In an attempt to shore up their depleted strike force, the San Jose Earthquakes have acquired veteran forward Quincy Amarikwa from Chicago Fire in exchange for reserve center back Ty Harden.
Amarikwa, 27, has started in seven of the Fire’s 15 matches this season, but is yet to find the back of the net, and has recently lost his place in the starting lineup to designated player Kennedy Igboananike. Amarikwa was one of the focal points of Chicago’s attack last season making 29 appearances and scoring eight goals while notching five assists.
Amarikwa was originally drafted by the Earthquakes in the third round of the 2009 SuperDraft out of UC Davis, but only made two appearances before being traded to Colorado in 2010. Head Coach Dom Kinnear commented on the transaction in a team press release:
“We know Quincy well and we are happy to bring him to San Jose. We think he will come here help us as we head into a very busy and important part of the schedule. On the other hand, it is sad to see to Ty go, but we sincerely thank him for his efforts and wish him a lot of luck.”
With Paulo Renato establishing himself as a capable backup for San Jose, Harden was sitting as the Quakes fourth choice center back, and will provide versatile defensive help for Chicago with his ability to also fill in a right-back if need be.
Harden’s most memorable moment as an Earthquake came in last year’s second leg clash against Mexican side Toluca in the CONCACAF Champions League, where he scored his first professional goal in a heart-breaking loss that went to penalty kicks.
Chris Wondolowski will be headed to the Gold Cup in early July and San Jose is already without fellow strikers Steven Lenhart and Innocent for an extended period of time. Amarikwa will join Adam Jahn and Mark Sherrod to provide much needed depth at forward. The acquisition reinforces reports that Lenhart’s progress returning from knee surgery continues to stall.
Follow @SFBay and @JakeMMontero on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of the San Jose Earthquakes.
Last modified June 26, 2015 10:32 pm
This website uses cookies.