Earthquakes prep for must-win finale against Austin FC with playoff hopes still alive

Even if the Earthquakes win at PayPal Park Saturday night in their regular-season finale against Austin FC, odds are Bruce Arena will walk away from the season unsatisfied.

“A good season for me is making the playoffs and at least winning a playoff game,” the Quakes’ coach said in a news conference Thursday.

The Quakes need to win and get help elsewhere in the Western Conference to keep alive their chance of meeting Arena’s criteria.

In addition to a win over sixth-place Austin FC, the Quakes, currently 11th in the conference standings, need two of the following three results in order to reach the Western Conference’s No. 9 seed and a playoff spot:

Eighth-place FC Dallas loss at conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Real Salt Lake, tied for ninth, loss at 13th-place St. Louis City FC
Colorado Rapids, tied for ninth, loss or draw vs. third-place Los Angeles FC

If all four results go the Quakes’ way, they would leap into the No. 8 spot and host the Western Conference wild-card match next Wednesday night. All four games Saturday kick off at 6 p.m. Pacific.

Captain Cristian Espinoza said the team hopes to take advantage of an “extra chance” to make the playoffs after Dallas’ and Salt Lake’s losses last weekend left the door open, but expectations must be higher.

“At this point of the season, all of us expect to be in the playoffs,” he said, even for a team that last won a playoff game in 2010, when San Jose made the West finals.

Arena and captain Cristian Espinoza said the team won’t be scoreboard watching, since their approach won’t change based on results elsewhere.

“We have to treat this like it’s a final, being able to control the emotions,” forward Chicho Arango said of the moment.

In addition to the playoff stakes, San Jose will be seeking to avenge their July 8 ouster from the U.S. Open Cup at PayPal Park at the hands of Austin FC. Espinoza suffered a gash on his leg that forced him from the match in the second half, and the Quakes lost on penalty kicks after taking leads in regulation and extra time.

“It’s such a different moment of the season,” Espinoza said comparing the finale to that July match. “The feelings about the injury, I don’t have anymore.”

Austin also beat the Quakes in a league match in late August in the Texas capital.

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While climbing up from 2024’s last-place finish is an improvement, missing the playoffs would be a disappointment after the club brought in Arena as coach and added firepower last offseason. The Quakes signed Josef Martinez as a free agent and traded for Arango, also adding several former New England players with whom Arena was familiar.

The Quakes sit on 38 points and 10 wins entering Saturday after earning only 21 points last season under Luchi Gonzalez, who was fired halfway through the season, and interim coach Ian Russell.

“There were some improvements, but not good enough,” Arena said in assessing his first season. “We’ve been inconsistent. As we get better as a team, there will be more consistency and win more games and position our team better.”