of a playoff position, sitting in third place in the conference following their 1-0 win at conference and MLS overall leaders FC Dallas last weekend. The Quakes are sitting five points below the red line, in eighth place in the division after their winless run was stretched to four games in a 1-1 home draw with Seattle Sounders FC last Saturday at Avaya Stadium.

• The Rapids put an end to their four-game winless run and their two-game losing streak – their first back-to-back losses this season – with a 1-0 win over FC Dallas on Saturday evening at Toyota Stadium. Dominique Badji scored the game’s lone goal; it was the sixth time in 12 wins this season the Rapids won by a 1-0 scoreline.
• Chris Wondolowski scored his 10th goal of the season, but the Earthquakes were pulled back into a late 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday evening at Avaya Stadium. Wondolowski is the only player in MLS history to have netted double-digits in goals in seven consecutive seasons, extending his streak which began in 2010.
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Wondolowski scored the game’s lone goal as the Earthquakes took the victory in the season opener for both clubs on March 6 at Avaya Stadium.
• The Quakes have a 13-game undefeated streak alive vs. the Rapids. The Rapids last defeated San Jose in the first meeting in the 2011 season; the Quakes have won seven of the 13 meetings since, with six draws.
• The Earthquakes have won the last two meetings between the teams, both by 1-0 scorelines. The wins ended a string of four consecutive draws between the teams, including each of the last three meetings at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. San Jose has not conceded a home goal to Colorado since a 1-1 draw on May 18, 2013, a span of 424 scoreless minutes for the Rapids in the Bay Area.

REFEREE: Armando Villarreal. AR1 (bench): Corey Parker; AR2 (opposite): Jonathan Johnson; 4th: Nima Saghafi
MLS Career: 72 games; FC/gm: 22.7; Y/gm: 2.9; R: 19; pens: 19

SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: COL: Micheal Azira … SJ: Fatai Alashe, Anibal Godoy, Jordan Stewart
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: COL: Axel Sjoberg, Jared Watts, Jermaine Jones, Shkelzen Gashi, Micheal Azira
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (60 meetings): Rapids 18 wins (2 shootout), 71 goals…Earthquakes 28 wins (1 shootout), 87 goals…Ties 14
AT COLORADO (30 meetings): Rapids 10 wins (1 shootout), 36 goals … Earthquakes 13 wins (0 shootout), 37 goals … Ties 7
FUTURE MATCH: 10/13: Colorado Rapids vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 7 p.m. MT

2016 (MLS):
3/6: SJ 1, COL 0 (Wondolowski 46)

• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Chris Wondolowski scored the game’s lone goal as the Earthquakes took the victory in the season opener for both clubs, March 6 at Avaya Stadium.
• The Quakes have a 13-game undefeated streak alive vs. the Rapids. The Rapids last defeated San Jose in the first meeting in the 2011 season; the Quakes have won seven of the 13 meetings since, with six draws.
• The Earthquakes have won the last two meetings between the teams, both by 1-0 scorelines. The wins ended a string of four consecutive draws between the teams, including each of the last three meetings at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. San Jose has not conceded a home goal to Colorado since a 1-1 draw on May 18, 2013, a span of 424 scoreless minutes for the Rapids in the Bay Area.
• Coaches record: Dominic Kinnear vs. COL: P30 W13 L8 D9 … Pablo Mastroeni vs. SJ: P6 W0 L2 D4

LAST MEETING: 

• The game's lone goal came just 19 seconds into the second half. New Quakes signing Alberto Quintero took a square pass from Quincy Amarikwa and swung in an inch-perfect cross to Chris Wondolowski, who found enough space between a pair of defenders to head home.
• SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (4-4-2): David Bingham - Marvell Wynne, Victor Bernardez, Clarence Goodson, Shaun Francis (Kip Colvey 46) - Alberto Quintero (Tommy Thompson 76), Simon Dawkins, Anibal Godoy, Shea Salinas (Matheus Silva 90) - Quincy Amarikwa, Chris Wondolowski.
• COLORADO RAPIDS (4-2-3-1): Zac MacMath - Marlon Hairston (Marco Pappa 79), Jared Watts, Axel Sjoberg, Eric Miller - Micheal Azira, Sam Cronin - Dominique Badji, Dillon Powers, Shkelzen Gashi (Luis Solignac 67) - Kevin Doyle.