SAN JOSE — It looked as if the season was on its last legs Saturday night on a gloomy evening at Avaya Stadium.
The Earthquakes trailed the woeful Philadelphia Union in the final minute in a game they needed points to remain in the MLS playoff picture.
Shea Salinas knew it. Every one of the announced crowd of 18,000 fans did too.
So the Quakes midfielder took the ball into the penalty area and slipped past one player. Then another. Finally Joshua Yaro tripped Salinas in desperation.
Referee Ted Unkel called the penalty.
Then Chris Wondolowski stepped to the line, 12 yards from goalkeeper John McCarthy to bury his 10th goal of the season that allowed San Jose to escape with a 2-2 draw on an otherwise dismal night of soccer.