It might be now or never for Real Salt Lake.
Trailing Vancouver by five points for the sixth and final Western Conference playoff spot, RSL hosts San Jose — which is in seventh place — on Wednesday night, as Real Salt Lake plays only Western Conference opponents the rest of the season.
“We know this is a huge game for us,” forward Brooks Lennon said. “Obviously we’re close in points, and these are the kinds of games that you need to win to get into the playoffs.”
RSL (8-13-5, 26 points), which also plays at home on Saturday against rival Colorado, sits at an odd spot in the standings. At eighth in the Western Conference, the seven teams above Real Salt Lake are within seven points of each other.
RSL will get one more chance to play Vancouver, on Sept. 9. The Whitecaps have a distinct advantage of having played three fewer matches than RSL so far this season.
“At this point,” RSL center back Justen Glad said, “we’re about as motivated as you can be just because it’s really down to the wire and every game counts.”
Justen Glad on defending Chris Wondolowski: pic.twitter.com/U2ths6lJP0
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) August 22, 2017
RSL’s last matchup with the Quakes, on June 24, a 2-1 San Jose win in Dominic Kinnear’s last game at the helm for San Jose. The next day, the team fired Kinnear and named Chris Leitch as his replacement.
“When we played them at home they were in a 4-4-2,” Glad said. “They’re in a 3-5-2 now, so it’s going to be obviously a little different, different game. Home and away is always different.”
RSL will likely be without center back Marcelo Silva as it goes up against San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski, who is in the midst of his eighth straight 10-goal season.
Silva left Saturday’s match in the sixth minute with what trainers described at the time as thigh tightness. He is listed as questionable for Wednesday with a hamstring injury.
“We know exactly what to expect from them,” RSL coach Mike Petke said of the Earthquakes. “But then again they could mix something up. So it’s really about us, how we want to approach the game and how we want to put them on their heels from the start and be very weary of them sitting back at first and then looking to counterattack.”
San Jose at Real Salt Lake<br>Kickoff » 8 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium<br> TV » KMYU <br>Radio » ESPN 700 AM<br>Records » RSL 8-13-5, San Jose 9-10-6<br>Last meeting » San Jose won 2-1 (June 24, at Avaya Stadium) <br>About the Earthquakes » With a goal against the Philadelphia Union, Chris Wondolowski has hit the10-goal mark in eight straight seasons. … The Quakes have only lost two of their past 10 matches against RSL. … Harold Cummings (ankle) and Marc Pelosi (knee) are sidelined with injuries. … Florian Jungwirth (shoulder) and Nick Lima (thigh) are questionable for the match.<br>About RSL » RSL is winless in its past five matches against the Earthquakes. … RSL has finished with draws in its past three home games … RSL is 4-4-4 at Rio Tinto Stadium this season. … RSL’s Jordan Allen, Omar Holness and Chad Barrett remain out (knee surgeries).... Matt Van Oekel (ankle), Demar Phillips (hamstring) and MarceloSilva (hamstring) are questionable for the match.