By Jovanni Arroyo-Camberos (@JovanniArroyo10 ):
The San Jose Earthquakes will look to secure three important points on the road as they take on D.C. United today at RFK Stadium.
The Quakes currently hold fifth place in the Western Conference with only one point separating them from 8th place F.C. Dallas.
A win would bolster their hopes to make it back into the MLS Playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Losing would either knock the Quakes out of a playoff spot or if they are lucky enough, slip into the last available playoff spot.
With only five games remaining, every point the Quakes can gain will help them reach something they have not been able to do since David Beckham was last in the league.
San Jose has three games at home and two on the road remaining this season. The Quakes are 8-1-5 at home, which should give them a huge push.
However, they will have to go through three of the top five teams in the MLS beginning with the Chicago Fire.
The Chicago Fire are currently on a three game unbeaten streak and with the help of German international, Bastian Schweinsteiger it won’t be an easy test.
After that, the Quakes will battle it out against Western Conference foe, the Portland Timbers who will be pushing to steal first place in the Western Conference from the Vancouver Whitecaps, with only one point separating the two teams.
And if that wasn’t hard enough the Quakes will then take on Vancouver, a team who has not lost in over a month.
With so many scenarios in the minds of all MLS Coaches, players and fans heading into the final games of the season. San Jose has all but one choice, win as many games as possible.
Tonight’s match should not be difficult for the Quakes. They play against the third worst team in the league, as well as the lowest scoring team with only 23 goals scored for D.C. United.
The path to MLS Playoffs 2017 will not be easy for San Jose, but Head Coach Chris Leitch and the Quakes will need to be ready in order to qualify for the playoffs this season and it all starts today against D.C. United.