The Challengers: Toronto FC (4-5-1) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (5-4-3)
When: Saturday, May 29, 5:00 PM ET - TSN 4
Weather: 18 degrees, scattered thunderstorms and a 59% chance of precipitation
Three Keys: Stopping Wondolowski
He won’t blow you away with his speed or size. His goals are usually of the opportunistic variety, and this league rewards players that know where to be when chances are created. It wasn’t always like this, as the Seattle Times’ Matt Pentz notes. Wondolowski recorded four league goals between 2005 and 2010. Since then he’s been a goal scoring machine. “The first year we all thought, ‘Good for him, let’s see what he does the next year,’” said Kinnear following last Sunday’s draw. “Then the next year you thought, ‘Great for him, let’s see if he can continue this.’ A lot of people probably thought he was lucky: He’s not running by people. He’s just finishing goals. He’s making the most of his opportunities.” “But along the way he became a better soccer player, too. His hold-up play is good. He makes his living inside the box, but because of his better play he brings more people into the play, and that gives him better chances.” Beating San Jose requires more than neutering the threat posed by Wondolowski, but it’s a big part of the plan.
Projected Starting XI for San Jose Earthquakes
Bingham; Stewart, Goodson, Bernardez, Wynne; Wondolowski, Koval, Perez Garcia; Nyassi, Jahn, Salinas.
COYR Podcast
Devang Desai and Gareth Wheeler take a look at the week that was, and look forward to this weekend's match against the San Jose Earthquakes. Chris Mannella stops by to chat with Devang about playing for his home squad.
