San Jose

Earthquakes need 'miracle' run starting against Timbers (Sep 30, 2017)

Published Sep. 29, 2017 8:55 p.m. ET

Florian Jungwirth is definitely not understating his team's flagging Major League Soccer playoff hopes.

"We need a little miracle," Jungwirth, a San Jose Earthquakes defender, told The San Jose Mercury-News.

Actually, the Earthquakes (11-14-6, 39 points) are only two points below the Western Conference playoff bar heading into Saturday's home game with the Portland Timbers (13-10-8) in San Jose, Calif. But after being outscored 12-2 in their past four games, including 8-1 in the last two, the 'Quakes are not feeling good about themselves or their postseason hopes.

"This is our low right now," San Jose striker Chris Wondolowski, who leads the club in scoring with 12 goals, told The Mercury-News.

The pressure is clearly on the Earthquakes, who have just three games remaining in the regular season while their closest rivals, Houston and Dallas, each have four.

"We've got to win out," rookie San Jose coach Chris Leitch told The Mercury-News.

Leitch, a former Quakes defender who was a midseason replacement for the fired Dominic Kinnear in June, is attempting to end the club's four-year playoff drought. Although he has job security for next season, many players probably do not.

With a win or a draw, the Timbers can improve their hopes of finishing first in the Western Conference.

Portland is in position to gain at least a share of first place, pending its own performance and the outcomes of other games Saturday. The Timbers, Kansas City and Seattle Sounders are tied for second with 47 points apiece, just one behind Vancouver.

Timbers defender Larrys Mabiala wants to ensure that they do not get caught in a proverbial trap game against the underdog Earthquakes. The clubs split their first two games this season, with Portland earning a 2-0 home win in June and the Earthquakes prevailing 3-0 on their own pitch in June.

"From the beginning, we have to be ready -- ready to fight," Mabiala told Portland's website.

Mabiala has played a key role in a staunch back line that helped Portland blank Orlando 3-0 last weekend. Offensively, Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri is looking to extend a scoring streak that currently stands at nine games.

Valeri has scored 20 goals this season -- a league record for a midfielder. A 30-year-old Argentine with Italian ancestry, Valeri credits a change in diet for his improved play this season.

Despite his love for pizza, Valeri has cut out glutens completely and reduced his dairy intake.

"The goal was to be better at the end of the season, to feel better physically because I'm getting older," Valeri told The Oregonian.

And as he gets better, so do the Timbers' first-place hopes.

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