The exhilaration exuded by Earthquakes players and fans at Avaya Stadium for Sunday’s dramatic playoff-clinching 3-2 victory over Minnesota United FC is still lingering throughout San Jose. While fans are still living on cloud nine, the players must quickly turn their attention to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and move forward.
The sixth-seeded Quakes (13-14-7, 46 points) will travel to third-seeded Vancouver (15-12-7, 52 points) for Wednesday’s knockout-round game. It will be San Jose’s first postseason match since 2012. A win gets San Jose into the Western Conference semifinals against Portland, and although it won’t be easy, the Quakes will enter the Vancouver match with a few things going for them.